Chapter 5 - The Mother Who Died Twice.
Saint Orison Wellness Institute stood two hours north of the estate behind iron gates and cheerful flower beds.
The Mercer Foundation had funded it for nearly twenty years.
Adrian had attended charity dinners for the clinic without ever walking beyond its lobby.
Now every polished brick looked like part of a prison.
Officer Keene waited in an unmarked car while Adrian entered alone.
Dr. Lyle Sutton greeted him beneath a painting of Eleanor.
"Your mother warned me grief might bring you here," Sutton said.
Adrian placed Sophie's photograph on the desk.
"Where is she?"
Sutton studied it too quickly.
"That patient died last winter."
"Her name is Sophie Mercer."
"Her name was Jane Ward."
Adrian grabbed the doctor's collar.
Two orderlies appeared before he could ask another question.
Sutton smiled.
"Violence will support your mother's petition beautifully."
Adrian saw a ceiling camera rotate toward his face.
Sutton had arranged the room to capture his anger without recording the photograph that caused it.
Adrian forced his hands open and stepped back.
"Then record this clearly," he said.
"I am requesting proof that Jane Ward died, including a certificate, a physician's name, and a burial location."
Sutton's smile tightened.
"Patient privacy survives death."
"So does fraud."
Adrian released him.
On the way out, he saw a woman watching through the narrow window of a locked ward.
Her hair had been cut short, and her face was gaunt.
She lifted one hand to the glass.
Her wedding ring hung from a cord around her neck.
"Sophie!"
For six years, Adrian had heard her voice only in dreams that ended with burning metal.
Now she struck the glass twice, their private signal from the early days of their marriage.
It meant, I am here, but someone is listening.
He struck the glass twice in return.
Sophie closed her eyes as if those two taps had carried her across the missing years.
The orderlies dragged her away.
Adrian slammed against the locked door until Keene pulled him back.
They raced toward the estate with a warrant request already in motion.
Halfway home, Ruth called from the county jail.
"They released me because Bella disappeared."
Adrian nearly drove off the road.
Ruth explained that Eleanor had presented an emergency court order declaring Adrian mentally unstable.
Bella had been removed from Keene's protective room by a private child-welfare contractor.
The contractor's address belonged to the Mercer Foundation.
The order carried a judge's signature dated the previous day.
Eleanor had prepared to take Bella before the black tape ever touched her wrists.
Adrian realized the patio scene was not merely punishment.
It was bait designed to make him react violently in front of cameras and police.
Bella had accepted the tape because Eleanor threatened the one defense Adrian could not afford to lose.
His daughter had tried to protect his right to protect her.
Adrian's phone rang from an unknown number.
Sophie spoke in a whisper.
"Do not come back to the clinic."
"I'm getting you out."
"She wants you angry and careless."
Metal doors clanged behind her.
"Where is Bella?"
Sophie began to cry.
"Eleanor offered a mother for a daughter."
The call cut off.
Adrian looked into the rearview mirror.
May you like
A black SUV had been following them for twenty miles.
It accelerated until its front bumper touched theirs.
