Chapter 16 - THE CHILD WITH THE BLUE RIBBON|
The caller did not speak immediately.
Lena heard breathing, a faint rustle, and what sounded like a child humming to herself.
“Who is this?” she asked.
A little voice answered.
“Are you the lady from the pictures?”
Lena’s knees weakened.
“Anna?”
“My name is Annie.”
“Annie, I’m Lena. I’m your aunt.”
The child went quiet.
“My mommy says you have brown eyes like my daddy.”
Lena covered her mouth.
“I do. Can you tell me where you are?”
“I’m not supposed to.”
“That’s okay. You don’t have to do anything you’re frightened of.”
A pause followed.
Then Annie whispered, “The man says we’re going on a trip. Mommy says we have to wait for the nice lady.”
Lena looked at Dominic, who had returned from the side corridor without Solin. He signaled for the investigator to trace the call.
“Annie, is your mommy with you?”
“Yes. She’s sleeping.”
“Can you see a window?”
“Yes.”
“What can you see outside?”
“Water. And a red light that goes around.”
Lena knew the description.
A lighthouse.
The old harbor district had one remaining working beacon, visible from a former maritime hotel now used as private storage.
She kept her voice gentle.
“That’s very helpful. Can you tell me what color your room is?”
“Blue.”
“And do you have your book?”
“Yes.”
“What book?”
“The one with the stars.”
Lena closed her eyes.
Her father had given her that same astronomy book when she was young. Adrian had told her the story about the stars being visible even when clouds covered them. Somehow, the book had passed from one generation to another.
“Keep it with you,” Lena said. “It will help you remember that people who love you are looking for you.”
The call ended.
The trace pointed toward the harbor hotel.
Dominic assembled a small team, but Lena insisted on entering first through the service corridor. They could not risk an armed confrontation with a child inside.
Adrian joined them.
“If Solin is there, he’ll expect us.”
“Then we don’t give him what he expects,” Lena said.
They approached the building shortly before midnight. A red beacon swept across the water beyond the windows. The service entrance was unlocked, and a narrow corridor led toward the upper rooms.
They found Sophie in a locked suite, pale and exhausted but alive. She had been drugged earlier and was only beginning to recover.
“Where’s Annie?” Lena asked.
Sophie pointed toward the adjoining room.
“She’s with a woman named Clara. Solin said he would take them away if I didn’t tell him where David hid the key.”
“Who is Clara?”
“His accountant. She’s the one who helped me keep Annie’s identity hidden.”
Lena opened the adjoining door.
A young woman stood beside the bed, holding a small child. Annie wore a blue ribbon in her hair and clutched the astronomy book against her chest.
For a moment, Lena could not move.
Then Annie looked at her.
“You’re the lady from the pictures.”
“Yes,” Lena whispered. “I am.”
The child studied her face.
“Do you know my daddy?”
“I know he loved you.”
Annie’s lower lip trembled.
“Mommy says he went away.”
Lena knelt, careful not to frighten her.
“He died before he could come home. But he left people who love you very much.”
Annie took one hesitant step forward.
“Can I call you Aunt Lena?”
Lena’s eyes filled.
“You can call me anything that makes you feel safe.”
The child moved into her arms.
For eight years, Lena had imagined the moment she would find the truth. She had prepared herself for anger, for horror, for the possibility that nothing could ever repair what had been taken.
She had not prepared for the weight of a little girl resting against her shoulder.
Then Dominic’s voice came through the earpiece.
“Lena, we have movement outside.”
A vehicle had stopped near the entrance.
The building’s security lights switched off one by one.
And from the hallway came a calm, familiar voice.
“Bring the child out, Lena.”
Marcus Solin had returned.
May you like
This time, he was not asking for the ledger.
He was asking for the last living witness to David Voss’s secret.
