CHAPTER 4 — The Man Who Stole Two Lives
Emily's funeral was held beneath gray skies.
Only nine people attended.
A nurse.
Two volunteers.
The hospital chaplain.
Michael.
And little Sophie...
clutching a bouquet of wildflowers she had picked herself.
She stood silently beside the coffin.
"Mom said flowers don't have to be expensive to be beautiful."
Michael felt his throat tighten.
After everyone left...
An elderly man approached him.
He wore an old mechanic's jacket and carried a faded toolbox.
"My name is Thomas Reed."
Michael frowned.
"I worked maintenance at Saint Matthew's Hospital."
The name hit him immediately.
The hospital where he had supposedly been born.
Thomas looked around carefully.
"They're watching."
"Who?"
"The same people who burned the records."
Michael's pulse quickened.
Thomas reached into the toolbox.
Hidden beneath rusty wrenches...
was a small metal cassette tape.
"I've hidden this for twenty-six years."
Michael stared.
"What's on it?"
Thomas whispered,
"The confession."
That night...
Michael played the tape inside his private office.
Static filled the room.
Then...
A woman's trembling voice.
"I can't do this anymore..."
"I switched the babies."
Michael froze.
The voice continued.
"Victor Langston paid us two million dollars."
"He said the Harrison family could never know the truth."
"We exchanged Baby Harrison with another newborn..."
"...and destroyed every document."
Michael's breathing stopped.
Another man's voice interrupted.
"If anyone ever hears this..."
"...we'll all be dead."
The recording ended.
Silence.
Michael slowly lowered the cassette.
The lie wasn't a theory anymore.
It was real.
Across town...
Victor Langston sat inside a black limousine.
One of his men entered.
"The tape has resurfaced."
Victor closed his eyes.
"I warned them twenty-six years ago."
"What are your orders?"
Victor looked out the window.
"Bring me the little girl."
"The uncle?"
Victor smiled coldly.
"Leave Michael alive."
"I want him to suffer first."
The next afternoon...
Sophie never arrived at school.
Teachers searched every classroom.
Police searched the neighborhood.
Her backpack was found behind the playground.
One white sneaker...
lay beside it.
Michael's phone rang.
Unknown number.
Victor's calm voice echoed through the speaker.
"You found your past."
"Now come earn your future."
May you like
"If you ever want to see Sophie alive again..."
"...come alone."
