Chapter 5: The Countdown
Detective Harris was gone before Daniel could explain what happened.
He ran into the hallway.
I followed as far as the IV line allowed.
“Detective!””
Harris turned.
“Noah's phone went dead.””
“When?””
“Just now.””
Harris's expression hardened.
“Did he say where he was?””
“No.””
“Give me the number.””
Daniel did.
Harris immediately called it.
Straight to voicemail.
He turned to another officer.
“Send a unit to his house.””
Then he looked at Daniel.
“And one to the Bennett residence.””
I gripped the bedrail.
“What about my parents?””
“We'll find them.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“Not just find them.””
Harris waited.
“Stop them.””
He looked at me.
“From doing what?””
I looked down at my stomach.
“Whatever they've been trying to do for the last three weeks.””
The room fell quiet.
Dr. Patel entered with another nurse.
“Sarah, we need to talk about the pregnancy.””
I knew immediately that something was wrong.
“What?””
“The baby's heart rate is fluctuating.””
Daniel stepped toward me.
“What does that mean?””
“It means we need to monitor her continuously.””
“Is she in immediate danger?””
Dr. Patel hesitated.
“She could become unstable very quickly.””
My eyes burned.
“How long?””
“We don't know.””
“How long until twenty-five weeks?””
“About two days.””
Two days.
Forty-eight hours.
That was all.
Dr. Patel continued.
“If we can keep the pregnancy stable until then, the legal implications of the trust may be significant.””
I looked at her.
“You know about the trust?””
She shook her head.
“Detective Harris told me enough to understand why you're under so much stress.””
I nodded.
Daniel squeezed my hand.
Then my phone rang.
It was my mother.
I stared at the screen.
Mom.
The woman who had raised me.
The woman who had brought me tea.
The woman who had taken the trust documents.
The woman whose face was now on hospital security footage carrying a bottle.
I answered.
“Hello?””
Her voice was soft.
Too soft.
“Sarah.””
“Where are you?””
“I just want to talk.””
“Where are you?””
“Please don't make this uglier than it needs to be.””
My blood ran cold.
“What did you do?””
She sighed.
“You were never supposed to find those papers.””
Daniel moved closer.
I put the call on speaker.
“What papers?””
“You know.””
“The trust?””
“Yes.””
“Why were you hiding it?””
“Because your grandfather was cruel.””
“What does that mean?””
“He wanted to punish this family.””
I stared at the wall.
“How?””
“He knew your father would lose everything if the trust became permanent.””
Daniel's face hardened.
“Everything?””
My mother ignored him.
“Sarah, your father made mistakes.””
“What kind?””
Silence.
Then:
“Financial ones.””
I laughed bitterly.
“So you were trying to stop Lily from inheriting?””
“I'm trying to save our family.””
“You tried to kill my baby.””
“No!””
Her voice cracked.
For the first time, she sounded genuinely emotional.
“We never wanted her dead.””
I froze.
Daniel's eyes widened.
“Never?””
Mom realized what she'd said.
The silence afterward was enormous.
I whispered, “Who is ‘we’?””
“Sarah…”
“Who?””
She hung up.
Daniel immediately dialed back.
Blocked.
Detective Harris stared at me.
“You need to tell me everything she said.””
I did.
Every word.
He listened without interrupting.
When I finished, he said, “We're treating this as a potential attempted poisoning case.””
My stomach tightened.
“Potential?””
“We need laboratory confirmation.””
“And my sister?””
“We're looking for her.””
My phone buzzed.
A text.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
There was a photograph.
No words.
Just a picture of Noah.
He was sitting in a chair.
His wrists were tied.
A strip of tape covered his mouth.
Behind him was a white wall.
And on the wall was something I recognized.
My grandfather's old clock.
The one my father had kept locked in his study for years.
My hands began shaking.
Daniel saw the photo.
“Where is that?””
I knew immediately.
“My parents' house.””
Detective Harris took the phone.
“Can you identify the room?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
“The clock.””
Harris looked at the photograph.
“Can you tell where in the house?””
“My father's study.””
He turned to the officers.
“Go.””
The officers rushed out.
I stared at the photograph.
Noah's eyes were wide with terror.
Then another message arrived.
This one was text.
*You have 36 hours.*
I couldn't breathe.
Daniel took the phone from my hand.
“What does it mean?””
Another message appeared.
*At twenty-five weeks, the trust becomes permanent.*
Then another.
*Make sure the baby doesn't make it that far.*
Daniel's face turned white.
Detective Harris looked at the screen.
“That's a direct threat.””
My heart hammered.
I placed both hands over Lily.
“She has thirty-six hours.””
Daniel knelt beside the bed.
“No.””
“What?””
“We have thirty-six hours to protect her.””
I looked into his eyes.
For the first time since the attack, I saw something stronger than fear.
Determination.
“We're going to get you somewhere secure,” he said.
“I can't leave the hospital.””
“You don't have to.””
He kissed my forehead.
“We bring security to you.””
The monitor suddenly changed.
A rapid alarm sounded.
Dr. Patel rushed toward the machine.
“What happened?””
The nurse stared at the screen.
“Heart rate dropped.””
My blood turned cold.
“What?””
Dr. Patel moved the ultrasound probe.
“Stay calm.””
“I can't.””
“Sarah, breathe.””
Daniel grabbed my hand.
“Come on, Lily.””
The heartbeat slowed.
Then slowed again.
The room filled with doctors.
Someone called for another specialist.
The monitor screamed.
And then—
A tiny, rapid rhythm appeared again.
Dr. Patel exhaled.
“There.””
I sobbed.
“She’s okay?””
“For now.””
The door burst open.
Detective Harris stood there.
His face was grim.
“Mrs. Bennett.””
“What?””
“We found your cousin.””
My heart stopped.
“Is he alive?””
“Yes.””
Relief crashed through me.
“Where?””
Harris looked at Daniel.
“In your father's study.””
“Is he hurt?””
“He's shaken.””
“What about my parents?””
“They're gone.””
I stared at him.
“Gone?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
“We don't know.””
Harris held up a clear evidence bag.
Inside was a small plastic bottle.
The same type I had seen in the hospital footage.
“There's something else,” he said.
“What?””
“We found fingerprints on the bottle.””
“Whose?””
Harris looked directly at me.
“Your sister's.””
I closed my eyes.
Emily.
But then Harris added:
“And they're not the only fingerprints.””
He turned the evidence bag slightly.
A second set was visible on the bottle.
“Your mother wasn't holding that bottle yesterday.””
Daniel frowned.
“Then who was?””
Harris didn't answer immediately.
He looked at the photograph of Noah.
Then at me.
“Your grandfather died eleven years ago.””
“Yes.””
“Are you absolutely certain?””
I stared at him.
“What kind of question is that?””
Harris's expression was unreadable.
“Because the second fingerprint match belongs to a man who officially died eleven years ago.””
My blood ran cold.
“Who?””
Harris opened the evidence report.
May you like
Then he said my grandfather's name.
And suddenly, the entire story my family had told me about his death began to fall apart.
