Chapter 8 - The Night We Vanished
Hospital security was increased immediately.
Rebecca arranged for Aiden and me to be moved to a protected location as soon as our doctors cleared us for travel.
Until then, two officers remained near the pediatric unit.
I told myself Michael would never come back.
But I had told myself many things about my son.
Most of them had been wrong.
At 2:14 in the morning, a security alert sounded in the hallway.
I woke instantly.
Footsteps rushed past my room.
A nurse appeared.
“Mrs. Collins, please stay inside.”
“What happened?”
“Security is handling it.”
I reached for my phone.
Then I heard a man's voice from the corridor.
“I'm his father! You can't keep my son away from me!”
Michael.
Every muscle in my body tightened.
He sounded angry.
Not frightened.
Not remorseful.
Angry.
I heard an officer speak firmly.
“Mr. Collins, step away from the door.”
Michael shouted again.
“My mother is confused! She's turning everyone against me!”
I pressed the call button.
A nurse answered.
“Please don't let him near Aiden.”
She assured me security was there.
Minutes later, the shouting stopped.
I later learned Michael had attempted to enter the pediatric unit using an old visitor badge.
He was detained without reaching Aiden.
But the incident changed everything.
The hospital could no longer feel like a place of safety.
Once our medical teams approved the move, Rebecca arranged confidential temporary accommodation and protective measures.
Aiden and I left through a service entrance.
No family photographs.
No public announcement.
No familiar address.
For the first time in my life, I understood what it meant to be afraid of my own child.
Over the following days, investigators interviewed Michael and Emily separately.
Their stories began falling apart.
Michael claimed he panicked after the accident.
Emily claimed she believed we were dead.
But evidence showed they had not made a meaningful attempt to rescue us before leaving.
Their statements about Aiden's location also contradicted the physical evidence.
Then Rebecca called me into a meeting.
“We need to discuss Emily,” she said.
“What about her?”
“She's asking to cooperate.”
I folded my arms.
“Why now?”
“Her attorney says she has information about the financial documents and the events on the mountain.”
“Do you believe her?”
Rebecca chose her words carefully.
“I believe she knows more than she's told us.”
Then she opened a folder.
“Emily says Michael did not originally plan for Aiden to go into the ravine.”
My throat tightened.
“What does that mean?”
May you like
Rebecca met my eyes.
“She claims you were the only intended victim.”
