Pine Hollow was an old, forgotten neighborhood. The house he found was weather-beaten, the yard overgrown. The mailbox read Lawson.
An elderly woman answered the door. Her eyes filled instantly with fear.
“I don’t know anything,” she said sharply.
Marcus showed the tag. “Ma’am, a child was found. Alive. I believe she may be related to you.”
The woman’s resolve cracked — just for a second.
“My name is Eleanor Lawson,” she whispered. “Please… leave.”
But Marcus saw it. Fear. Grief. Recognition.
Back at the hospital, the girl finally spoke during a therapy session. She drew a picture — a tall woman with long dark hair.
“She said two words,” Lila told him. “Mama… and ‘Allie.’”
Allie.
Marcus pulled records. Eleanor Lawson had a daughter.
Allison Grace Lawson. Vanished five years earlier. No death record. No trace.
When Marcus returned to Eleanor’s home with the information, she broke.
“I didn’t know she had a child,” Eleanor sobbed. “Allie was sick. She was scared. She thought everyone wanted to take something from her.”
That afternoon, Marcus found the abandoned blue house where Allison had been hiding. Inside were drawings taped to the walls… empty food cans… and handwritten notes.