Chapter 2 - The Folder With My Daughter’s NameMichael smiled when he saw me.
“Daniel.”
I didn't smile back.
His eyes moved toward Lily.
Then toward Detective Collins.
For the first time, I noticed how carefully he had dressed.
Dark suit.
White shirt.
No tie.
He looked like a man attending a business meeting rather than visiting his niece after a medical emergency.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I told you I was coming.”
“You weren't invited.”
Michael's expression hardened.
“I’m family.”
Detective Collins stepped forward.
“Michael Hart?”
“Yes.”
“I'm Detective Sarah Collins.”
“I know.”
The room became silent.
Detective Collins raised an eyebrow.
“You know me?”
“Your name was mentioned at the hospital.”
It was a plausible answer.
But I could tell she didn't believe him.
“What's in the folder?” she asked.
Michael looked down.
“This?”
“Yes.”
“Medical records.”
“Why do you have Lily's medical records?”
Michael hesitated.
“Daniel asked me to organize them.”
I stared at him.
“I never asked you.”
He looked at me.
“You did last month.”
“No.”
“You were overwhelmed.”
“No, Michael.”
His face changed.
The friendly expression disappeared.
“You're making a mistake.”
I stepped between him and Lily.
“You need to leave.”
He looked toward my daughter.
“Lily, sweetheart, tell your father I only came to help.”
Lily pulled the blanket closer.
“I don't want you here.”
Michael's face went pale.
Detective Collins immediately stepped between them.
“That's enough.”
Michael looked at her.
“You're treating me like a criminal.”
“You're carrying confidential medical documents belonging to a child whose father didn't authorize you to have them.”
“I’m her uncle.”
“That doesn't give you unrestricted access.”
Michael dropped the folder onto the chair.
“Fine.”
He turned toward me.
“Daniel, you have no idea what you're doing.”
“Then explain it.”
He didn't.
He walked out.
Detective Collins waited until the door closed.
“Don't follow him.”
“I wasn't planning to.”
“Good.”
She picked up the folder.
Inside were copies of Lily's medical records.
But there was something else.
A legal document.
It was a guardianship petition.
My name was listed as the respondent.
Michael's name was listed as proposed guardian.
The date was three weeks earlier.
I stared at the page.
Three weeks.
Before the luncheon.
Before Lily nearly died.
Before Evelyn was arrested.
Detective Collins pointed to a paragraph.
“They claimed you suffered from severe psychological instability after Anna's death.”
I felt anger replacing fear.
“Who wrote this?”
“Michael's attorney.”
“I never had a psychological evaluation.”
“I know.”
“Then how did they get medical information?”
Detective Collins looked at the records.
“That is one of the questions we're investigating.”
Lily suddenly spoke.
“Dad?”
I turned.
“What's wrong?”
She pointed toward the hallway.
“Uncle Michael left something.”
I looked outside.
Nothing.
Then I noticed a small envelope on the floor.
I picked it up.
My name was written on the front.
Daniel.
Inside was a photograph.
Anna.
My wife.
She was standing outside a bank.
The photograph had been taken shortly before her death.
On the back was written:
YOU NEVER ASKED WHY ANNA CHANGED HER WILL.
My hands began shaking.
“Detective.”
She took the photograph.
“Where did this come from?”
“I don't know.”
She examined the image.
“Do you recognize the building?”
“Yes.”
“The bank where Anna kept her trust.”
She looked at me.
“Then we need to go there.”
“We can't leave Lily.”
“I'll arrange an officer to stay here.”
Before we could move, Lily grabbed my sleeve.
“Dad.”
“What?”
“I remember something else.”
Her voice was barely audible.
“At the luncheon.”
“What?”
“Grandma wasn't the only person who came into your coat pocket.”
I froze.
“Who else?”
Lily looked toward the door.
“Uncle Michael.”
Detective Collins leaned closer.
“What did he do?”
“He took something.”
“What?”
Lily closed her eyes.
“The second injector.”
I felt sick.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded.
“He told Grandma, ‘You only need one.’”
Detective Collins exchanged a look with me.
“That means Michael knew there were two.”
Lily nodded.
“And he gave one to Grandma.”
“What about the other?”
Lily looked frightened.
“He put it somewhere.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
Detective Collins crouched beside the bed.
“Lily, you don't have to remember everything right now.”
But Lily continued.
“He said something.”
“What?”
“He said, ‘After today, Dad won't be allowed to take you home.’”
My stomach dropped.
Detective Collins stood.
“That gives us probable cause to search.”
“Search what?”
“Michael's office.”
She looked at the photograph again.
“And the storage facility.”
We left Lily under the care of the hospital staff and a uniformed officer.
Two hours later, we arrived at Michael's office.
The door was unlocked.
Inside, everything was neat.
Too neat.
Detective Collins searched the desk.
Nothing.
Then she noticed a framed photograph.
It showed Anna, Michael, Evelyn, and me at Lily's first birthday.
Collins removed the frame.
Behind it was a safe.
Michael's name was engraved beneath the keypad.
She entered a code.
The safe opened.
Inside were stacks of documents.
Bank statements.
Legal contracts.
Copies of Anna's will.
And one envelope labeled:
LILY — EMERGENCY PLAN.
Detective Collins opened it.
Inside was a list of instructions.
At the top was one sentence:
IF DANIEL LOSES CUSTODY, TRANSFER ALL TRUST ASSETS TO THE FAMILY MANAGEMENT ACCOUNT.
Below it was a signature.
Evelyn Hart.
Then another.
Michael Hart.
I stared at the signatures.
They hadn't merely planned to take my daughter.
They planned to take everything Anna had left her.
Detective Collins turned another page.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
She showed me a transaction record.
One million dollars had already been transferred from the trust.
The destination was not Michael's company.
It was an offshore account.
My voice cracked.
“Where did the money go?”
“We're tracing it.”
Then Detective Collins found a handwritten note.
Three words were underlined twice.
SECOND INJECTOR — STORAGE.
I looked at her.
“Storage facility.”
She nodded.
We rushed back to the car.
But before we reached the parking lot, Detective Collins's phone rang.
She listened.
Then her face became grim.
“Who was it?” I asked.
She looked at me.
“The hospital.”
My heart stopped.
“What happened?”
“Michael came back.”
“Why?”
“He demanded to see Lily.”
“Did they let him?”
“No.”
She hesitated.
“Daniel, he didn't come alone.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who was with him?”
Detective Collins looked toward the road.
“An attorney.”
“And?”
“A private investigator.”
She lowered her voice.
“They told hospital security they had a court order to remove Lily.”
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“Do they?”
“No.”
“Then why would they do that?”
May you like
Detective Collins started the car.
“Because they're running out of time.”
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