Chapter 6: The One-Hour Ultimatum
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
The photograph remained open on my phone.
Elena.
My wife.
Alive.
Standing beside the woman I had almost married and the mother who had helped me bury an empty casket.
My fingers went numb.
“Mom,” I whispered.
“What have you done?””
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
“Darius, you have to understand. I never wanted things to go this far.””
“Where is my wife?””
She shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“Don't lie to me!””
My voice was so loud that Marcus stepped between us.
“Darius, breathe. We need to think.””
I turned toward him.
“My wife is alive, and these people have been hiding her for three years. How exactly am I supposed to think?””
Evelyn took my phone and examined the photograph.
“Look at the background.””
I leaned closer.
Behind Elena was a narrow window with metal bars. A white wall. A small digital clock.
Evelyn enlarged the image.
“There's a reflection in the glass.””
I looked.
A sign was barely visible.
It appeared to read:
*HARBOR VIEW RESIDENTIAL CARE.*
Marcus immediately searched the name on his phone.
“There's a facility with that name outside Baltimore.””
I grabbed my keys.
“Let's go.””
Evelyn caught my arm.
“Not yet. The message says they want the recorder. We don't know how many people are involved.””
“I don't care.””
“You should. If they're willing to hold your wife against her will, they may be willing to hurt her.””
That stopped me.
I looked at the photograph again.
Elena's face was thinner. Her eyes looked exhausted.
But she was unmistakably alive.
“Then what do we do?””
Evelyn took a breath.
“We give them what they asked for.””
Marcus frowned.
“Absolutely not.””
“Not the original,” Evelyn clarified.
“We'll make a copy. We'll preserve the original evidence and take precautions.””
I shook my head.
“There's no time.””
Evelyn checked the message timestamp.
“Fifty-two minutes.””
She looked at Marcus.
“Can you contact the police?””
“Already doing it.””
My mother suddenly stood.
“Please don't.””
We all turned toward her.
She stepped forward, reaching for my arm.
“Darius, if the police get involved, they'll kill her.””
I pulled away.
“You've had three years to tell me the truth.””
“I was afraid!””
“So was Elena!””
Margaret began crying.
“Simone told me Elena had become dangerous. She said she was trying to protect the family.””
“What family?””
She looked at me.
“Yours.””
I laughed bitterly.
“You destroyed mine.””
Marcus returned from the hallway.
“Police are on their way. I've given them the location and the photograph.””
Margaret's face changed.
“You shouldn't have done that.””
Evelyn noticed.
“Why?””
My mother hesitated.
Then she whispered:
“Because Harbor View isn't a care facility.””
“What is it?””
She lowered her eyes.
“It's a private residence owned by Daniel Price.””
The room went silent.
Evelyn immediately called the police back and updated them.
I stepped toward my mother.
“How do you know that?””
She wiped her cheeks.
“Because I signed the agreement.””
I felt something inside me collapse.
“What agreement?””
Margaret reached into her handbag and removed a folded document.
She placed it on the table.
It was a guardianship authorization.
Elena's name appeared at the top.
My name appeared below it.
And at the bottom was my mother's signature.
I read the document twice.
It stated that Elena had voluntarily agreed to temporary residential care and had authorized Margaret to make medical decisions on her behalf.
But there was something else.
The document was dated October 20.
Three days after Elena's supposed death.
And Elena's signature looked nothing like the handwriting in her letters.
Evelyn examined it.
“This is forged.””
Margaret nodded.
“Simone gave it to me. She said it was necessary.””
“Necessary for what?”” I demanded.
“To keep Elena somewhere safe until she recovered.””
I stared at her.
“Did you ever visit her?””
Margaret nodded.
“Twice.””
“And you never told me?””
“She begged me not to. Simone said you had already moved on.””
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I asked the only question that mattered.
“Did Elena ask to come home?””
My mother covered her mouth.
“Every time.””
I looked away.
For three years, Elena had been asking to come home.
And I had been buying flowers for her grave.
My phone vibrated.
Another message.
*Forty minutes. Bring the recorder. Come alone.*
Then a second message appeared.
It was a video.
I pressed play.
Elena sat on a narrow bed, her hands folded in her lap.
She looked directly into the camera.
“Darius, if you're watching this, please don't do anything foolish.””
Her voice cracked.
“I know you must be angry. I know you have questions. But I need you to understand something.””
She glanced toward the door.
“Simone didn't just take me away. She made sure everyone believed I was dead.””
The door opened.
Simone stepped into the frame.
She was no longer wearing the white wedding dress.
She wore a black blouse and held a folder.
“Enough, Elena.””
Elena turned away.
Simone looked into the camera.
“Darius, you have always been an emotional man. That's why this situation happened. You believed whatever story made you feel better.””
I felt sick.
Simone continued.
“Bring the recorder. Then we can discuss returning your wife to you.””
The video ended.
Marcus stared at the screen.
“She wants the original recording.””
Evelyn nodded.
“Which means it contains something she doesn't want anyone hearing.””
I looked at the little black device.
Elena had known this day might come.
She had left it for me.
And now Simone was willing to exchange my wife for it.
I turned toward Evelyn.
“Can we make a copy?””
“Yes. But we need to preserve the original and have the police handle the exchange.””
My mother suddenly spoke.
“There's something else.””
I looked at her.
“What now?””
“Simone isn't interested in the recording because of what Elena says about her.””
Evelyn frowned.
“Then why?””
Margaret looked at the device.
“Because Elena recorded someone else.””
“Who?””
My mother swallowed.
“Daniel.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“What did Daniel do?””
Margaret shook her head.
“I don't know exactly. But Simone told me that if the recording ever reached the police, Daniel would go to prison.””
Evelyn exchanged a look with Marcus.
Then she opened the recording on her laptop.
They began listening again.
Elena's voice.
The warning.
The mention of the blue box.
Then, after the message we had already heard, there was a faint sound.
A second voice.
A man's voice.
We turned up the volume.
At first, it was difficult to understand.
Then Marcus froze.
“Wait.””
He replayed it.
The man's voice was clearer this time.
“If Elena survives, neither of us gets the money.””
A second voice responded.
Simone.
“Then she doesn't survive.””
I felt my stomach turn.
The recording continued.
Daniel laughed.
“Your brother is going to have questions.””
Simone replied:
“He won't. By then, he'll be too busy planning a funeral.””
Nobody spoke.
I stared at the screen.
Then another sound came through.
A chair scraping.
A door opening.
And a final sentence from Daniel.
“Just make sure the little girl never talks.””
Ava.
They had been threatening my daughter.
All along.
Evelyn immediately saved the audio and sent a copy to the investigating officers.
Marcus checked his phone.
“Police are ready.””
I looked at the clock.
Twenty-three minutes remained.
I picked up the recorder.
“Let's go get my wife.””
My mother stepped forward.
“Darius, please.””
I stopped.
She reached into her handbag again.
This time, she pulled out a small photograph.
It showed Elena holding a newborn baby.
But it wasn't Ava.
The date on the photograph was three months before Elena's accident.
I looked at my mother.
“What is this?””
Her face crumpled.
“It's the reason Simone wanted Elena gone.””
I turned the photograph over.
There was a handwritten name.
*LILY.*
And underneath it:
Daniel's daughter. Elena knows the truth.
I stared at my mother.
“What truth?””
She whispered:
“Darius, Ava isn't the only child whose life Simone tried to control.””
Then my phone rang.
The caller ID showed an unknown number.
I answered.
Simone's voice came through.
“Your time is almost up, Darius.””
I looked at the photograph.
May you like
Then I heard her say:
“And if you bring the police, you'll never find out what happened to Lily.””
