Chapter 9 - The Empty Building Burns.
Daniel woke to smoke.
His cheek was pressed against concrete.
Something warm and sticky ran from the back of his head into his collar.
For several seconds he could not remember where he was.
Then he heard Lily coughing.
"Daniel!"
He pushed himself up.
The laundry room was dark except for orange light pulsing beneath the hallway door.
Fire.
Noah was trying to pull Ruby away from a fallen shelf.
Priya lay beside the opposite wall, moving weakly.
Curtis was gone.
Daniel still had the white container under one arm.
The absurdity of that almost made him laugh.
Instead he crawled to Priya.
"Can you stand?"
"I hate this building."
"That's not an answer."
"Yes."
Smoke rolled through the ceiling cracks.
Daniel helped Priya up and moved toward the children.
The hallway door handle was hot.
He did not open it.
"Window."
Noah pointed toward a boarded opening behind the pallets.
Daniel grabbed the metal leg of a broken chair and hammered at the boards.
The first board splintered.
The second refused to move.
Priya kicked it until one nail tore free.
Outside, rain was falling again.
They were three floors above the alley.
A narrow metal fire escape clung to the brick wall.
It looked old enough to collapse under a cat.
"Kids first."
Daniel lifted Ruby through the opening.
Priya climbed out and took her.
Noah followed.
Lily refused to move.
"My mom's phone."
"Leave it."
"No."
"Lily, now."
She ran back toward the blanket.
Daniel caught her around the waist.
She kicked and screamed.
"Mom will call!"
"We can replace a phone."
"She won't know the number!"
Daniel carried her to the window.
The ceiling behind them cracked loudly.
He handed Lily to Priya.
Then he climbed onto the fire escape with the white container still wedged under his arm.
Halfway down, a window above them shattered outward.
Flames rolled into the rain.
Lily looked up and made a sound Daniel would never forget.
Not a scream.
A small broken gasp.
"Our stuff."
Daniel looked at the burning room.
The blankets, groceries, sailboat photograph, old phone, and everything the children had hidden were disappearing behind orange light.
"I'm sorry."
Lily clutched the rail.
"Mom won't know where we are."
Sirens approached from several blocks away.
Daniel felt sudden suspicion.
"Who called the fire department?"
Priya looked at him.
"Not me."
They reached the alley.
Two police cruisers arrived before the first fire engine.
An officer took one look at the children and Daniel's bleeding head.
"Everybody stay where you are."
Daniel raised both hands.
"There may be a man inside."
"Step away from the children."
"What?"
"Sir, step away."
Priya moved forward.
"He's their relative."
Lily shouted over her.
"No, he's not!"
Daniel looked at her.
She froze.
The officer immediately positioned himself between Daniel and the children.
"Sir, back up."
Daniel obeyed.
Lily's face changed as she realized what she had done.
"I mean-"
"It's okay."
Daniel said it quietly.
"Don't talk right now."
A woman in a city emergency-services jacket arrived with the police.
She introduced herself as Denise Carver from child protective services.
Daniel felt the night tilt again.
"How did CPS get here this quickly?"
Denise looked at him coolly.
"We received a report of three unsupervised minors in a condemned structure."
"When?"
"About forty minutes ago."
Before the fire.
Priya heard it too.
Someone had arranged for authorities to arrive after Daniel was already inside.
Someone wanted him found with the children.
"Who made the report?"
Denise did not answer.
She crouched beside Lily.
"Sweetheart, we're going to take you somewhere safe tonight."
Lily backed away.
"No."
"You'll have food and a warm bed."
"No."
"Your friends can come too."
"No!"
She ran to Daniel and grabbed his suit sleeve.
The officer moved instantly.
Daniel held up both hands.
"I'm not touching her."
Lily pressed herself against his side anyway.
"Don't make us go."
Daniel's throat closed.
"I won't let them separate you."
Denise stood.
"You don't get to make that decision."
"Then who does?"
"The state, until a legal guardian is located."
Daniel looked at Lily.
"Her mother is alive."
"Then her mother can contact us."
"She's missing because she uncovered fraud tied to my company."
The officer's expression changed.
Priya whispered Daniel's name in warning.
It was too late.
A reporter stood at the mouth of the alley beneath an umbrella.
A camera operator was behind her.
Daniel recognized the station logo.
Someone had called the press too.
The reporter raised her microphone.
"Mr. Mercer, is it true children were living in a condemned property owned by your company?"
Daniel closed his eyes for half a second.
Cameras flashed.
"Did Mercer Urban Holdings knowingly deny relocation payments?"
Another reporter appeared.
"Why were you inside the building with minors after midnight?"
Daniel looked toward Priya.
Her face said the same thing he was thinking.
This was not cleanup.
It was a trap.
Denise guided Noah and Ruby toward a waiting van.
Lily refused to release Daniel's sleeve.
"You promised."
Daniel looked down at her.
"I know."
"You said you wouldn't let them separate us."
"I'm trying."
"Trying is what adults say when they're losing."
Her words broke something inside him.
He took the white container from under his arm.
The lid was cracked from the fall, but it was still closed.
He handed it to Lily.
"Keep this with you."
"Why?"
"Because your mom wanted me to know something, and I think this is part of it."
Lily hugged the box.
Denise took her hand.
As Lily was led toward the van, she looked back at Daniel.
Behind her, the condemned building burned in the rain.
A reporter shouted one final question.
"Mr. Mercer, are you under investigation?"
Daniel did not answer.
His phone rang.
Julian Cross's name appeared on the screen.
Daniel answered.
Julian spoke calmly.
"The board has called an emergency meeting for eight tomorrow morning."
"Why?"
"Because every major news station in the city is showing your face beside a burning building full of homeless children."
May you like
Daniel stared at the van carrying Lily away.
"And because someone just sent the board proof that you stole the relocation money."
