Nobody spoke.
Daniel stared at Emily.
“Who?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know his name.”
“What did he look like?”
“Tall.”
“That isn't enough.”
“Gray hair.”
Daniel's face changed.
I saw recognition before he spoke.
“Robert.”
The detective looked at him.
“Who is Robert?”
“My former attorney.”
“Robert what?”
“Robert Hale.”
Daniel sat down.
I had heard that name before.
Robert had handled some of Daniel's business affairs during our marriage.
He had attended meetings.
He had been in our home.
He had brought Emily birthday gifts.
He had stood beside Daniel when we bought our first house.
My stomach turned.
“He knew Emily?”
“Yes.”
“How well?”
“Too well.”
The detective opened her notebook.
“What was his role?”
“I don't know.”
“Don't guess.”
Daniel looked at her.
“I introduced him to Mercer.”
I stared at him.
“You did what?”
“I needed legal advice.”
“For what?”
“The clinic.”
“Three years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Mercer wanted consent forms.”
The detective's eyes narrowed.
“What kind of consent?”
“Experimental treatment.”
I looked at Daniel.
“And Robert helped you?”
“Yes.”
“Then Robert knew.”
Daniel nodded.
“He knew enough.”
Emily spoke quietly.
“He was there.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You saw him?”
She nodded.
“He wore a brown watch.”
Daniel looked down.
“I gave him that watch.”
The detective immediately stood.
“Does he still have it?”
“I don't know.”
She contacted another officer.
“Run Robert Hale.”
The answer came quickly.
Robert Hale had recently purchased property near the rural facility.
I felt sick.
“He's there.”
The detective nodded.
“Possibly.”
Daniel looked at me.
“I should have told you.”
“Yes.”
“I thought I could handle it.”
“You couldn't.”
“No.”
For the first time, he didn't defend himself.
The convoy left the hospital.
The rural property appeared after twenty minutes of narrow roads and fields.
A metal gate stood ahead.
No sign.
No address.
Just a camera mounted on a pole.
Emily had been right.
Behind the main building, a generator hummed.
A red light blinked above a side entrance.
The detective raised her hand.
Officers spread out.
Daniel stayed beside me.
“You shouldn't be here,” he whispered.
“I know.”
“Then why did you come?”
“Because she's my daughter.”
He nodded.
“So is she mine.”
“I know.”
The detective approached the entrance.
The door was unlocked.
Inside, the building smelled of disinfectant.
The corridor was empty.
Then we heard something.
A child crying.
Emily grabbed my hand.
“Mom.”
“I hear it.”
We followed the sound.
A locked door stood at the end of the hall.
The detective forced it open.
Inside were three children.
They were frightened but conscious.
One was holding a blanket.
Another had a bandage around her arm.
The third looked no older than nine.
The detective crouched.
“You're safe.”
The child stared at Daniel.
Then at Emily.
“Seven?”
Emily nodded.
The child began crying.
“She came back.”
I looked at my daughter.
“You know her?”
Emily shook her head.
“No.”
The child whispered, “You were taken upstairs.”
Emily's face went pale.
“I remember you.”
The detective asked, “Where are the others?”
The child pointed toward the ceiling.
“Some are upstairs.”
“Who?”
“Anna.”
Daniel froze.
“That isn't possible.”
The child looked at him.
“She isn't dead.”
I couldn't breathe.
Daniel stumbled backward.
“What did you say?”
“She was moved.”
The detective immediately called for more officers.
Dr. Harris entered behind us.
His eyes widened.
“Anna?”
The child nodded.
“She said her name was Anna.”
Daniel looked at me.
“She was alive.”
The official report said she had died.
The toxicology report had been altered.
The body records had been falsified.
Everything we'd been told was wrong.
The detective turned to the child.
“Where is Anna?”
“Room upstairs.”
We rushed toward the stairs.
At the landing, a man appeared.
Gray hair.
Brown watch.
Robert Hale.
Daniel stopped.
“Robert.”
Robert looked at him.
“You weren't supposed to come.”
The detective raised her weapon.
“Hands where I can see them.”
Robert obeyed.
“Where are the children?”
He smiled faintly.
“You have no idea what you're interrupting.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You helped Mercer.”
“I helped you.”
“You helped him hurt children.”
“I helped you protect your daughter.”
“You lied.”
“I did what you couldn't.”
Daniel looked furious.
“You told me Emily was safe.”
“She was.”
“She was locked in a room.”
“She survived.”
I felt a wave of anger.
“You call that safe?”
Robert looked at me.
“You don't understand the research.”
“I understand my daughter.”
He looked away.
The detective ordered him to the floor.
He complied.
But before officers took him away, he said something to Daniel.
“You should ask your wife what she remembers.”
Daniel looked confused.
I felt cold.
“What does that mean?”
Robert smiled.
“You weren't the only one who forgot.”
Then officers led him away.
We found Anna upstairs.
She was alive.
Weak.
Confused.
But alive.
When Daniel saw her, he began crying.
“I'm sorry.”
Anna stared at him.
“You left.”
He nodded.
“I did.”
“You promised you'd come back.”
“I tried.”
“You didn't come.”
“I know.”
She looked at Emily.
“You did.”
Emily shook her head.
“I don't remember.”
Anna smiled faintly.
“You carried my bracelet.”
Emily looked down.
The yellow bracelet was no longer in the evidence bag.
It was around Emily's wrist.
I stared at it.
“How did you get that?”
Emily looked surprised.
“I don't know.”
Dr. Harris examined it.
“There may be something inside.”
The detective carefully removed the bird charm.
A tiny memory card was hidden beneath its metal casing.
The room went silent.
“Mercer recorded everything,” Daniel whispered.
The detective looked at the card.
“We'll recover the data.”
Emily looked at me.
“Mom.”
“Yes?”
“I remember the last thing he said.”
“What?”
“He told me you signed me over.”
My heart broke.
“I never did.”
“I know.”
“Who told you?”
“Anna.”
Anna looked at us.
“He lied.”
Then the lights in the building went out.
A door slammed downstairs.
The detective shouted for everyone to stay still.
And from somewhere in the darkness came Mercer's voice.
“You should have left the past buried.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 11: Mercer Finally Revealed Why Emily Had Been Chosen, and the Memory Hidden Inside the Bracelet Exposed the Lie Behind Everything
The Moment My Daughter Stopped Crying, She Looked Past Me and Whispered Something That Made the Emergency Room Go Quiet
Part 10 of 12
