Chapter 9 - THE PRICE OF A SECRET
Cole gripped the phone.
“Where are they?”
Daniel laughed softly.
“Safe. For now.”
Elena stood beside him, trembling.
Cole forced himself to remain calm.
“Let me speak to Noah.”
A pause.
Then a small voice.
“Daddy?”
Cole closed his eyes.
“Noah.”
The boy began crying.
“I'm sorry.”
Cole's heart broke.
“No, son. Listen to me. You haven't done anything wrong.”
A second voice came through.
Eli.
“Mommy?”
Elena grabbed Cole's arm.
“Eli!”
“Mommy, we're okay.”
She began sobbing.
Daniel returned to the line.
“Enough.”
Cole's expression hardened.
“What do you want?”
“The bird.”
“I don't have it.”
Daniel went silent.
Then said:
“Find it.”
The call ended.
Police investigators coordinated the response.
Cole provided the recordings, access logs, and information about Daniel.
Elena stayed close to the phone.
Every second felt unbearable.
Then Margaret remembered something.
“Claire used to keep a silver bird on her desk.”
Cole looked up.
“Where?”
“In the old nursery.”
He froze.
The nursery had been locked since Claire's death.
Noah's room had been moved to the east wing.
Cole hurried upstairs.
Elena followed.
Inside, the old nursery smelled faintly of lavender and dust.
A rocking chair stood near the window.
A faded blanket rested in a basket.
And on a shelf sat a small silver bird.
Cole picked it up.
It was heavier than expected.
He examined it carefully.
A tiny seam ran along its underside.
Marcus photographed it and arranged for investigators to examine it.
Inside was a miniature storage device.
Cole stared.
May you like
Claire had hidden evidence in a toy-sized ornament.
Evidence she'd believed might save her family.
