CHAPTER 7: The Little Girl in the Red Scarf
CHAPTER 7: The Little Girl in the Red Scarf
Arthur Bennett had never driven so fast in his life.
The gates of Bennett Manor were already surrounded by police cars when he arrived. Detective Samuel Ortiz stepped out before the limousine had fully stopped.
"Every exit has been blocked."
Arthur was already running.
"Lily!"
Inside, the mansion was in chaos.
Housekeepers cried.
Security guards replayed surveillance footage over and over.
At 3:17 p.m., Lily had been building a snowman in the garden with Mrs. Harris.
At 3:18 p.m., every security camera went black.
Exactly thirty-seven seconds later...
Lily was gone.
No footprints.
No vehicle.
Nothing.
Except...
One tiny red mitten lying in the snow.
Ethan picked it up with trembling hands.
"It's hers..."
Arthur knelt beside him.
"We're bringing your sister home."
"I promise."
Ethan looked up with frightened eyes.
"People always promise."
Arthur placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"I know."
"And that's why I'm not asking you to believe my words."
"I'm asking you to watch what I do."
Back at police headquarters, technicians recovered corrupted footage from a backup server.
One frame survived.
A black delivery van.
No license plate.
But on the driver's wrist...
A silver watch.
Detective Ortiz enlarged the image.
Arthur recognized it instantly.
Richard Hale.
His former foundation director.
Meanwhile, Richard sat inside an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city.
Lily was wrapped in a warm blanket, sitting quietly on a folding chair.
She wasn't crying.
Richard frowned.
"Aren't you scared?"
She looked at him with innocent eyes.
"My mommy said bad people don't like it when little girls pray."
Richard laughed.
"And are you praying?"
"Yes."
"For you."
His smile faded.
"Why?"
"So your heart can get better."
For the first time in years...
Richard looked away.
The police traced the warehouse through highway cameras.
By nightfall, tactical officers surrounded the building.
Arthur insisted on going with them.
"No."
Detective Ortiz blocked his path.
"This is a police operation."
Arthur answered quietly.
"That little girl exists because someone once refused to leave a hungry child behind."
"I'm not leaving her now."
Inside the warehouse, Richard heard the helicopters.
"It's over," Greg Lawson shouted.
Richard looked toward the frightened man.
"No."
"It was over the day Grace Collins found our accounts."
Greg panicked.
"We can still run!"
Richard smiled bitterly.
"You still don't understand."
He looked at Lily.
"Some people leave evidence."
"Grace left a legacy."
Sirens surrounded the building.
Richard slowly opened the warehouse door.
He stepped outside with his hands raised.
"I surrender."
Police rushed past him.
Arthur ignored everyone else.
"Lily!"
She ran straight into his arms.
For a moment...
Neither of them spoke.
Then Lily whispered,
"I knew you'd come back."
Arthur closed his eyes.
"So did I."
Greg Lawson tried to escape through the rear entrance.
Ethan was standing there.
Not to stop him.
Just watching.
Greg froze as officers tackled him into the snow.
The last thing he saw before being taken away in handcuffs...
Was Ethan holding Lily's hand.
Safe.
May you like
Together.
Exactly what Greg had spent months trying to destroy.
