Chapter 7 - HER DEMAND
I didn't have to wait long.
Less than twenty minutes after the police arrived, my phone rang.
An unknown number.
My heart hammered as I answered it. I didn't say hello. I couldn't.
"Adrian."
Her voice. Soft. Calm. Completely in control.
"Where is she?" I demanded, my voice raw. "Elena, where is my daughter?"
There was a pause on the other end. Then a small, cold laugh.
"Elena?" she said. "So you finally found out. Claire told you, didn't she? That little letter she left behind. She always did know too much."
"Don't you dare speak her name," I said, gripping the phone so hard my fingers ached. "Give me back my daughter. Do whatever you want to me. But let Mia go."
"Mia is fine," Elena said. "She's sleeping right now. She cried for a while, but I told her if she was good... you would come and get her. And she believed me. She trusts me, Adrian. Even after everything."
The words tore at me. "If you hurt her—"
"Hush," Elena said. "I haven't hurt her. Not yet. But I will... if you don't do exactly what I tell you."
"What do you want?" I asked, defeated.
"I want you," she said simply. "Just you. Come alone. Come unarmed. And come quickly. If you bring the police... if you tell anyone where you are going... you will never see Mia again."
She gave me an address. A cabin deep in the woods, miles from the nearest town. A place I had never heard of.
"I will be there," I said. "Don't touch her. Please. Just wait for me."
"I'll be waiting," Elena said softly. "And Adrian? Come quickly. Because I'm not very patient anymore."
The call ended.
I stood there holding the phone. The officer approached me.
"Mr. Sterling? Who was that? Did she say where she is?"
I looked at him. At my mother, standing nearby, watching me with terrified eyes.
"She wants me to come alone," I said. "If I bring the police... she says she will hurt Mia."
The officer frowned. "That is dangerous, sir. She is unstable. We can follow you at a distance. We can have teams waiting nearby. You won't be alone."
I thought about it. I thought about Elena. About what Claire had written in that letter. About how careful she was, how she planned everything. If she saw police... she might panic. And if she panicked... Mia was the one who would pay.
"No," I said. "I go in alone. Once I am inside, and I know Mia is safe... I will signal you. Then you come in. But not before."
The officer tried to argue. But I was firm. Mia's life was more important than following procedure. I would do whatever it took to get her back safely. Even walk into Elena's trap alone.
I told them the address. I told them to stay out of sight. I told them to wait for my signal.
I drove toward the cabin alone. The sun was already dipping below the horizon. The road grew narrower, darker, winding deep into the trees. Every mile took me further from safety, closer to the woman who had destroyed my life.
As I drove, I thought about everything. About how Elena had planned this for years. How she had changed her name, her face, her entire life just to get close to me. How she had smiled at me, held my hand, kissed me... all while hating Mia, hating Claire, pretending to be someone she wasn't.
She wasn't just unstable. She was brilliant. Patient. Completely ruthless. And she believed with all her heart that she and I belonged together. That Mia was the only thing standing in our way.
I pulled up to the cabin just as darkness fell.
It was a small, isolated building, surrounded by trees. Light glowed from a single window. No other houses. No neighbors. Nowhere to run.
I turned off the engine. I got out of the car. My heart was pounding. I walked to the door and knocked.
It opened.
Elena stood there. She looked different again. Her hair was pulled back tightly. She wore dark clothes. In her hand, she held a small handgun.
She smiled when she saw me. A genuine, happy smile.
"You came," she said. "I knew you would. For Mia."
"Where is she?" I asked, stepping forward.
Elena raised the gun slightly, stopping me.
"Inside," she said. "Safe. Come in, Adrian. Close the door. We have so much to talk about."
I stepped inside. The door clicked shut behind me. Locked.
The cabin was small. One main room. A small kitchen area. A hallway leading to what I assumed were bedrooms.
"Mia!" I called out.
"Shh," Elena said. She reached out and touched my face. I flinched away from her hand. Her smile faded.
"She is asleep," Elena said, her voice turning cold. "She is tired. And she is confused. She keeps asking for her daddy. And her mommy. Claire." She practically spat the name.
"Elena," I said, keeping my voice steady. "Let Mia go. You have me now. I'm here. Do whatever you want with me. But let her walk out that door. She's just a child."
Elena stared at me. Her eyes filled with tears. Tears of anger, not sadness.
"Why?" she whispered. "Why is it always her? Claire is dead! She is gone! And yet she still stands between us! Mia looks like her! You talk about her constantly! You keep her memory alive everywhere I turn! I changed everything about myself for you! I became exactly what you wanted! And you still look right through me... and see her!"
"That is not your fault," I said. "But you cannot force someone to love you. You cannot replace someone who is gone. And you certainly cannot hurt a child to make a point."
Elena shook her head. She lifted the gun, pointing it toward the hallway.
"Mia is the problem," Elena said. "As long as she is alive... you will never be mine. She reminds you too much of Claire. But if she wasn't here... then it would just be us. You and me. We could start over. Somewhere new. No memories. No ghosts."
Horror turned my blood cold.
"What are you saying?" I whispered.
Elena stepped closer. The gun was inches from my chest.
"I'm saying," she said softly, "that tonight... the past dies. And tomorrow... we begin our new life. Together. Just the three of us. A perfect family."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bottle and a syringe.
"Now," she said. "You have a choice, Adrian. You can be good. And hold her still while I give her something to help her sleep... forever. Or you can be difficult. And I will use this gun instead. Either way... Claire's little shadow leaves us tonight."
I stared at her. At the madness in her eyes. At the syringe in her hand.
She meant it. She was going to kill Mia. To erase the last piece of Claire she could find.
My mind raced. I had to keep her talking. I had to buy time. The police were on their way. They would be here soon.
"You really believe that?" I asked, my voice trembling. "That killing Mia will make me love you?"
Elena's expression softened, twisted and insane.
"No," she whispered. "But it will make me the only one you have left. And eventually... you will have no choice but to love me."
She stepped toward the hallway.
"Wait!" I shouted.
May you like
Elena stopped. She looked back at me.
"Make your choice, Adrian," she said. "Now."
