CHAPTER 2 — THE WOMAN THEY CALLED A KIDNAPPER
CHAPTER 2 — THE WOMAN THEY CALLED A KIDNAPPER
The police arrived eleven minutes after Victoria sent the message.
Eleven minutes.
That was all the time Grace had.
Eleven minutes between Nathan discovering he had a daughter and the world deciding Grace was a criminal.
The first siren sounded outside the Cole mansion.
Lily immediately tightened her arms around Nathan's neck.
“Daddy?”
Nathan looked toward the windows.
Two police cars had stopped outside the gates.
Then another.
His expression hardened.
“What is happening?”
Victoria lowered her phone.
“I told you.”
Nathan turned.
“Told me what?”
“That she was going to run.”
Grace's face went white.
“I never said that.”
Victoria pointed toward the hallway.
“Then why did you pack a suitcase?”
Grace stared at her.
“I didn't.”
Nathan looked toward the servants' corridor.
A black suitcase stood beside the door.
Grace stared at it.
“I've never seen that.”
Victoria smiled faintly.
“Of course you haven't.”
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
“You put it there.”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Before Victoria could answer, the front doors opened.
Three officers entered.
The man leading them held a folder.
“Mr. Cole?”
Nathan stepped forward.
“Yes.”
“I'm Detective Alvarez.”
He showed his badge.
“We have a warrant for Grace Bennett's arrest.”
Nathan stared at him.
“On what charge?”
“Child abduction.”
Grace felt her knees weaken.
“No.”
The detective opened the folder.
“She is accused of unlawfully concealing a minor from her legal guardian and attempting to flee the country.”
Nathan looked at Grace.
Then at Lily.
“What legal guardian?”
The detective looked at him.
“You, Mr. Cole.”
Nathan's face changed.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“She is my daughter.”
“According to the documents we have, you were unaware of the child's existence.”
Nathan's jaw tightened.
“That doesn't make Grace a kidnapper.”
The detective hesitated.
“Perhaps not.”
He looked down at the papers.
“But the evidence is extensive.”
Grace whispered:
“It's fake.”
Victoria immediately spoke.
“She has been preparing to leave for months.”
Nathan turned toward her.
“Stop talking.”
Victoria's expression hardened.
“I'm trying to help you.”
“No.”
His voice was cold.
“You're trying to control this.”
The detective placed several photographs on the table.
Grace looked at them.
Her heart stopped.
There was a photograph of her standing at a bus station.
Another showed her purchasing a suitcase.
Another showed her speaking to a man outside a travel agency.
Another showed Lily holding a passport.
Grace shook her head.
“I didn't do any of this.”
The detective looked at her.
“That's what we'll determine.”
Nathan picked up one photograph.
“Where was this taken?”
“Two weeks ago.”
Nathan looked at Grace.
“Were you at a bus station?”
“No.”
“What were you doing that day?”
“Working.”
Victoria interrupted.
“She lies very convincingly.”
Nathan slammed the photograph onto the table.
“I said stop.”
Victoria fell silent.
Nathan turned back to the detective.
“Who filed the complaint?”
“An anonymous source.”
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
“Anonymous?”
“Yes.”
“Yet you have enough evidence for an arrest?”
The detective didn't answer.
Nathan understood.
Someone powerful had made the call.
Someone with access to police officials.
Someone who wanted Grace removed.
Lily began crying.
“Mommy…”
Grace reached for her.
An officer stepped between them.
“Ma'am, please.”
“No!”
Grace's voice cracked.
“Don't take her.”
Nathan stepped forward.
“She stays with me.”
The detective looked at him.
“Mr. Cole, legally—”
“She is my daughter.”
The detective nodded.
“And you've just discovered that fact tonight.”
Nathan's expression hardened.
“That doesn't change anything.”
“It changes everything.”
Grace looked at Nathan.
“Please.”
He turned toward her.
“I'm not letting them take you.”
Grace's eyes filled with tears.
“You don't understand.”
“Then tell me.”
“They're going to say I kidnapped Lily.”
“They won't.”
“They already did.”
The detective moved toward Grace.
Nathan stepped between them.
“You'll need a court order before taking her.”
The detective's face tightened.
“We have one.”
He produced a document.
Nathan read it.
His stomach dropped.
The order was signed.
Dated three days earlier.
Three days.
Before he had even discovered Lily existed.
Nathan looked at Grace.
Someone had planned this.
The entire thing.
The accusation.
The evidence.
The arrest.
All of it.
Before tonight.
He turned toward Victoria.
She was standing perfectly still.
Too still.
Nathan walked toward her.
“You knew.”
Victoria swallowed.
“No.”
“You knew they were coming.”
“I didn't.”
“You knew Grace would be arrested.”
“I was afraid she might be.”
Nathan's voice dropped.
“How?”
Victoria didn't answer.
He took out his phone.
“I have security cameras throughout this house.”
Victoria's expression changed.
Nathan looked at the security panel.
“I'll check who put that suitcase there.”
Victoria's face went pale.
The security footage appeared on the screen.
11:37 p.m.
A figure entered the servants' corridor.
Wearing a black coat.
Face hidden.
They placed the suitcase beside Grace's room.
Nathan watched.
Then the figure turned.
The face became visible for half a second.
Nathan froze.
It was one of Victoria's assistants.
“Who is that?”
Victoria said nothing.
Nathan turned.
“Who?”
“My assistant.”
“You told me you didn't know anything.”
“I don't.”
“You're lying.”
The assistant was nowhere in the mansion.
Nathan immediately called security.
“Find him.”
The detective watched the footage.
His expression changed.
“Mr. Cole…”
“Yes?”
“We may have a problem.”
Nathan looked at him.
“This evidence could have been planted.”
The detective nodded.
“That is possible.”
Victoria stepped forward.
“Or Grace planted it herself.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Why would she plant evidence against herself?”
Victoria's answer was immediate.
“To make herself look innocent.”
Nathan stared at her.
For the first time, he truly saw the woman he was supposed to marry.
Not the elegant woman beside him at charity galas.
Not the woman who kissed him before business meetings.
Not the woman who told him she loved him.
A stranger.
A woman capable of standing calmly while another mother was dragged away.
Grace was handcuffed.
Lily screamed.
“Mommy!”
Grace turned.
“Lily!”
Nathan caught the child before she ran toward the officers.
Grace's face broke.
“Please take care of her.”
Nathan held Lily tightly.
“I will.”
Grace looked directly into his eyes.
“You have to believe me.”
“I do.”
“Even when they show you things.”
“I will.”
“Even if everyone says I'm lying.”
“I will.”
The officers led her toward the door.
Lily struggled in Nathan's arms.
“Mommy!”
Grace cried.
“I'm here!”
The door opened.
Cold night air rushed inside.
Then Grace was gone.
Lily buried her face against Nathan's chest.
Nathan stood motionless.
Victoria approached.
“Nathan…”
He turned.
“Don't.”
She stopped.
“I didn't mean for this to happen.”
“You knew.”
“No.”
“You knew.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From my own daughter?”
“From her mother.”
Nathan stared at her.
Then he said something that made Victoria's face lose all color.
“Our wedding is over.”
At 2:14 a.m., Grace sat alone in a detention room.
Her shoulder hurt.
Her wrists were bruised.
But none of that mattered.
She was thinking about Lily.
A guard entered.
“You have a visitor.”
Grace looked up.
“Who?”
“Nobody gave a name.”
The door opened.
A man in a dark suit entered.
Grace immediately recognized him.
Richard Cole.
Nathan's uncle.
She stood.
“You.”
Richard smiled.
“Hello, Grace.”
“You did this.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“You forged those documents.”
“Careful.”
Grace stepped closer.
“You've been watching me.”
Richard's smile disappeared.
“You should have stayed invisible.”
“I wasn't going to hide forever.”
“You should have.”
Grace's voice trembled.
“Why are you afraid of Lily?”
Richard stared at her.
Then he leaned closer.
“I'm not afraid of the child.”
He whispered:
“I'm afraid of what happens when Nathan realizes what she owns.”
Grace's blood ran cold.
Richard continued.
“You think this is about Victoria?”
“No.”
“This is bigger than her.”
“What do you want?”
“Lily.”
Grace shook her head.
“You'll never have her.”
Richard smiled.
“I'm not asking.”
He walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
“Tell Nathan something for me.”
Grace stared at him.
“What?”
“His father didn't die before he could tell the truth.”
Richard smiled.
“He died because he was about to.”
The door slammed shut.
Grace stood frozen.
Her breathing became shallow.
Nathan's father hadn't simply died.
Something had happened.
Something Richard didn't want Nathan to know.
Across town, Nathan sat alone in his study.
Lily was asleep upstairs.
He had refused to let anyone else take care of her.
He had spent the past three hours reviewing every document connected to Grace.
There were too many.
Too many inconsistencies.
He opened the alleged confession.
Grace's signature was on it.
But something bothered him.
He had seen Grace's handwriting for years.
This wasn't hers.
Nathan pulled out an old handwritten note she had once left him.
He compared them.
The letters were different.
The signature was forged.
He leaned back.
Then his phone rang.
His attorney.
“Nathan.”
“What?”
“I've reviewed the arrest documents.”
“And?”
“They're professionally manufactured.”
Nathan stood.
“What does that mean?”
“The paperwork is designed to look authentic.”
“By whom?”
“I don't know.”
Nathan walked toward the window.
“What else?”
“There is a custody petition attached.”
“From whom?”
The attorney hesitated.
“Your father.”
Nathan froze.
“My father is dead.”
“I know.”
“Then how did he file it?”
“That is the problem.”
Nathan's blood ran cold.
“When?”
“Five years ago.”
Nathan looked toward the hallway.
Lily was asleep upstairs.
Grace was in jail.
Victoria was somewhere inside his house.
And his dead father's name had just appeared on a legal document created five years earlier.
He whispered:
“Send me everything.”
The attorney agreed.
Nathan ended the call.
Then he heard footsteps behind him.
Victoria.
She stood in the doorway.
“Nathan.”
He didn't turn.
“Did my father know about Lily?”
Silence.
Nathan slowly turned.
Victoria's eyes filled with fear.
“Answer me.”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I swear—”
“Did he know?”
Victoria finally whispered:
“Yes.”
Nathan's face went blank.
“How long?”
“Since before she was born.”
He stared at her.
“Then why did he let me believe Grace abandoned me?”
Victoria couldn't answer.
Nathan stepped closer.
“And why did you let me believe it?”
Victoria began crying.
“Because I loved you.”
Nathan shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“You loved the life you thought I would give you.”
Victoria's tears stopped.
Nathan continued.
“You never loved me.”
He walked past her.
Victoria grabbed his arm.
“Nathan, please.”
He pulled away.
“Don't touch me.”
“You don't understand what you're doing.”
“I understand perfectly.”
He looked at her.
“You attacked my daughter's mother.”
“You don't know what Grace did!”
“I know what you did.”
He walked away.
Then stopped.
“One more thing.”
Victoria looked up.
“What?”
Nathan's voice was ice-cold.
“I'm going to find out everything.”
At 4:03 a.m., Nathan entered his father's old study.
He hadn't been inside for years.
Dust covered the bookshelves.
The old desk remained untouched.
He opened drawers.
Nothing.
He searched cabinets.
Nothing.
Then he noticed something strange.
A tiny scratch beneath the desk.
He crouched.
Pressed his fingers against the wood.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a single black envelope.
No name.
No date.
Only four handwritten words.
Nathan stared at them.
For my son, Nathan.
His hands began to shake.
He opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Nathan nearly dropped it.
It showed Grace.
Pregnant.
Standing outside a hospital.
Beside her was Nathan's father.
But that wasn't the shocking part.
Behind them stood Richard.
And Victoria.
Nathan looked at the photograph again.
The date was printed on the back.
Five years ago.
The exact day Grace disappeared.
Nathan's heart pounded.
Then he noticed a second item inside the envelope.
A small flash drive.
And beneath it, a handwritten note:
If Grace is ever accused of kidnapping Lily, watch this first.
Nathan stared at the words.
For the first time that night, he understood.
Grace's arrest wasn't the beginning of the conspiracy.
It was the next stage of one that had started five years ago.
He picked up the flash drive.
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
Nathan answered.
No one spoke.
Then a distorted voice whispered:
“Don't watch it.”
Nathan's blood ran cold.
“Who is this?”
“If you watch that recording, your family will come after Lily.”
Nathan looked toward the staircase.
His daughter was sleeping upstairs.
He tightened his grip around the flash drive.
“Then they should come.”
The line went dead.
Nathan stared at the screen.
Then he whispered:
“Because this time, I'm coming for them first.”
And as the first light of dawn entered the windows of the Cole mansion, Nathan inserted the flash drive into his computer.
The screen turned black.
A video began loading.
May you like
And then his father's voice filled the room.
“Nathan, if you're hearing this, Grace never abandoned you.”
