CHAPTER 10: The Price Of The Truth
Nathan didn’t remember leaving the truck.
He didn’t remember opening the door.
He didn’t remember running.
All he knew was one thing.
Emma was gone.
His little girl.
The child who had carried her mother’s final secret for two years.
The child who was brave when everyone else failed her.
Someone had taken her.
And Nathan knew exactly who.
“Vanessa…”
The name came out as a whisper filled with rage.
Daniel grabbed his arm.
“Nathan.”
“Let go of me.”
“You can’t go after her blindly.”
“My daughter is missing.”
“I know.”
“No.”
Nathan turned.
“You don’t know.”
His eyes were red.
“You weren’t there when she cried herself to sleep because she missed her mother.”
Daniel stayed silent.
“You weren’t there when she asked me why Mommy never came home.”
Nathan’s voice broke.
“You weren’t there when I promised her I would protect her.”
Daniel lowered his head.
“I know what it feels like to lose Claire.”
Nathan looked at him.
“And I know what it feels like to fail her.”
Those words stopped Nathan.
Because Daniel wasn’t speaking like a stranger.
He was speaking like someone who had been carrying the same pain.
But Nathan didn’t have time.
Not anymore.
His daughter needed him.
Nathan called Detective Mark.
The moment the call connected, Nathan spoke.
“Emma was taken.”
A pause.
“What?”
“She was picked up from school.”
“By who?”
“Vanessa.”
Mark became silent.
“Nathan…”
“I know.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Nathan’s voice hardened.
“She used my name.”
Mark immediately understood.
“I’ll send officers.”
“No.”
“Nathan—”
“If Vanessa took her, she expects the police.”
A long pause.
Nathan continued.
“She wants me to follow.”
Mark sighed.
“You can’t do this alone.”
“I’m not.”
Nathan looked at Daniel.
“I have someone who knows where she might go.”
An hour later, Nathan and Daniel arrived at an abandoned property outside the city.
Daniel had found the address from one of Claire’s hidden files.
A location she had been investigating.
A place connected to Sterling Holdings.
The old factory looked empty.
Broken windows.
Rusty metal doors.
No signs of life.
But Nathan knew better.
People who hid secrets liked empty places.
They made sure nobody would hear screams.
Daniel stopped the car.
“She used this place before.”
Nathan looked at him.
“Who?”
“Vanessa.”
Nathan’s jaw tightened.
“Then why didn’t you tell the police?”
“Because every time I tried, evidence disappeared.”
Nathan looked at him.
“How long have you been watching them?”
Daniel looked away.
“Since before Claire died.”
Nathan felt betrayed.
“You knew everything.”
“I knew pieces.”
“You let me live with the woman who was hurting my children.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“I thought Vanessa was only involved with the money.”
Nathan stared.
“And now?”
Daniel looked at the building.
“Now I think she’s more dangerous than we realized.”
They entered through a broken side door.
The inside smelled like dust and old chemicals.
Nathan held a flashlight.
Every step echoed.
Then they heard something.
A voice.
A child crying.
Nathan froze.
“Emma.”
He ran.
“Nathan!”
Daniel followed.
They reached a large room.
And there she was.
Emma.
Sitting in a chair.
Her hands tied loosely in front of her.
But she was alive.
“Daddy!”
Nathan rushed toward her.
He pulled the rope away.
“Oh my God…”
He held her tightly.
“I’m sorry.”
Emma cried into his chest.
“I knew you would come.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“I promised.”
A slow clap came from behind them.
Nathan turned.
Vanessa stood near the doorway.
Calm.
Almost smiling.
“You always were predictable.”
Nathan stepped in front of Emma.
“What did you do?”
Vanessa tilted her head.
“I needed you to stop searching.”
“You kidnapped my daughter.”
“I borrowed her.”
Nathan’s face changed.
“Borrowed?”
“She wasn’t hurt.”
“You scared her.”
Vanessa looked annoyed.
“She needed to understand something.”
“What?”
“That secrets destroy families.”
Nathan stared at her.
“You killed Claire.”
For the first time, Vanessa’s smile disappeared.
“No.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
Vanessa laughed softly.
“You still don’t understand.”
She walked closer.
“Claire was never supposed to find those documents.”
Nathan clenched his fists.
“What documents?”
“The original ownership records.”
Nathan remembered.
Claire’s father.
The company.
The bloodline.
Vanessa continued:
“She thought exposing the company would save everyone.”
“She was trying to stop criminals.”
Vanessa smiled.
“No.”
She looked at Emma.
“She was trying to destroy a family.”
Nathan felt anger rising.
“You’re insane.”
“Am I?”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“Your wife was not innocent.”
Nathan froze.
“What?”
“She knew about the company before she married you.”
“No.”
“She knew.”
Vanessa’s eyes became cold.
“Claire built her perfect little life while hiding the truth.”
Nathan shook his head.
“You’re lying.”
“Ask your father.”
Silence.
Again.
Thomas.
Everyone kept pointing back to him.
Nathan looked at Vanessa.
“Where is the proof?”
Vanessa smiled.
“Exactly where Claire hid it.”
“Where?”
But Vanessa didn’t answer.
Instead, she looked at Daniel.
“You really came back.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“You should have stayed gone.”
Nathan looked between them.
“You know each other.”
Vanessa smiled.
“We all know each other.”
Then the lights suddenly turned off.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Nathan grabbed Emma.
“Stay behind me.”
A sound echoed.
A door opening.
Someone else entered.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Confident.
Nathan raised his flashlight.
The beam moved across the room.
And stopped.
A man stood there.
Nathan’s blood froze.
Because he recognized him immediately.
Thomas Walker.
His father.
Holding a gun.
Vanessa stepped aside.
“Finally.”
Thomas looked at Nathan.
His expression was filled with sadness.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Sadness.
Nathan’s voice shook.
“Dad…”
Thomas looked at Emma.
Then at him.
“I’m sorry.”
Nathan tightened his grip around his daughter.
“Sorry for what?”
Thomas lowered his eyes.
“For what I have to do next.”
The room became silent.
Then Thomas raised the gun.
And Nathan realized the truth.
The person he had spent his entire life trusting…
May you like
was the person standing between him and survival.
TO BE CONTINUED...
