Chapter 8: The Night Sophie Disappeared
For a few seconds, I forgot how to breathe.
The photo on my phone wasn’t just a threat.
It was a nightmare becoming real.
Sophie was sitting in the back seat of a car.
Her face was wet with tears.
Her stuffed rabbit was pressed against her chest.
And she was looking directly at the camera.
Looking scared.
Looking for me.
“Daddy.””
I could almost hear her voice through the picture.
My hands shook.
“Where is she?””
Everyone turned toward me.
Rachel immediately knew.
“What happened?””
I showed her the phone.
The second she saw the image, all color disappeared from her face.
“No.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Ethan—”
I looked at her.
And whatever she saw in my eyes made her stop.
Because I wasn’t confused anymore.
I wasn’t searching for answers.
I was a father.
And someone had taken my daughter.
“Who has her?””
Nobody answered.
I looked at Daniel.
“You said you knew something.””
He stared at the photo.
His expression changed.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
“You know who this is.””
Daniel didn’t deny it.
“Ethan.””
“No.””
I stepped toward him.
“You don’t get to say my name.””
I held up the phone.
“You know where my daughter is.””
Daniel looked at Rachel.
Then back at me.
“Not exactly.””
“Not exactly?””
My voice echoed through the street.
“Someone has my child.””
The police officers were walking toward us now.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“If you involve the police, they’ll move her.””
“Who?””
He hesitated.
That hesitation almost made me lose control.
“Who?””
Daniel finally said:
“Your father.””
The words hit me like a punch.
Again.
My father.
The man I had buried.
The man who had been hiding.
The man who had been pulling strings from the shadows.
I looked at Rachel.
“Is he alive?””
She nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
“And he has Sophie?””
“I don’t know.””
Daniel looked at the phone.
“But I know who took her.””
I grabbed his jacket.
“Then tell me.””
The police shouted from behind us.
“Sir, step away.””
I ignored them.
Daniel looked down at my hand.
Then back at me.
“He didn’t take Sophie because he wants her.””
“Then why?””
“Because he wants what she represents.””
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel’s eyes moved to Rachel.
“The truth.””
Rachel closed her eyes.
“He knows.””
I looked at her.
“Knows what?””
She didn’t answer.
I grabbed the envelope from my pocket.
The paternity test.
The letter.
All the pieces.
“What are you all hiding?””
Rachel whispered:
“Sophie isn’t just a child caught between us.””
My heart tightened.
“She’s evidence.””
The word made no sense.
“Evidence of what?””
Daniel answered.
“Of what your father did.””
The police officer reached us.
“Sir, what’s going on?””
I turned.
For a moment, I wanted to tell him everything.
I wanted to hand over the chaos.
The fake deaths.
The lies.
The kidnapping.
But then I looked at the photo again.
Sophie.
Alone.
Waiting.
And I remembered Daniel’s warning.
If they knew, they would move her.
“I need help finding my daughter.””
The officer’s expression changed.
“Your daughter?””
“She was taken.””
“By who?””
I looked at Rachel.
Then Vanessa.
Then Daniel.
And realized I still didn’t know.
Not completely.
“I don’t know.””
The officer pulled out his notebook.
“Where was she last seen?””
I opened my mouth.
Then stopped.
Because the answer was humiliating.
My sister’s house.
The place I thought was safe.
“I left her with family.””
“Name?””
“Emily Morgan.””
The officer nodded.
“We’ll need to contact her.””
My phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Where is my daughter?””
No greeting.
No introduction.
Just silence.
Then a voice.
My father.
“Ethan.””
I closed my eyes.
Hearing him again hurt more than I expected.
“Where is Sophie?””
“She’s safe.””
“Let me talk to her.””
A pause.
Then a small voice came through the phone.
“Daddy?””
My knees almost collapsed.
“Sophie?””
“Daddy, I’m scared.””
I covered my mouth.
“Baby, listen to me. I’m coming.””
“Vanessa said you wouldn’t believe me.””
My eyes moved toward Vanessa.
She looked away.
“Sophie, where are you?””
“I don’t know.””
“Look around.””
I heard movement.
Then my daughter whispered:
“There’s a picture.””
“What picture?””
“Mommy.””
My heart stopped.
“Rachel?””
“No.””
Sophie’s voice trembled.
“The other Mommy.””
The other Mommy.
I looked at Rachel.
She went pale.
My father spoke again.
“Ethan, we need to talk.””
“You kidnapped my daughter.””
“No.””
“You have her.””
“I protected her.””
I laughed bitterly.
“From what?””
“From the people who want to use her.””
I looked around at everyone.
“Like you?””
Silence.
Then my father said:
“You don’t understand what Sophie is.””
“She’s a little girl.””
“No.””
His voice became colder.
“She is the only person who can prove what happened.””
My stomach tightened.
“What happened?””
“You need to come alone.””
“Where?””
“I’ll send you the location.””
“No.””
My grip tightened on the phone.
“I’m not playing your games.””
My father sighed.
“You always were stubborn.””
The old phrase hurt.
Because it sounded like him.
Like the father I remembered.
The father who taught me to ride a bike.
The father who held my hand when I was afraid.
The same father who had lied to me for years.
“Please.””
The word surprised me.
“Ethan.””
His voice softened.
“Don’t make me choose between protecting you and protecting Sophie.””
The call ended.
Seconds later, a location appeared.
An abandoned warehouse outside town.
Rachel saw the address.
Her face changed.
“No.””
“What?””
She looked terrified.
“That place.””
“What about it?””
She whispered:
“That’s where Vanessa took me after my accident.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
Rachel nodded.
“She didn’t let me come home.””
The pieces started connecting.
Vanessa.
My father.
Daniel.
Rachel.
Sophie.
All connected.
The police officer stepped forward.
“You’re not going there alone.””
I looked at him.
“I have to.””
“No.””
“I do.””
Rachel grabbed my arm.
“Ethan.””
I looked at her.
“If Sophie is there, I’m bringing her home.””
Rachel’s eyes filled with tears.
“I’m coming with you.””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“You don’t understand.””
“What?””
Her voice dropped.
“Your father didn’t call because he wants a conversation.””
“Then why?””
She looked toward the dark road.
“Because he knows the truth about the night I disappeared.””
A chill ran through me.
“What truth?””
Rachel whispered:
“The accident wasn’t an accident.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Daniel suddenly stepped forward.
“I knew it.””
I looked at him.
“Knew what?””
His face was pale.
“He didn’t hide Rachel.””
He looked at the location.
“He tried to kill her.””
My phone buzzed again.
A new message.
This time from my father.
Only one line.
*“Bring the paternity test. Leave Rachel behind.””*
I looked up.
And realized something.
May you like
My father wasn’t afraid of me finding Sophie.
He was afraid of Sophie finding out who he really was.
