Chapter 5 - What Was Left in the Dark
The penthouse was warm, smelling of cedar and vanilla. I had the staff bring up three bowls of warm chicken broth, fresh bread, and an assortment of Piper’s dry clothes.
Watching the three girls sit on the oversized living room rug was surreal. Chloe and Maya devoured the food as if they hadn’t eaten in days, their manners hesitant, constantly glancing at me as if expecting the meal to be snatched away. Piper sat beside them, offering them her favorite plush toys, showing them how to dip their bread into the broth.
Seeing them together, the truth was undeniable. They shared the same small birthmark behind the left ear. They had the same laugh, the same way of tilting their heads when listening.
Once they were fed, warm, and dressed in Piper’s oversized pajamas, exhaustion overtook them. I settled Chloe and Maya into Piper’s king-sized guest bed. Within minutes, the sheer weight of their ordeal pulled them into a deep, motionless sleep, their little hands intertwined across the duvet. Piper refused to leave their side, curling up at the foot of the bed, watching her long-lost sisters like a tiny sentinel.
I kissed Piper’s forehead, closed the bedroom door softly, and walked into my private study.
The room was dark, illuminated only by the city lights reflecting off the wet rain outside the panoramic windows. On my desk lay the silver swallow locket, its clasp open, and the tiny micro-SD card resting on a clean sheet of white paper.
My hands were shaking as I picked up the tweezers from my desk drawer.
I inserted the micro-SD card into an encrypted card reader and plugged it into my desktop computer. The drive mounted with a soft chime.
There was only one folder on the drive, labeled with a single date: *October 14, 2018.*
The day my daughters were born. The day Caroline died.
Inside the folder were two files: an audio recording and a scanned document.
I clicked the audio file first. A burst of static filled the quiet study, followed by the muffled sound of a ventilation fan. Then, a ragged, terrified breath came through the speakers.
"Nathaniel..."
The sound of Caroline’s voice hit me like a physical blow. I clutched the edge of the mahogany desk, my knees nearly giving out. It was her voice—weak, strained, laced with pain, but unmistakably Caroline.
"Nathaniel, if you're hearing this, it means Evelyn managed to get to you. I don't have much time. The anesthesia... they gave me something that paralyzed my body, but I can still hear them. They think I'm dead already."
Her voice broke into a choked sob.
"Kenneth Vance... he lied to us from the beginning. Our triplets... they were never supposed to be just a pregnancy to him. He’s part of a private broker network. High-profile clients... private adoptions for millions of dollars. They targeted us because of our rare blood type and genetic markers, but Vance had a buyer lined up for two of our girls before they were even delivered."
My blood ran cold. The air in my lungs turned to ash.
"They told you I died of an embolism," Caroline’s recorded voice continued, growing fainter, more labored. "They're going to induce cardiac arrest with potassium chloride as soon as they wheel me out of this recovery bay. They think I don't know. But Evelyn... the night nurse... she heard them talking in the scrub room. She’s risking her life. She’s switching the medical tags on Maya and Chloe. She’s taking them out through the linen chutes before Vance’s transport arrives."
The sound of heavy footsteps echoed in the background of the recording. Caroline gasped, her voice dropping to a frantic whisper.
"They're taking Piper to you because they couldn't falsify three stillbirths without raising state red flags. They needed one surviving child to keep you grieving and docile. Nathaniel, my love... don't look for me. I won't survive the night. But find our babies. Evelyn is taking them to her family farm in Bucks County. Find Kenneth Vance. Ruin him. Protect our—"
A sharp crash sounded on the recording, followed by a man's cold voice: *"What are you doing in here with that phone?"*
May you like
Then, the recording cut to static.
***
