Chapter 4 - The Blood Trail Led Back to the Life I Thought I Had LostThe police arrived.
The apartment was sealed.
My blood was on the floor.
But I wasn't injured.
The obvious conclusion was terrifying.
Someone had taken my blood.
I stared at the evidence.
“Why?”
Leo stood beside me.
“We're going to find out.”
The sample was tested.
It matched me.
There was no doubt.
Someone had drawn my blood recently.
I remembered something.
Three weeks earlier, before the flight, I'd been approached by a charity worker.
She claimed to be conducting health surveys.
I had given a small blood sample.
I thought it was routine.
Now I knew.
Someone had used me.
I told Leo.
His face hardened.
“What was the organization?”
I gave him the name.
He checked.
It didn't exist.
The address was empty.
The phone number disconnected.
I felt stupid.
“I should have known.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“You were trying to survive.”
I looked at him.
“That's not an excuse.”
“It is when someone deliberately targets you.”
He paused.
“You're not responsible for another person's crime.”
We returned home.
Lily was waiting.
She reached toward me.
I took her.
She smiled.
For a few minutes, everything felt peaceful.
Then the security alarm screamed.
We ran.
A window had been broken.
Someone had entered the nursery.
Nothing was taken.
Except one photograph.
A picture of me holding Lily.
I felt cold.
Leo took it.
“Why this?”
I whispered:
“Because they're telling us they were close enough.”
He turned toward security.
“Lock down the property.”
Every door sealed.
Every camera activated.
Then a message appeared on the main monitor.
SHE WAS CHOSEN FOR A REASON.
Leo stared.
“Who sent this?”
No answer.
Another message appeared.
THE BABY IS NOT THE TARGET.
Then:
THE MOTHER IS.
My stomach dropped.
Leo immediately moved in front of me.
“No.”
The screen changed.
A photograph appeared.
My husband.
Standing beside a man I recognized.
Dr. Samuel Reed.
I froze.
My husband's name was Michael.
He had taken our children.
He had claimed I was unstable.
He had disappeared.
Now he was standing beside the doctor who had disappeared too.
Leo looked at me.
“What's his name?”
“Michael Vance.”
“Your husband.”
“Yes.”
He turned to security.
“Find him.”
I couldn't breathe.
Michael had been involved.
But why?
My phone rang.
His number.
I answered.
“Michael?”
Silence.
Then:
“Nora.”
My heart stopped.
“Where are my children?”
“Safe.”
“Let me speak to them.”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“You don't understand what you've become involved in.”
“What did you do?”
He laughed softly.
“I saved you.”
“No.”
“You would have died.”
“You took my children.”
“To protect them.”
“From whom?”
“Your family.”
I froze.
“My family?”
“You don't know who your father really was.”
I swallowed.
“What are you talking about?”
“The Mercer family and the Vance family have been connected for decades.”
Leo's expression changed.
Michael continued:
“Your blood is the key.”
“The baby was only the beginning.”
The call ended.
I looked at Leo.
“What does my father have to do with you?”
He shook his head.
“I don't know.”
May you like
But his face said something else.
He knew more than he was saying.
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