Chapter 14: The Little Girl in the Photograph
The name Lily followed Michael all the way to the hospital.
He sat beside the window in a private examination room, staring at the photograph Agent Shaw had shown him.
It was a picture recovered from Ryan's phone.
A little girl stood beside a woman.
She had dark hair, a pink sweater, and a missing front tooth.
On the back was a handwritten date.
Five years earlier.
Michael touched the photograph.
"That's my daughter.""
Boone stood near the door.
"You don't know that for certain.""
Michael nodded.
"I know her eyes.""
Evelyn sat beside Sophie.
The little girl was asleep with her head against her grandmother's shoulder.
Michael looked at her.
"Two daughters.""
His voice cracked.
"And I couldn't protect either one.""
Boone approached.
"You didn't know what was happening.""
"I should have.""
"That's not how guilt works, brother.""
Michael looked at him.
"Do you have children?""
Boone shook his head.
"No.""
"Then you don't understand.""
Boone didn't argue.
He simply pulled up a chair.
"I've buried friends who spent their whole lives believing they failed the people they loved. Sometimes the truth is that somebody else spent years making sure they never had a chance.""
Michael stared at the photograph.
"What if Laura really did give Lily away?""
"Then we'll find out why.""
Agent Shaw entered with a tablet.
"I've located the woman who raised her.""
Michael stood immediately.
"Where?""
"Her name is Patricia Coleman. She lives in a small town outside Nashville.""
"Does she know Lily was taken illegally?""
Agent Shaw hesitated.
"She claims she adopted the child through a private agency.""
"Which agency?""
"Carterside Family Services.""
Michael closed his eyes.
"Ryan.""
Agent Shaw nodded.
"We've sent officers to her address. But there's a complication.""
Boone folded his arms.
"What?""
"Patricia called our office twenty minutes ago.""
"About what?""
"She said a woman claiming to be Lily's biological mother contacted her.""
Michael gripped the chair.
"Laura.""
"Yes.""
"Where is she?""
"Patricia refused to tell us.""
Agent Shaw showed him another photograph.
It showed a modest two-story house with a white fence.
A small bicycle lay in the front yard.
"Patricia has agreed to meet us tomorrow morning.""
Michael looked at the clock.
"That's too late.""
"She's frightened. She believes anyone connected to the investigation may try to take Lily.""
Michael shook his head.
"She's already been taken once.""
Agent Shaw studied him.
"Mr. Reeves, I need you to understand something. If Laura is involved in illegal placements, we have to investigate that too.""
Michael stared at her.
"She's my wife.""
"That doesn't put her above the law.""
Boone stepped forward.
"Then investigate her. But don't make another child wait while adults argue over paperwork.""
Agent Shaw nodded.
"I'll arrange the meeting.""
She turned toward the door.
Before leaving, she looked back.
"There's one more thing.""
She placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Laura entering a pharmacy.
The image was dated three days earlier.
Michael stared.
"She's alive.""
Agent Shaw nodded.
"Apparently.""
Evelyn approached.
"Where was this taken?""
"Outside Nashville.""
Michael looked at the picture.
Then he noticed something.
Laura was holding a child's hand.
A little girl.
Lily.
But the child's other hand was wrapped around the fingers of an adult man.
Someone whose face was partially visible in the reflection of the pharmacy window.
Michael leaned closer.
"Wait.""
Boone looked.
"What?""
"That man.""
Agent Shaw zoomed in.
The reflection became clearer.
It was Ryan.
Michael backed away.
"He's been with her.""
Boone looked at Agent Shaw.
"Then why is he pretending he doesn't know where she is?""
Nobody answered.
Then Michael's phone vibrated.
It was an old device recovered from the farm.
A new message had arrived.
No number.
No contact name.
Just one photograph.
It showed Sophie sleeping beside Evelyn.
Beneath it were six words:
*ONE DAUGHTER IS ENOUGH. CHOOSE WISELY.*
Boone took the phone.
"He's threatening the child again.""
Agent Shaw immediately ordered additional protection.
But Michael was staring at the screen.
"That's not Ryan.""
Boone looked at him.
"What?""
"Look at the photograph.""
Boone examined it.
The image had been taken inside the hospital.
Someone had photographed Sophie through the partially open room door.
The timestamp showed it had been captured less than five minutes earlier.
Michael looked toward the hallway.
"He's here.""
Boone moved immediately.
He opened the door.
A man in hospital scrubs was walking toward the elevator.
Boone recognized the shoes.
Expensive black leather.
The same shoes he had seen beneath the farmhouse office desk.
"Hey!""
The man turned.
Then ran.
Boone chased him down the corridor.
Duke came from the opposite direction and blocked the elevator.
The man changed direction.
He crashed into a nurse's trolley, sending medical supplies across the floor.
Boone caught his jacket.
The two men hit the wall.
"Who sent you?""
The man struggled.
"Get off me!""
Boone twisted his arm behind his back.
"Who?""
The man finally stopped fighting.
He looked at Boone.
Then smiled.
"You're protecting the wrong family.""
Boone frowned.
"What does that mean?""
The man reached into his pocket.
Boone pulled his hand away.
Inside was a small photograph.
It showed Laura standing outside a church.
She was holding Sophie.
But beside her was another little girl.
And behind them stood a woman Boone recognized.
Evelyn.
Boone stared.
"What's this?""
The man whispered:
"Your grandmother knows where the first baby went.""
Boone looked toward the hospital room.
Evelyn was still sitting beside Sophie.
Then he turned back.
"Explain.""
May you like
The man smiled.
"Ask her what happened the night Sophie was born.""
