Chapter 8 - The Room Where She Disappeared
Emily disappeared from the hospital bed, leaving only one note: "Don't trust the person standing behind you." When I turned around, I found Rachel holding my father's missing journal. But a new page had been torn out: "The person who saved Daniel is the person who destroyed him." I finally realized the truth was closer than I imagined.
I stood frozen.
The note trembled between my fingers.
Don't trust the person standing behind you.
For several seconds, I didn't move.
I didn't breathe.
Because I could feel someone behind me.
A presence.
A person.
Someone standing close enough to hear everything.
Slowly, I turned around.
Rachel was there.
Her face was pale.
Her hands were empty.
But her eyes were fixed on the note.
"What did she write?"
I didn't answer.
"Daniel."
I stepped back.
"How long have you been standing there?"
Rachel looked hurt.
"Since you called her name."
"That's not what I asked."
Her expression changed.
She understood.
I was no longer asking questions.
I was looking for answers.
The kind that could destroy everything.
"Did you take Emily?"
Her eyes widened.
"What?"
"She disappeared."
Rachel looked toward the empty bed.
Shock crossed her face.
Then fear.
"Where is the nurse?"
I didn't move.
"Answer me."
"Daniel, I didn't take her."
"Then where is she?"
Rachel looked around the room.
The open window.
The moving curtain.
The empty bed.
Then she noticed something.
Something I hadn't seen.
A small piece of fabric caught on the window latch.
She walked closer.
Picked it up.
Her face changed instantly.
"What is it?"
She didn't answer.
I took it from her hand.
It was a piece of Emily's hospital gown.
Torn.
Not removed.
Torn.
My stomach dropped.
"This wasn't voluntary."
Rachel nodded slowly.
"Someone took her."
The words made everything worse.
Because someone had entered this room.
Someone had walked into a guarded hospital floor.
Someone had taken my unconscious, pregnant ex-wife.
And nobody saw anything.
My phone vibrated.
A new message.
I opened it.
Unknown Number.
You wanted the truth.
Then find her.
My jaw tightened.
Another message appeared.
But this time, there was an image.
Emily.
Sitting in a dark room.
Her hands tied.
Her face bruised.
But alive.
My entire body went cold.
Rachel looked over my shoulder.
"Oh my God."
The next message came.
Bring the journal.
Come alone.
I looked at Rachel.
"No."
She frowned.
"What?"
"They want the journal."
She shook her head.
"Then they know I have it."
"No."
I looked at the empty room.
"They know you gave it to me."
Silence.
Then Rachel whispered:
"Someone has been following us."
The police arrived fifteen minutes later.
But I didn't tell them everything.
Not yet.
Because I didn't know who I could trust.
That was the worst part.
Everyone in my life had become a question.
My father.
My mother.
Victor.
Rachel.
Even Emily.
The woman I loved.
The woman I thought I understood.
I sat in the hospital security room watching the footage.
Again.
And again.
Camera after camera.
Nothing.
No one entered Emily's room.
No one left.
It was impossible.
Then I noticed something.
The hallway camera.
The exact moment the lights went out.
The footage skipped.
Only three seconds.
Three seconds missing.
"Stop."
The security officer paused.
I leaned closer.
"Go back."
He rewound.
There.
Between darkness and emergency lighting.
A shadow.
Someone standing outside Emily's room.
"Can you zoom in?"
The officer tried.
The image became blurry.
But the shape was clear.
A man.
Tall.
Wearing a dark jacket.
Holding something.
"What is that?"
The officer adjusted the image.
A folder.
In his hand was a folder.
The same kind Emily found.
The same kind Victor carried.
My phone rang.
I looked at the screen.
Victor.
I almost didn't answer.
But I needed to know.
I picked up.
"Where is she?"
Silence.
Then Victor's voice.
"She's alive."
My heart stopped.
"You know where she is."
"Yes."
"Then tell me."
"I can't."
My hand tightened.
"Victor."
"You don't understand."
"No."
My voice became cold.
"I understand perfectly."
"You lied to me."
"Yes."
"You manipulated Emily."
"Yes."
"You destroyed my marriage."
A long pause.
Then:
"Yes."
I closed my eyes.
Hearing him admit it hurt more than I expected.
"Why?"
Victor's voice became quieter.
"Because if you stayed with Emily, you would have found out everything."
"What everything?"
"The truth about your father."
I looked at Rachel.
She was watching me.
"Tell me where Emily is."
"I can help you."
"You've helped enough."
"Daniel."
His voice changed.
Desperate.
"Listen to me."
"No."
"Someone else is involved."
I froze.
"What?"
"The person behind this isn't me."
I laughed.
A bitter laugh.
"That's what everyone says."
"I know."
"Then prove it."
Silence.
Then Victor said:
"Ask Rachel why your father trusted her more than anyone."
I looked at Rachel.
"What does that mean?"
Victor didn't answer.
The call ended.
I returned to the security room.
Rachel was waiting.
"You heard him."
She nodded.
"I did."
"Who are you really?"
She looked down.
For a moment, I thought she wouldn't answer.
Then she opened her bag.
She removed another document.
A birth certificate.
I looked at it.
Then froze.
The name.
The date.
Everything.
"Daniel..."
My voice disappeared.
Rachel looked at me.
"I was going to tell you."
The paper shook in my hand.
"This is impossible."
"It isn't."
I looked at her.
"You knew my father."
"Yes."
"You worked for him."
"Yes."
"Why does this say..."
I couldn't finish.
Rachel whispered:
"Because your father wasn't the only person who kept secrets."
The room became silent.
My phone vibrated.
A new message.
This time from Emily's number.
I opened it immediately.
One sentence.
I know who took me.
My heart started racing.
Another message arrived.
Then:
Daniel, come to the old Carter warehouse.
Alone.
I stared at the screen.
Rachel grabbed my arm.
"Don't go."
I looked at her.
"Why?"
Her face turned pale.
"Because that place..."
She stopped.
"What?"
She swallowed.
"That's where your father died."
I looked back at the message.
The old warehouse.
The place nobody had entered for five years.
The place connected to every secret.
I stood up.
"I have to go."
Rachel shook her head.
"You don't understand."
I walked toward the door.
"What?"
Her voice broke.
"The person who took Emily didn't choose that place because it's abandoned."
I stopped.
"Then why?"
Rachel looked at me.
Because they knew you would come there.
The elevator doors opened.
And inside was a message written on the wall.
May you like
Three words.
WAITING FOR YOU.
