Chapter 14 - The Child in the Car
Ricardo had taken Luciana.
The adoptive parents reported her missing from school thirty minutes earlier.
A man wearing a maintenance uniform had signed her out using forged documents.
Security footage showed Ricardo leading the five-year-old toward a gray sedan.
Luciana held his hand.
She didn’t know she was in danger.
Ricardo sent Daniel a location.
An unfinished housing development outside Guadalajara.
“Come alone,” the message said.
Lucía told him not to go.
Daniel went anyway.
That was another mistake.
Not noble.
Not brave.
Stupid.
He left his tracker behind and used a borrowed car.
I discovered the message after he was gone.
Lucía cursed when I showed her.
“He’s going to get himself killed.”
“He thinks he can fix everything alone.”
“Men like his father depend on that.”
Police traced traffic cameras along the route.
Daniel reached the development first.
Half-built houses stood beneath a gray sky.
Plastic sheets snapped in the wind.
Ricardo waited inside an unfinished living room.
Luciana sat on a wooden crate eating crackers.
She looked up when Daniel entered.
“Are you my dad?”
Daniel stopped.
Ricardo smiled.
“I told her.”
“You kidnapped her.”
“I collected my granddaughter.”
“She isn’t yours.”
“She carries my blood.”
“She is not property.”
Ricardo sighed.
“You sound like Camila.”
“Good.”
Ricardo’s smile disappeared.
Daniel looked at Luciana.
“Hey.”
She hugged the cracker package against her chest.
“Are you really my dad?”
Daniel swallowed.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you come before?”
He had no answer that would not hurt her.
“I didn’t know where you were.”
Ricardo laughed.
“That’s not completely true.”
Daniel turned.
His father held a pistol.
Luciana saw it.
Her crackers fell to the floor.
Daniel moved between them.
“Let her leave.”
“Give me the drive.”
“The police have everything.”
“Not everything.”
“What else are you hiding?”
Ricardo’s eyes shifted toward Luciana.
The child began to cry.
Daniel slowly raised his hands.
“You don’t want to do this.”
“I’ve done worse.”
The sentence landed softly.
Too softly.
Daniel realized Ricardo wasn’t bluffing.
Outside, police vehicles approached without sirens.
Lucía stepped from her car fifty yards away.
Inside, Ricardo heard gravel crunch.
He grabbed Luciana by the shoulder.
She screamed.
Daniel lunged.
The gun fired.
The sound filled the empty house.
Luciana dropped to the floor.
Daniel slammed Ricardo against a concrete pillar.
The pistol skidded away.
Ricardo struck Daniel’s injured ribs.
Daniel collapsed.
Ricardo reached for the gun.
Then Luciana picked it up.
Her small hands shook.
May you like
“Don’t touch my dad.”
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