Chapter 6 - The Girl Behind The Steel Door.
Emma's fingers stopped an inch from the steel handle.
The voice behind the door had sounded like hers, only softer and rougher around the edges.
Thomas lifted one finger to his lips.
Dr. Mercer stood behind them in the narrow corridor, listening for footsteps from the stairwell.
"Emma?" the voice whispered again.
Emma's heart hurt in a place she had never known could hurt.
"Emily?"
There was a sharp intake of breath from the other side.
Then came the sound of a lock turning.
The steel door opened three inches.
A pale face appeared in the gap.
Emma stared at her own eyes.
The girl had shorter hair, a fading bruise near her temple, and the thin scar through her right eyebrow from the photograph.
For several seconds, neither child spoke.
Emily opened the door wider.
"You have his rabbit."
Emma looked down at the grey bunny.
"Papa gave it to me."
Emily's expression collapsed.
"He gave me one too."
She turned and pointed toward a narrow cot in the room.
A second stuffed rabbit lay there, almost identical except for a missing button eye.
Emma felt as if the floor had shifted beneath her.
Thomas stepped inside first and checked the corners.
The room was not a prison cell.
It was worse in a quieter way.
There was a bed, a small refrigerator, stacks of books, a television, and no window.
Someone had tried to make captivity look like a bedroom.
Dr. Mercer stared at the medical supplies arranged on a metal cart.
"Who has been treating you?"
Emily backed away from him.
"Dr. Vale."
Thomas froze.
"Marcus Vale?"
Emily nodded.
Emma looked at Thomas.
"Who is that?"
Thomas's jaw tightened.
"The obstetrician who signed your mother's delivery records."
Dr. Mercer went pale.
"He died seven years ago."
Emily shook her head.
"No."
She pointed to the ceiling.
"He comes every Thursday."
Emma did not know which part frightened her most.
A supposedly dead doctor.
A hidden child.
Or the fact that today was Thursday.
Emily moved closer to Emma and studied her face with open disbelief.
"Vanessa said you hated me."
Emma's anger returned so fast it made her dizzy.
"I didn't know you existed."
Emily looked toward the floor.
"She said Grandpa chose you."
"Grandpa was looking for you."
Emily's head snapped up.
Emma told her about the micro SD card, the recordings, and Arthur's investigation.
With every sentence, Emily's face changed.
Not toward hope.
Toward fury.
"She lied about everything."
A buzzer sounded somewhere down the hall.
Emily became terrified instantly.
"That's him."
Thomas killed the room lights.
Dr. Mercer pulled Emma and Emily behind a tall storage cabinet.
Footsteps approached the steel door.
Slow.
Unhurried.
A key entered the lock.
The door opened.
A man in a white physician's coat stepped into the darkness carrying a black medical case.
He turned on a small lamp.
Emma recognized him before Thomas whispered his name.
Dr. Marcus Vale looked exactly like the man standing beside Vanessa in one of Daniel's hidden photographs.
Vale saw the empty cot.
His face hardened.
"Emily?"
No one answered.
He set down the medical case and reached inside his coat.
Thomas moved first.
He slammed Vale against the wall.
The black case hit the floor and burst open.
Several vials rolled beneath the cot.
Dr. Mercer grabbed one.
His eyes widened as he read the label.
"This isn't treatment."
Emily stared at him.
"What is it?"
Dr. Mercer looked at the two girls.
"Something designed to keep a patient confused, weak, and easy to control."
Vale laughed from beneath Thomas's arm.
"You still don't understand."
Thomas pressed him harder against the wall.
"Understand what?"
May you like
Vale smiled toward Emma.
"There were never only two babies."
