Chapter 2 - The Security Footage Showed a Little Girl Standing Outside My Dining Room—And She Was Wearing My Daughter’s NecklaceAt 2:13 in the morning, Marcus entered my office with three laptops.
He didn't sit.
Nobody sat in my office without being invited.
“Boss.”
“What did you find?”
He placed the first laptop on my desk.
“We reviewed six months of security footage.”
“And?”
“There are gaps.”
“What kind?”
“Someone accessed the system remotely.”
I stared at him.
“When?”
“Mostly between two and four in the morning.”
“Who has access?”
“Me. You. Two technicians.”
“Find out which technician did it.”
Marcus hesitated.
“We already did.”
He turned the screen.
One name appeared.
Daniel Voss.
My stomach tightened.
Daniel had worked for me for eight years.
He handled surveillance.
He knew every blind spot.
He knew every camera.
And three months before Emma's accident, he had requested access to my private security network.
“Where is he?”
“Gone.”
“When?”
“Yesterday morning.”
I leaned back.
“How convenient.”
Marcus nodded.
“There is more.”
He opened another file.
A camera outside the mansion.
The timestamp was 9:47 p.m. the previous night.
A small figure appeared at the gate.
She wore a gray coat.
Her face was partially hidden.
But the height.
The hair.
The way she walked.
My hands went cold.
“Zoom in.”
Marcus did.
The girl's face appeared.
I stopped breathing.
It was Emma.
Older.
Thinner.
But Emma.
My daughter.
Alive.
I reached toward the screen.
My fingers touched the glass.
For a moment, I couldn't hear anything.
I couldn't feel the chair beneath me.
All I could see were her eyes.
The same eyes she had when she was four.
Except now she looked frightened.
Marcus whispered,
“Boss…”
I didn't answer.
The footage continued.
Emma approached the mansion.
She stood outside for nearly two minutes.
Then she looked directly at the camera.
As though she knew someone was watching.
She touched something around her neck.
A necklace.
A tiny silver heart.
I recognized it immediately.
I had given it to her on her fourth birthday.
My daughter had been wearing the necklace when I last saw her.
The police had told me it had never been recovered.
I had searched for it myself.
Now it was around her neck.
I whispered,
“She kept it.”
Marcus looked at me.
“Yes.”
I stood.
“Find her.”
“We're trying.”
“No.”
I slammed my hand against the desk.
“Don't try.”
Marcus straightened.
“Find her.”
“Yes, Boss.”
He turned to leave.
“Marcus.”
He stopped.
“If anyone finds her before I do…”
“Yes?”
“Don't approach her.”
He frowned.
“Why?”
“Because she's already afraid.”
I looked at the screen.
“I won't let another man scare my daughter.”
Marcus nodded.
Then he left.
I watched the footage again.
Emma stood at the gate.
Then she turned.
A black sedan passed slowly behind her.
The vehicle stopped.
A man stepped out.
Emma immediately ran.
The man followed.
My blood boiled.
“Freeze.”
Marcus returned.
“What?”
I pointed.
“That man.”
He zoomed in.
The image was blurry.
But the ring on his hand was clear.
Black.
My chest tightened.
“Damien.”
Marcus looked shocked.
“That's impossible.”
“Apparently not.”
Damien Cross had betrayed me.
Then vanished.
Now he was hunting my daughter.
But why?
Before we could investigate, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Julian Hale.”
A distorted voice replied.
“You should have left the past buried.”
“Who is this?”
“You know.”
“Where is my daughter?”
A pause.
Then a child's voice came through the phone.
“Daddy?”
My entire body froze.
“Emma?”
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone.
Marcus looked at me.
“Boss?”
“Trace it.”
He grabbed the device.
“Already trying.”
I waited.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Then Marcus shook his head.
“Burner phone.”
I stared at the screen.
But there was something else.
A sound in the background.
A church bell.
I knew every church in the city.
Because I had once used them as safe houses.
I knew exactly which one had a bell that sounded like that.
Saint Mary's.
Brooklyn.
I grabbed my coat.
Marcus followed.
“Boss, wait.”
“No.”
“You don't know if it's a trap.”
“I know.”
“Then don't go alone.”
I stopped.
“I'm not going alone.”
Marcus smiled.
“That's more reasonable.”
I looked back at the screen.
My daughter's face remained frozen in the footage.
She had survived two years without me.
May you like
Now I was going to bring her home.
Whatever stood between us would not survive the night.
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