Chapter 5: "I'm Here to Take My Daughter"
The restaurant went completely silent.
Daniel stood near the back wall, his baseball cap dripping with rainwater.
He looked older than the photo Sarah had shown me.
But there was something in his eyes that made my blood run cold.
He wasn't angry.
He wasn't nervous.
He looked... pleased.
Like he had been waiting years for this exact moment.
Lily tightened her grip on my sleeve.
"Mister Ethan... who is that man?"
I didn't answer.
Sarah stepped in front of her daughter.
"You need to leave."
Daniel smiled.
"I drove a thousand miles for this reunion, Sarah. That's not exactly the welcome I expected."
"You lost the right to call this a reunion seven years ago."
He laughed softly.
"Still dramatic."
Richard moved forward.
"You took my money and disappeared."
Daniel looked at him.
"And you tried to buy me out of my own life."
"She isn't your daughter."
"That's what you told me."
The two men stared at each other.
I held the DNA report in my hand.
"Then whose idea was the fake test?"
Daniel's smile faded.
For the first time, he looked at me carefully.
"So you know."
I took a step toward him.
"You lied."
"No."
"You stole seven years from me."
His eyes narrowed.
"I never saw that report."
Silence.
I frowned.
"What?"
He pointed at Richard.
"He told me the test proved I wasn't the father."
Richard's face turned white.
"I... I didn't..."
"You paid me half a million dollars and told me Sarah wanted nothing to do with me."
The room became painfully quiet.
I looked at Richard.
"You lied to him too?"
Richard didn't answer.
"Answer me!"
His shoulders dropped.
"I was trying to protect my daughter."
"By destroying everyone's lives?"
Tears filled Sarah's eyes.
"You let me believe Ethan abandoned us."
"I thought it was the safest choice."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
Seven years.
Seven years lost because one man thought he knew what was best.
Then Daniel spoke again.
"I didn't come here for money."
Nobody moved.
"I came because someone is trying to kill me."
The words hit the room like an explosion.
"What?" Sarah whispered.
Daniel slowly reached into his jacket.
I tensed.
He pulled out a photograph.
Then another.
Then another.
He spread them across the table.
I stared at the pictures.
Every one of them showed Lily.
At school.
At the playground.
Leaving dance class.
Taken from far away.
Taken secretly.
Sarah covered her mouth.
"Oh my God..."
Daniel looked at me.
"I've been receiving these photos for months."
I picked one up.
On the back was a handwritten message.
She belongs to us.
A chill went through me.
Another photograph had different words.
Bring the girl, or you're next.
The last picture had only one sentence.
We know where she lives.
Sarah began trembling.
"Who sent these?"
Daniel looked terrified for the first time.
"I don't know."
"Then why come now?"
He swallowed hard.
"Because three days ago... someone broke into my apartment."
Nobody spoke.
"They didn't take money."
"They didn't steal anything."
"They left one thing."
"What?" I asked.
He reached into his pocket.
Then he placed a small pink hair clip on the table.
Lily gasped.
"My butterfly clip!"
Sarah's face turned white.
"That disappeared last month..."
Daniel nodded.
"They left it on my bed."
A horrible silence filled the restaurant.
Someone had been inside Sarah's house.
Someone had taken something that belonged to Lily.
And now they were sending threats.
Lily looked confused.
"Mommy... why are you crying?"
Sarah pulled her daughter into her arms.
I looked at Daniel.
"Who would do this?"
He looked away.
"I think I know."
"Then tell us."
He hesitated.
Then slowly said:
"My brother."
The room froze.
"You have a brother?" Sarah asked.
He nodded.
"His name is Marcus."
I frowned.
"What does he want with Lily?"
Daniel's expression darkened.
"Because Marcus believes our family owes him something."
"What?"
Daniel looked directly at me.
"He believes Lily belongs to him."
I stared.
"That's insane."
"It gets worse."
He took a deep breath.
"Marcus runs a private organization."
"What kind of organization?"
Daniel's voice dropped to a whisper.
"The kind that doesn't ask permission before taking what it wants."
A shiver ran down my spine.
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
Again.
I opened the message.
There was no text.
Only a photo.
A recent photo.
Of this restaurant.
Taken from across the street.
But this time, there was something else.
Someone had circled Lily's face in red.
Under the picture were six chilling words:
You found her for us. Thanks.
I felt my blood turn to ice.
Then every light in the restaurant suddenly went out.
Darkness.
People screamed.
A plate shattered somewhere.
Lily cried out.
And from somewhere inside the darkness...
A man's voice echoed:
May you like
"Take the child."
To Be Continued…
