Chapter 10 - The Father Who Was Not Dead
Richard stared at the photograph.
Adrian Vance.
Victoria’s father.
The man everyone believed was gone.
A man connected to fraud.
A man who had almost destroyed Richard’s company years earlier.
“No.”
Detective Hale watched him.
“You know him.”
Richard nodded slowly.
“Ten years ago, he tried to buy my company.”
“And?”
“I refused.”
The detective opened another file.
“Three months later, his company collapsed.”
Richard looked at the papers.
“He blamed me.”
“Yes.”
That night, Richard returned home.
Victoria was gone.
Her closet was half empty.
Maya’s favorite toys were missing.
Richard felt panic.
He called security.
“Find my daughter.”
The guard hesitated.
“Sir…”
“What?”
“Mrs. Vance left through the west gate.”
Richard froze.
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
A message appeared on his phone.
From Victoria.
You wanted the truth. Now you’ll see what happens when you take away the only thing I had left.
Richard felt sick.
He called immediately.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Then a video arrived.
Richard opened it.
The screen showed a dark room.
Maya sitting on the floor.
Crying quietly.
And behind her…
Victoria.
But Victoria was not alone.
A man stepped into the light.
Older.
Cold eyes.
Richard stopped breathing.
Adrian Vance.
The man who was supposed to be dead.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Hello, Richard.”
A pause.
“You took everything from me.”
Richard gripped the phone.
“Let her go.”
Adrian smiled.
“Funny.”
He looked at Maya.
“Because that’s exactly what you did to my daughter.”
The video ended.
Richard stood frozen.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
A voice spoke.
“Come alone.”
Richard recognized it.
Adrian.
“If you bring the police…”
A pause.
“You’ll get your daughter back the same way Eleanor got her last goodbye.”
The call ended.
And Richard finally understood.
May you like
The nursery was never the beginning.
It was only the warning.
