Chapter 6 - The Price of Saving Lily
# Chapter 6 - The Price of Saving Lily
The first thing Colter Vance noticed was that the woman outside the hunting shed had stopped threatening them.
The second was that she had started counting.
“Ten seconds, Colter,” Evelyn Hart called through the darkness. “Then my men come inside.”
Lucy clung to his jacket.
“Please don't give me to her.”
Colter looked down at the seven-year-old girl. Her bare feet were wrapped in bloodstained cloth, her brown eyes swollen from crying. She had trusted him from the moment he stopped his motorcycle on Route 91.
Now someone was demanding that he trade her for a sister she had only just discovered existed.
He crouched in front of her.
“Lucy, listen to me. I'm not handing you over.”
“Even if they have Lily?”
The question nearly broke him.
He glanced at Rebecca Hale's phone.
The photograph showed another little girl asleep in a hospital bed, a pale crescent-shaped scar visible behind her left ear.
Lily.
Alive, if the image was genuine.
But Colter had already seen enough altered documents and carefully arranged evidence to know that photographs could be used as weapons.
“We're going to find out where your sister is,” he said. “But nobody gets to decide that one of you matters more than the other.”
Lucy nodded, though he could see she was struggling to believe him.
Outside, Evelyn resumed counting.
“Eight.”
Marcus Shaw crouched beside the shattered window.
“Two trucks. At least six people. They're covering the front and the eastern side.”
“Back exit?” Colter asked.
“Leads into open ground for twenty yards. We'd be exposed.”
“Seven,” Evelyn called.
Claire Bennett pressed a cloth against the cut on her forehead. Her face was pale, but her eyes remained fixed on the woman standing outside.
“She doesn't want to kill Lucy.”
Colter turned sharply.
“You seem awfully certain.”
“Because Lucy is worth more to them alive.”
Mara Vale struggled to sit upright.
“Don't talk about my daughter like she's merchandise.”
Claire flinched.
“I'm telling you how they think.”
“And you know how they think because you worked with them,” Mara replied.
Claire lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
The admission settled over the room.
“Six.”
Colter stood.
“Evelyn!” he shouted. “You want to negotiate? Then stop counting.”
Silence followed.
Then Evelyn laughed softly.
“There he is. The famous Colter Vance. Always trying to save everyone.”
“You know my name. I don't even know yours.”
“You know enough.”
“No. I know a woman calling herself Evelyn Hart has been lying to people for years.”
The laughter stopped.
Colter continued.
“If Lily is alive, prove it. A photograph isn't enough.”
For several seconds, there was no answer.
Then Evelyn said, “Very well. I'll give you three minutes.”
Colter looked at Marcus.
Three minutes was not much.
But it was more than ten seconds.
Rebecca's phone vibrated.
An incoming video call.
The screen displayed no number.
Colter took the phone from her.
“Everyone stay quiet.”
He accepted the call.
A hospital room appeared.
White walls.
A narrow bed.
A cardiac monitor glowing green.
And a little girl sitting upright beneath a pale blanket.
She had Lucy's eyes.
Lucy's dark hair.
Even the same small crease between her eyebrows.
The resemblance was so striking that Lena covered her mouth.
Lucy stepped forward.
“Lily?”
The girl on the screen looked toward the camera.
Her expression was frightened.
“Who said that?”
Lucy moved closer.
“I'm Lucy.”
The other girl stared.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Lily whispered, “You look like me.”
Lucy began crying.
Colter felt his throat tighten.
“Lily, my name is Colter. Are you safe?”
The child looked toward someone standing outside the camera's view.
“I don't know.”
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head.
“Are you at Ashford Medical Center?”
Before Lily could answer, a man's hand entered the frame.
The camera shifted.
A low voice spoke.
“Enough questions.”
Colter's jaw tightened.
“Put her back on.”
Instead, the man leaned toward the camera.
He wore medical scrubs beneath a white coat.
His hair was silver at the temples, and a thin pair of glasses rested on his nose.
Dolores Pike made a sharp sound.
Colter turned.
“What?”
She pointed at the screen.
“That's Dr. Adrian Kessler.”
The man smiled.
“Hello, Dolores.”
Her face drained of color.
“You remember me?”
“Of course. You processed quite a few documents for us.”
Dolores recoiled.
“I never knew what those records were being used for.”
Kessler's smile widened.
“That's what everyone says afterward.”
Colter stepped closer to the screen.
“Listen carefully, Doctor. If anything happens to that girl—”
“You'll do what, Mr. Vance?”
Kessler sounded genuinely curious.
“Ride your motorcycle into a hospital?”
The image froze.
Then the call ended.
Lucy stared at the black screen.
“She was real.”
Colter nodded.
“Yes.”
“She was scared.”
“I know.”
Lucy wiped her cheeks.
“Then we have to help her.”
No one knew what to say.
Mara reached for the table.
“Give me the phone.”
Colter hesitated.
“Why?”
“Because I need to speak to Evelyn.”
He studied her.
“You can barely stand.”
“I don't need to stand.”
Her voice was suddenly steady.
Colter handed her the phone.
Mara called the number back.
The connection opened almost immediately.
Evelyn appeared on the screen.
Her red hair was pulled behind one shoulder. She stood beside a truck, its headlights illuminating the surrounding trees.
“Mara,” she said warmly. “I was beginning to think you'd forgotten me.”
Mara stared at her.
“I remember enough.”
“Do you?”
“You know what happened to Caroline.”
Evelyn's smile faded slightly.
“Caroline made unfortunate choices.”
“She trusted you.”
“She trusted many people.”
“Where is Elena?”
For the first time, Evelyn looked genuinely surprised.
“Elena?”
“My sister.”
Evelyn tilted her head.
“Oh, Mara. You still haven't worked that out?”
Mara's fingers tightened around the phone.
“Answer me.”
“Your sister has spent years trying to correct a mistake she helped create.”
“What mistake?”
Evelyn looked directly into the camera.
“You.”
Mara went completely still.
Colter leaned closer.
“What does that mean?”
Evelyn ignored him.
“Mara, you have spent six years convincing yourself that you're protecting Lucy from monsters.”
Her voice softened.
“But what if the monsters were protecting her from you?”
Mara shook her head.
“No.”
“You don't remember the original agreement.”
“What agreement?”
Evelyn smiled again.
“The one you signed before the twins were born.”
Mara's breathing quickened.
“I never signed anything.”
“Then perhaps you should ask Rebecca why she hasn't shown you the rest of the file.”
Every eye turned toward Rebecca Hale.
Her face became pale.
Colter slowly lowered the phone.
“What file?”
Rebecca said nothing.
Evelyn's voice came through the speaker.
“Ask her about the custody agreement, Colter.”
Then the call ended.
Marcus approached Rebecca.
“Open your satchel.”
She looked up.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Marcus, this isn't the time.”
He crouched in front of her.
“People are shooting at us. Two children are being used as bargaining chips. And every ten minutes we discover another lie.”
Rebecca's jaw tightened.
“Some information has to be protected.”
“From whom?”
She did not answer.
Colter stepped forward.
“Rebecca, show us the file.”
For several seconds, she remained motionless.
Then she opened her satchel.
Inside was a slim black folder.
She placed it on the table.
Colter opened it.
The first page bore the heading:
PRIVATE CHILD PLACEMENT AND PROTECTIVE CUSTODY AGREEMENT
Beneath it were two names.
Mara Vale.
Elena Vale.
The document was dated seven years earlier.
Colter read silently.
Then stopped.
“This says Mara agreed to transfer custody of two unborn children.”
Mara stared at him.
“What?”
He continued.
“The agreement identifies Elena Vale as the intended legal guardian.”
Lucy looked toward her mother.
Mara shook her head violently.
“No. That's impossible.”
Rebecca spoke quietly.
“The document may have been altered.”
Colter looked up.
“Then why hide it?”
“Because we haven't authenticated it.”
“Yet you let us believe every other document was reliable?”
Rebecca looked away.
Colter turned another page.
There were signatures.
Mara Vale.
Elena Vale.
A witness.
Dr. Adrian Kessler.
And a final signature beneath a line marked Program Administrator.
Evelyn Hart.
Mara stared at the page.
Her hands began shaking.
“I don't remember signing this.”
Rebecca nodded.
“I know.”
“Then why would I give away two babies?”
Nobody answered.
Colter studied the agreement again.
Something bothered him.
The document described the twins as unborn, yet the identification numbers matched those on the hospital records they had already discovered.
The same records that appeared to have been altered.
He looked toward Dolores.
“Could this have been prepared after the births and backdated?”
She examined the pages.
“Possibly. We would need the originals and supporting records.”
Colter nodded.
For the first time that evening, he understood the real danger of Mara's missing memories.
Someone could place almost any document in front of her.
A signature.
A photograph.
A recorded conversation.
And she might have no reliable memory with which to challenge it.
Outside, an engine started.
Then another.
Marcus looked toward the window.
“They're repositioning.”
Pete Donnelly checked the rear wall.
“We need to move.”
Colter looked at Rebecca.
“Can you contact Rourke?”
She hesitated.
“Not safely.”
“Try.”
Rebecca retrieved a second phone from her satchel.
Marcus stared.
“How many phones do you have?”
“Enough to know the first one was compromised.”
She entered a number.
The call rang twice.
Then a man's voice answered.
“Rebecca.”
She exhaled.
“Thomas. We have a problem.”
“I know.”
Colter leaned closer.
Rourke continued.
“Evelyn has surrounded the shed.”
Rebecca froze.
“How do you know?”
“Because I'm watching.”
Marcus moved toward the window.
Colter took the phone.
“Thomas Rourke?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“Close enough to help.”
“Then help.”
“First, I need you to understand something.”
Colter nearly laughed.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Rourke ignored him.
“The photograph of Lily is genuine. Kessler has her at Ashford.”
“Then call the authorities.”
“Some of the people involved have already compromised local channels.”
“Then federal authorities.”
“I've arranged for evidence to reach people outside the county. But we need time.”
Colter looked toward Lucy.
“We don't have time.”
Rourke's voice became quieter.
“Then you'll have to make Evelyn believe you're willing to negotiate.”
Colter frowned.
“How?”
“Offer her the blue case.”
Mara looked up sharply.
“No.”
Colter turned toward her.
“Why?”
“Because the case contains everything.”
Rourke spoke through the phone.
“Not everything.”
Mara stared.
“What?”
“There is an archive you haven't found yet.”
Rebecca closed her eyes.
Colter noticed.
“You knew about that too?”
Rourke continued.
“The blue case is useful evidence, but it's not what Evelyn really wants.”
“Then what does she want?”
A long pause followed.
Finally, Rourke answered.
“She wants Mara to remember where the original records are hidden.”
Mara stared at the phone.
“I don't know.”
“I believe you.”
“Then why is she doing this?”
“Because she thinks seeing both girls together will trigger your memory.”
The room went silent.
Colter looked toward Lucy.
Then toward the photograph of Lily.
The twins were not merely hostages.
They were being used to force Mara to remember something.
Something buried inside her mind.
Something powerful enough to make Evelyn risk an armed confrontation.
Claire had remained unusually quiet.
Now she stood.
“I can get us out.”
Colter turned.
“How?”
“Evelyn trusts me.”
Marcus gave a bitter laugh.
“That's not reassuring.”
Claire ignored him.
“She thinks I came here to deliver Rebecca.”
Rebecca looked sharply at her.
“What?”
Claire swallowed.
“I told Evelyn that Rebecca had betrayed the operation.”
Colter stared.
“You told her where we were?”
“No. I told her I was following Rebecca.”
“Claire.”
“I had to make her believe I was still useful.”
Colter studied her.
He wanted to believe she was trying to help.
But he remembered the payments.
The secret meetings.
The years of lies.
“What are you proposing?”
Claire looked toward the door.
“I go outside. I tell Evelyn you're willing to exchange the case for safe passage.”
“And then?”
“She'll bring her people closer to the front.”
Marcus frowned.
“Leaving the rear less guarded.”
Claire nodded.
“Exactly.”
Colter looked at her.
“Why should we trust you?”
Claire's expression collapsed.
“You shouldn't.”
The answer surprised him.
She continued.
“I lied to you. I took money I shouldn't have taken. I convinced myself I was helping an investigation because it was easier than admitting I was being used.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“But I never agreed to hurt a child.”
Colter said nothing.
Claire stepped closer.
“You once told me that doing the right thing matters most when it costs you something.”
He remembered saying it.
Years earlier.
Before the arguments.
Before the breakup.
Before he knew how deeply she had been involved in his charity.
Claire swallowed.
“I don't expect you to forgive me.”
She looked toward Lucy.
“I just want one chance to do something that isn't another lie.”
Colter studied her for a long moment.
Then nodded.
“One chance.”
Claire walked outside with both hands raised.
Colter watched through the broken window.
Evelyn stepped forward from beside the truck.
They spoke quietly.
Colter could not hear the words.
But he saw Evelyn glance toward the shed.
Then toward the blue case Claire was holding.
Marcus moved beside him.
“She's buying us time.”
“Maybe.”
Colter watched Claire carefully.
She handed Evelyn the case.
Evelyn opened it.
Examined the contents.
Then looked sharply at Claire.
Something was wrong.
Evelyn's expression changed from suspicion to anger.
She seized Claire's wrist.
Colter stepped forward.
Marcus grabbed his shoulder.
“Wait.”
Outside, Evelyn shouted something.
Claire shook her head.
Then Evelyn struck her across the face.
Lucy gasped.
Colter moved toward the door.
Marcus held him back.
“Not yet.”
Evelyn opened the case again.
She removed a photograph.
Then tore it in half.
Colter stared.
Why would she destroy evidence she supposedly wanted?
Claire suddenly looked toward the shed.
Their eyes met.
She mouthed two words.
GO NOW.
Marcus turned.
“Back exit. Move!”
Lena helped Mara stand.
Dolores took Lucy's hand.
Pete opened the rear door.
Colter hesitated.
Claire was still outside.
Evelyn's men had surrounded her.
He could not leave her.
Then Claire did something unexpected.
She pulled a small object from her pocket and threw it beneath the nearest truck.
A flash erupted.
Not an explosion.
A brilliant burst of white light.
The men shouted and shielded their eyes.
Claire ran.
Colter threw open the door.
“Claire!”
She sprinted toward him.
A gunshot cracked.
Claire stumbled.
Colter caught her before she hit the ground.
Blood spread across her jacket.
“Claire!”
She looked up at him.
For one terrible moment, he thought she was dying.
Then she whispered, “The case.”
“What?”
“Look at the case.”
Colter glanced toward Evelyn.
The woman had dropped it beside the truck.
Its lid lay open.
The documents were scattered across the dirt.
Claire gripped his sleeve.
“There's a false bottom.”
Colter stared.
“What?”
“I put something inside before I came.”
Another gunshot struck the shed wall.
Marcus shouted from the rear.
“Colter! We have to go!”
Claire's fingers tightened.
“Don't let Rebecca get it.”
Colter looked toward the back exit.
Rebecca stood beside Marcus.
Watching.
Her expression was unreadable.
Claire whispered one final sentence before losing consciousness.
“She isn't working for Rourke anymore.”
Colter carried Claire through the rear doorway.
Marcus covered their retreat as the group moved into the trees.
Lena immediately checked Claire's injury.
The bullet had struck her upper arm, causing heavy bleeding.
“She needs a hospital,” Lena said urgently.
Colter looked toward the dark ridge.
“So does Mara.”
“And Lily is still at Ashford,” Dolores added.
They were running out of time.
Colter glanced backward.
The shed was disappearing behind the trees.
Evelyn's men were shouting.
But they were not pursuing immediately.
Something had distracted them.
Then he heard Evelyn scream.
Not in pain.
In fury.
“WHERE IS IT?”
Colter stopped.
Marcus turned.
“What?”
Colter looked toward the shed.
Evelyn was searching the blue case.
Claire had said there was a false bottom.
And something inside it that Rebecca must never receive.
Colter looked at Rebecca.
She stood several yards away.
Her face had become unnaturally calm.
“Rebecca,” he said.
She turned.
“Yes?”
“What's beneath the case?”
For a moment, she did not answer.
Then she reached into her jacket.
Marcus moved instantly.
“Hands!”
Rebecca froze.
Colter stared at her.
“Don't.”
She slowly withdrew her hand.
In her fingers was a small black memory card.
Colter felt his stomach drop.
“You took it.”
Rebecca looked at the card.
Then at him.
“I had to.”
“Why?”
Her eyes filled with something he had not seen before.
Fear.
“Because Claire doesn't understand what this contains.”
Colter stepped closer.
“Then tell me.”
Rebecca swallowed.
“This isn't just evidence about the trafficking network.”
“What is it?”
She looked toward Lucy.
Then toward Mara.
“It contains the original recording from the night Caroline Grady died.”
Mara went completely still.
Rebecca continued.
“And it proves that Caroline wasn't killed because she discovered the network.”
Colter felt the forest grow silent around him.
“Then why was she killed?”
Rebecca's voice trembled.
“Because she discovered who created it.”
Mara stared at her.
Rebecca looked directly into Mara's eyes.
Then whispered:
“You did.”