Chapter 4 - Shadows of the Past
By 4:00 a.m., the police had escorted Derek Voss and his lawyer off the hospital grounds after issuing a temporary forty-eight-hour hold on Emma’s custody.
In a private executive room on the third floor, baby Emma was finally sleeping peacefully in a heated crib, her fever broken. Sadie sat on a large leather sofa, wrapped in a fleece blanket, eating her first warm meal in days.
Ethan sat at the desk across from her, holding a small, sealed envelope that Mara had pulled from Sadie’s hoodie pocket.
Written on the front in faded blue ink was a single name: Ethan Cole.
Ethan carefully broke the seal and unfolded the letter inside.
Ethan,
If you are reading this, I am already gone, and my daughters are in grave danger.
Five years ago, I gave you the files that saved your company because I believed you were a man of honor. Now, I am asking you to pay that debt.
Derek Voss is not a father. He is a predator. When Emma was born, I discovered that Derek had used my identity to enroll her in a trust fund set up by a corrupt pharmaceutical cartel called Aethelgard. They pay parents to sign over long-term custody rights under the guise of 'medical research.'
They want my baby, Ethan. And when I refused to sign, Derek made sure my illness went untreated.
I don't care about the money. I only care about my girls. Sadie knows how to find you. Please... don't let Derek break them. Be the shield I couldn't be.
— Claire Brooks
Ethan closed his eyes.
A heavy, aching silence filled the room. He looked over at Sadie, who was watching him with wide, solemn eyes.
“Did you read this, Sadie?” Ethan asked quietly.
Sadie shook her head. “Mama told me to keep it dry. She said if I gave it to you, you wouldn't let the bad man take Emma.”
Ethan stood up and walked over to the sofa. He crouched down until he was at eye level with the seven-year-old girl.
“Your mother was right,” Ethan said, his voice softer than it had been in years. “Nobody is taking Emma. And nobody is taking you.”
May you like
Sadie looked at him for a long moment. “Promise?”
“I promise,” Ethan said.
