Chapter 1: The Memory Card
Chapter 1: The Memory Card
Margaret folded her hands together.
"There were complications during labor."
"Which hospital?"
She hesitated.
"St. Anne's."
Daniel answered immediately.
"There isn't a maternity ward at St. Anne's anymore."
Silence.
Caleb looked away.
Daniel had his answer.
He walked upstairs.
A tiny newborn lay asleep in a crib beside the master bedroom.
The room looked untouched.
Emily's suitcase for the hospital was still sitting near the closet.
Half-packed.
The baby blanket Daniel had mailed from overseas remained unopened.
None of it made sense.
He gently lifted his son into his arms.
"I'm home, little one."
Then he quietly whispered,
"And I'm going to find out what happened to your mother."
That night, after everyone had gone to bed, Daniel inserted the memory card into his encrypted military laptop.
The screen lit up.
Only one folder appeared.
IF YOU'RE WATCHING THIS... I'M GONE.
His hands trembled.
He opened the video.
Emily appeared on the screen.
She looked exhausted.
Pregnant.
Terrified.
"Daniel..."
"If you're seeing this, it's because I wasn't able to tell you in person."
She took a shaky breath.
"Your mother has been trying to make me sign documents transferring the trust and the house."
"I refused."
Tears filled her eyes.
"She said if I didn't cooperate..."
"...I'd never get to raise our baby."
The recording ended abruptly.
Then another file opened automatically.
Audio only.
Margaret's voice.
"Sign the papers."
Emily answered weakly.
"Never."
A loud crash.
Then silence.
Daniel closed his eyes.
May you like
The grief was still there.
Now it had a direction.
