Chapter 5: The Missing Hour
“She's not with your daughter.””
Emily's name seemed to echo inside my skull.
I gripped the edge of the table so hard my fingers hurt.
“Who was that?”” Daniel asked.
I looked at him.
“She said Emily has Hailey.””
Megan covered her mouth.
Daniel stood immediately.
“We're leaving.””
“No.””
My voice came out sharper than I expected.
“I need to call home.””
“Claire—”
“I need to know where my daughter is.””
I dialed the house.
One ring.
Two.
Three.
Then voicemail.
I called again.
Nothing.
I tried Emily.
Straight to voicemail.
My hands were shaking so badly that I nearly dropped the phone.
Daniel took out his own.
“I'll have someone check the property.””
“No police?””
“Not yet.””
I stared at him.
“My baby is missing.””
“And that's exactly why we don't want to alert whoever is responsible until we know where she is.””
“Whoever?””
He nodded.
“This may involve more than your husband.””
Megan suddenly stood.
“I'll go with you.””
I looked at her.
“No.””
“Claire—”
“You lied to me.””
“I did.””
“You slept with my husband.””
“Yes.””
“You knew about the policy.””
“Yes.””
“And now I'm supposed to trust you?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“No. But I know Liam.””
I turned away.
She caught my sleeve.
“Please.””
I looked down at her hand.
She let go.
“I know the way he thinks,” she whispered.
“And if I'm right about what he's doing, you're making a terrible mistake going home alone.””
I wanted to hate her.
Part of me did.
But another part—the part that had spent the last week trying to understand Liam—needed someone who knew the man behind the smile.
Daniel checked his phone.
“My investigator is on the way.””
“How long?””
“Ten minutes.””
“That's too long.””
“It isn't.””
I stood.
“I don't care.””
I walked toward the door.
Daniel stepped in front of me.
“Claire, listen to me. You have a three-month-old daughter. You are frightened.
Your husband may be watching your movements. Walking into your house without knowing what you're walking into could make this worse.””
I looked past him.
“I can't sit here.””
Megan said quietly, “Then let's find another way.””
I turned to her.
“What way?””
She pulled out her phone.
“Liam has a second car.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“A silver sedan. He keeps it at the office parking garage.””
“How do you know?””
“Because I've ridden in it.””
She swallowed.
“He told me it was for work.””
I stared at her.
“Where is it now?””
“Usually on level three.””
Daniel's expression changed.
“That's useful.””
I shook my head.
“No. We don't know where he is.””
Megan looked at me.
“Yes, we do.””
She opened her phone and showed me a photograph.
Liam and Megan.
Standing outside a restaurant.
In the background was the silver sedan.
Beneath the picture was a location tag.
I recognized the street.
My breath caught.
It was five minutes from my house.
“Why were you there?””
Megan looked away.
“That was taken yesterday.””
“Yesterday?””
“Yes.””
“At what time?””
“Almost midnight.””
I stared at her.
“Liam told me he was working.””
“He was with you?””
“No.””
“Then who was he meeting?””
Megan hesitated.
“I don't know.””
I took a step back.
A thought had already formed.
“Emily.””
Megan didn't answer.
Daniel did.
“We need to move.””
Outside, the wind cut through my coat as we hurried toward Daniel's car.
I sat in the back.
Megan sat beside me.
Daniel drove.
I called my neighbor, Mrs. Callahan.
She answered immediately.
“Claire?””
“Have you seen anyone at my house?””
“No. Why?””
“Is my front door locked?””
“I'm not sure.””
“Please check from outside. Don't go in.””
There was a pause.
Then Mrs. Callahan whispered, “Claire…”
“What?””
“There are police cars two streets over.””
My heart jumped.
“Why?””
“I don't know.””
“Don't go near my house.””
“I won't.””
I ended the call.
Daniel looked at me through the rearview mirror.
“Do you have any security cameras?””
“Yes.””
“Can you access them from your phone?””
“I think so.””
My hands moved quickly.
The app opened.
Front porch.
Backyard.
Nursery hallway.
Kitchen.
Garage.
All normal.
Then I noticed something.
The nursery camera showed a black screen.
“What happened?””
“What?”” Daniel asked.
“The nursery feed is gone.””
“Since when?””
I checked.
Forty-seven minutes ago.
My stomach turned.
“That's when I got to the hotel.””
Daniel pressed the accelerator.
“Could someone have disabled it?””
“Yes.””
“Can Liam access the system?””
“Yes.””
“Emily?””
“I don't know.””
Megan leaned forward.
“I've seen the system.””
I looked at her.
“How?””
“Liam showed it to me.””
The silence that followed felt enormous.
“You've been inside my house?””
“Once.””
“When?””
She looked ashamed.
“Three weeks ago.””
My chest tightened.
“While I was there?””
“No.””
“Then when?””
She didn't answer immediately.
Finally she said, “The day you took Hailey to your pediatrician.””
My blood ran cold.
“What were you doing in my house?””
“I wasn't alone.””
I stared at her.
“Who was with you?””
Before she could answer, Daniel's phone rang.
He answered.
“Reeves.””
His expression hardened.
“Say that again.””
He listened.
Then looked at me.
“They found your nanny's car.””
My heart lurched.
“Where?””
“Behind the community park.””
I leaned forward.
“Is Emily inside?””
“No.””
“Hailey?””
“No.””
For a second, I couldn't understand what he was saying.
“No?””
“She isn't there.””
“Then where is my daughter?””
“We don't know yet.””
I felt my whole body go weak.
Daniel ended the call.
Megan suddenly whispered, “The park.””
I turned.
“What?””
“There's an old storage facility beside it.””
“So?””
“Liam used to rent a unit there.””
My heart began pounding again.
“Used to?””
“Yes.””
“Which unit?””
“I don't know.””
Daniel looked at her.
“You're sure?””
“Yes.””
“What did he keep there?””
“Files.””
“Anything else?””
Megan shook her head.
“I never went inside.””
I stared out the window.
The road blurred past.
“Then let's go there.””
Daniel didn't argue.
Five minutes later, we pulled into a row of old storage units.
The place looked abandoned.
Rusty gates.
Broken lights.
A chain-link fence.
Daniel parked.
“Stay in the car.””
“No.””
“Claire—”
“My daughter could be here.””
He looked at me.
Then sighed.
“Stay behind me.””
We entered.
Megan followed.
Unit numbers passed in crooked rows.
112.
113.
114.
Megan stopped.
“That's it.””
Unit 117.
The lock was gone.
The door was slightly open.
Daniel raised a hand.
Nobody moved.
Then we heard something.
A faint sound from inside.
Crying.
My heart stopped.
“Hailey.””
I pushed forward.
Daniel caught my arm.
“Wait.””
The crying came again.
Louder.
A baby's cry.
I knew that sound.
I had memorized it.
“That's my daughter.””
Daniel slowly pushed the door open.
The unit was almost empty.
A folding chair.
Several cardboard boxes.
A small portable crib.
And inside it—
Hailey.
Alive.
Crying.
I broke past Daniel.
“Oh my God.””
I scooped her into my arms.
She grabbed my coat.
Her tiny face was wet with tears.
“Mommy's here.””
I kissed her forehead again and again.
“Mommy's here.””
Daniel checked the crib.
“No injuries.””
I held her tighter.
Then I noticed the blanket around her.
It wasn't ours.
There was a note pinned to it.
My name was written across the front.
*CLAIRE.*
My hands froze.
I pulled it free.
Inside was a single sentence.
*You were supposed to hear the call.*
I looked at Megan.
She went pale.
“What does that mean?””
I unfolded the rest of the paper.
There was one more line.
*The woman you think is protecting you is the reason this started.*
I turned slowly toward Megan.
She took one step backward.
“Claire…”
Daniel reached for the note.
I didn't give it to him.
“Is this about you?””
“No.””
“Then why does it say—”
The storage facility lights suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Hailey screamed.
Megan gasped.
Daniel reached for his weapon.
Then a man's voice came from somewhere outside the unit.
“You really should have stayed home, Claire.””
I knew that voice.
May you like
Liam.
And then the metal storage door began sliding shut.
