Chapter 12 - The Shadow in the RainThe fire department arrived five minutes later, pumping thousands of gallons of water into the collapse.
I sat on the bumper of the paramedic truck, clutching Maya tightly to my chest. She was coughing slightly from smoke inhalation, but otherwise uninjured—saved completely by her father's body.
Mark stood beside me, his coat covered in soot, wrapping a warm shock blanket around my shoulders.
"He's gone, Lucy," Mark said quietly, tears cutting clean paths through the ash on his cheeks. "He didn't try to get out. He gave everything he had to save her."
I squeezed my eyes shut, burying my face in Maya’s soft baby hair, sobbing for the hero Alex had died becoming.
Suddenly, Chief Vance walked up to our rig, his face grim.
"Lucy... Mark," Vance said, his voice dropping low so the nearby news cameras couldn't hear. "The arson investigators found the ignition source in the nursery. It was a military-grade thermite grenade. This wasn't just arson. It was a targeted assassination attempt."
Mark stood up straight, his hands clenching into fists. "Valerie."
"We checked her last known address three miles away," Vance continued, pulling out his radio. "The house was abandoned an hour ago. But the police found something else in her basement."
"What?" I asked, my heart dropping into my stomach.
"A wall of photographs," Vance said grimly. "Hundreds of pictures of you, Lucy. Pictures of your sister's apartment, your ER shifts, Maya's daycare... and a detailed map of tonight's fire response routes."
"She scheduled the fire during the shift change," Mark realized, his eyes widening in pure horror. "She knew the nearest fire station would take ten minutes to respond because of the road detours!"
"She's not done," I whispered, realization striking me like a bolt of lightning. "She didn't just want to kill my baby... she wanted to destroy everything I love."
BRRRRRING! BRRRRRING!
Mark’s personal phone rang in his pocket.
He pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. It was an unknown, unlisted Chicago number.
Mark tapped the speakerphone button.
"Hello?" Mark answered.
May you like
A soft, musical laugh echoed through the speaker—cold, psychotic, and entirely unhinged.
"Hello, Rookie," Valerie’s voice cooed through the line. "Did you enjoy my fireworks display? It's such a pity Alex ruined the main event... but don't worry. I have plenty of fuel left for Sarah."
