Chapter 14 - THE BASEMENT
Ethan heard the baby crying below.
He ran down the basement stairs.
The newborn lay in a carrier at the bottom step, still strapped inside.
Victoria had placed him there deliberately.
The carrier had tipped sideways.
Ethan grabbed it and lifted his son.
“Dad!”
Lily’s voice came from behind him.
Ethan turned.
She was standing at the top of the stairs, guarded by a police officer.
“I’m here,” he said.
Victoria appeared behind her.
She held a broken piece of glass against Lily’s neck.
“Drop the baby.”
The officer raised his weapon.
“Victoria, put it down.”
“She took everything from me!”
Ethan stepped forward carefully.
“You chose this.”
“I gave you a family.”
“You stole a child from his mother.”
Victoria pressed the glass closer.
Lily began to cry.
“Dad, don’t let her hurt me.”
Ethan looked directly at Victoria.
“You want the trust? I’ll sign it.”
Ruiz shouted from the kitchen, “Ethan, don’t!”
Victoria smiled.
“You finally understand.”
“I’ll sign every page. But you let Lily go first.”
Victoria hesitated.
Ethan kept talking.
“You don’t need to hurt her. You only need to walk away.”
“She hates me.”
“She’s afraid of you.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“No. It isn’t.”
Victoria glanced at the baby.
“You were supposed to be grateful.”
Ethan’s voice hardened.
“You never wanted a family. You wanted a fortune.”
For one second, Victoria’s attention shifted.
Lily moved.
She stomped backward onto Victoria’s foot and dropped low.
The officer grabbed Lily and pulled her away.
Victoria swung the glass.
Ruiz rushed forward.
The glass cut Victoria’s hand, but Ruiz forced her against the wall and handcuffed her.
The basement filled with screaming, crying, and rushed footsteps.
Ethan held the baby against his chest.
Lily ran down the stairs and wrapped both arms around him.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed.
Ethan kissed the top of her head.
“You saved your brother.”
“I was so scared.”
“So was I.”
Victoria sat against the wall, bleeding from her hand.
As police escorted her away, she looked at Ethan.
“You think this is over?”
Ethan watched her disappear through the doorway.
Then Detective Ruiz opened the folder Richard had left behind.
Inside was one final document.
It was a medical report claiming Ethan was mentally unfit to raise children.
The doctor’s signature belonged to someone who had never examined him.
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But the report contained another name.
The doctor was Victoria’s father.
