Their reunion was brief before danger returned. A message arrived on Gregory’s phone from an unknown number.
“Some truths should remain buried.”
Gregory’s eyes hardened. “They have been watching,” he said. “Someone ensured you disappeared that night.”
A private investigator named Detective Ramos was called. He traced the origin of the message to an abandoned industrial zone. They drove there before dawn.
Inside a ruined warehouse, an old man with a limp waited. His name was Calvin Roe. When he saw Vanessa, he wept.
“I carried you away from the crash,” he said. “Your mother begged me to save you. Men in dark cars were coming. She said they would kill you too. I ran. I left you at the orphanage and prayed every day you lived.”
Before more could be said, headlights flooded the building. Armed men entered. Chaos erupted. Detective Ramos returned fire. Gregory shielded Vanessa with his body. Roe led them through a back exit to a waiting van. They escaped through industrial alleys until sirens replaced gunfire.