Chapter 10 - THE PRICE OF A DAUGHTERChadworth had once paid forty million dollars for a small company because he wanted its technology.
He had negotiated the purchase over lunch.
Now someone demanded a battered blue ledger in exchange for his daughter, and he would have surrendered every asset he owned if doing so could guarantee her safety.
But Detective Ruiz refused to let desperation dictate the response.
“Mr. Prescott, whoever took Lorelai is using your fear to control you. We need to work with the evidence and keep communication open.”
Chadworth paced the library.
“They have my little girl.”
“I know.”
“No, you don't understand. My wife died, and I promised myself I'd never let anything happen to our daughters.”
Ruiz didn't raise her voice.
“Then help us bring Lorelai home safely.”
He stopped.
“What do you need?”
“Everything. Every message, every call, every document connected to the ledger. And I need you to follow the negotiation plan we establish.”
Chadworth nodded.
The investigators secured his phone and preserved the threatening video.
Cora contacted the appropriate prosecutors, while officers examined the vehicle seen leaving the school.
A partial plate match suggested the gray SUV had been registered to a transportation contractor associated with Harbor Civic Solutions.
Chadworth recognized the name from Evelyn's ledger.
It was one of the companies that had received suspicious payments.
“That's not a coincidence,” he said.
Ruiz studied the report.
“It gives us a lead.”
Meanwhile, at an abandoned office building several miles away, Lorelai sat on a narrow bed.
The room smelled of dust and old paint.
Its windows had been covered.
A single lamp stood beside the door.
She had no idea where she was.
The man who brought her there had taken her phone and schoolbag.
He told her that her father had made powerful people angry.
He said she would go home if she behaved.
Lorelai wanted to scream.
Instead, she remembered something Rosamund had told her after a difficult day at school.
“Being brave doesn't mean you stop feeling afraid. It means you keep remembering who you are.”
So Lorelai tried to remember.
She was eleven years old.
She liked astronomy, strawberry ice cream, and terrible jokes.
Her little sister thought she knew everything.
Her father was finally learning how to listen.
And her mother had once told her that the darkest nights made the stars easier to see.
Lorelai held those thoughts tightly.
When the door opened, she sat straighter.
The man entered carrying a paper bag.
“Eat something.”
She looked at the sandwich he placed beside her.
“I want my dad.”
“He's working on it.”
“Did Sabina tell you to bring me here?”
The man's expression changed.
“Don't ask questions.”
Lorelai lowered her eyes.
But she'd seen the reaction.
He knew Sabina.
That mattered.
Back at the mansion, Chadworth sat beside Gemma's bedroom door.
He had promised not to leave her alone that night.
Rosamund sat nearby, quietly reading a story while Gemma rested against her.
Every few minutes, the little girl looked toward the hallway.
“Did they find Lorelai?”
“Not yet,” Chadworth answered.
“Will they?”
“Everyone is trying.”
Gemma hugged Bramble.
“I'm scared.”
Chadworth reached for her hand.
“So am I.”
She looked surprised.
“Grown-ups get scared?”
“Yes.”
“Even rich ones?”
A sad smile touched his lips.
“Especially when someone they love is in danger.”
Gemma thought about that.
“Then maybe we can be scared together.”
Chadworth drew her into his arms.
He had spent years teaching his daughters that he was strong enough to solve every problem.
Now he realized that honesty might make them feel safer than pretending to be invincible.
After Gemma fell asleep, he joined Ruiz in the security room.
The detective had new information.
“We identified the man who approached Lorelai.”
Chadworth leaned forward.
“Who is he?”
“Warren Pike. He worked as a private security contractor on the Redwater development.”
“Can you find him?”
“We're trying. His known addresses are being checked.”
Ruiz placed another document on the table.
“There's something else.”
It was an old report from Evelyn's accident.
Chadworth recognized the date.
November 3.
His heart began pounding.
“Why are you showing me this?”
Ruiz pointed toward a section listing people who had been present near the accident scene.
Warren Pike's name appeared under a contractor incident report.
Chadworth stared.
“What was he doing there?”
“The records say he was conducting overnight security checks near the industrial access road.”
“That's beside Old Briar Bridge.”
“Yes.”
Chadworth looked at the school surveillance photograph.
Then at the accident report.
The same man who had taken his daughter had been near the place where Evelyn died.
Ruiz spoke carefully.
“This doesn't establish what happened that night. But it creates a connection we need to investigate.”
Chadworth's voice dropped.
“Elliott hired him.”
“We're confirming the employment records.”
Chadworth rose.
“I want to speak to Crane.”
“No.”
“He knows where my daughter is.”
“He may. But we need evidence, and direct confrontation could put Lorelai in greater danger.”
Chadworth gripped the back of a chair.
For a long moment, he fought the urge to ignore her.
Then he let go.
“All right.”
His phone vibrated.
Another message.
This time, it contained only an audio recording.
A man's voice spoke calmly.
“Mr. Prescott, you have until midnight tomorrow. The original ledger. No copies. No tricks.”
Chadworth stared at the screen.
Then another voice entered the recording.
It was Lorelai.
“Daddy?”
He pressed the phone to his ear.
“I'm here, sweetheart,” he whispered, though she couldn't hear him.
Her voice shook.
“Please don't forget what Mommy said.”
The recording ended.
Chadworth looked at Ruiz.
“She knows something.”
Ruiz replayed the message.
Then she checked the file's technical information.
A few minutes later, an investigator entered the room.
“Detective, we've identified a location associated with the audio transmission.”
Ruiz stood.
“Where?”
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The investigator looked at Chadworth.
“The signal was routed through a property owned by the same company that received the missing Redwater cleanup money.”
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