Chapter 7 - The Twin They Took
Emma screamed until her injured ribs made the sound collapse into a gasp.
Dr. Shaw caught her before she fell.
Federal agents flooded the hallway, but Lydia was already gone.
Security footage showed two men moving her through the laundry level in a covered medical cart.
A third person disabled the loading dock cameras.
The vehicle used to escape belonged to Cedar Ridge’s former medical director.
Gareth had planned the hospital abduction long before bringing the twins into the emergency room.
Rachel sat on the floor with blood running from her lip.
“He took Lydia because she remembers numbers.”
Emma looked at her.
“What numbers?”
“The trust access sequence.”
Daniel had created the Reed Family Trust so neither twin could activate it alone.
At eighteen, Emma and Lydia each received half of a twelve digit code.
Their father taught the numbers through childhood games, songs, and bedtime stories without explaining their purpose.
Emma remembered six numbers hidden in the rhythm of the piano melody.
Lydia remembered the remaining six.
Gareth had spent years trying to force the sequence from them.
“That is why he always asked about Dad’s songs,” Emma said.
Rachel nodded.
“He believed pain would make you reveal what you had forgotten.”
Dr. Shaw looked at the old player.
“The melody opened the folder. It may contain Emma’s half.”
“And Lydia carries the rest in her memory,” Rachel said.
A federal agent reported that the tactical team had reached the abandoned summer camp.
They found fresh tire tracks, medical equipment, and Daniel’s wheelchair.
Daniel was gone.
A camera inside the dining cabin had been left running.
The recording showed Gareth moving Daniel into a van.
Detective Cole stood beside him.
Cole had not fled the hospital alone.
He had joined Gareth.
Lydia appeared unconscious on a stretcher in the background.
Gareth looked directly into the camera.
“Emma, your sister will wake soon. When she does, she will tell me her six numbers.”
He placed one hand on Daniel’s shoulder.
“Then your father signs away everything.”
Daniel lifted his head.
His speech was slow but clear.
“Do not come.”
Gareth struck him.
The screen went black.
Emma stood despite Dr. Shaw’s objections.
“I know where he is going.”
“How?” the federal agent asked.
“Dad’s bedtime story.”
Daniel used to tell the twins about a lighthouse with twelve windows. Six faced the sea. Six faced the forest.
There was no ocean near their home.
But an old stone observation tower stood above Lake Mercer, a private reservoir owned by the Reed trust.
The tower had twelve narrow windows.
Gareth had taken the family there once after marrying Rachel.
He searched the basement for hours while the twins waited in the car.
“The trust server is beneath the tower,” Rachel said.
Federal agents prepared vehicles.
Emma insisted on going.
“No,” Dr. Shaw said.
“He needs both codes. If Lydia refuses, he will use me against her.”
“That is exactly why you cannot go.”
Emma looked at the doctor.
“If police enter without me, Gareth hurts Lydia. If I appear, he keeps talking.”
Rachel stepped forward.
“I will go.”
Emma laughed bitterly.
“He does not need you.”
“He believes I still obey him.”
“Do you?”
Rachel held her gaze.
“No.”
Emma wanted to believe her.
She could not.
The federal commander agreed to let Emma travel in an armored medical vehicle but ordered her to remain behind the tactical perimeter.
Dr. Shaw accompanied her because Emma’s injuries required monitoring.
Rain began as the convoy approached Lake Mercer.
The stone tower stood on a narrow peninsula, surrounded by dark water and pine forest.
One light glowed at the top.
A speaker beside the gate activated.
Gareth’s voice came through it.
“Send Emma inside alone.”
The federal commander refused.
A gunshot echoed from the tower.
The screen inside the medical vehicle showed Lydia tied to a chair beside Daniel.
Blood ran from her forehead.
Gareth pressed a gun against her shoulder.
“Next one goes through her chest.”
Emma opened the vehicle door.
Dr. Shaw caught her arm.
“You are seventeen and badly injured.”
“She is my sister.”
Emma stepped into the rain.
Before the agents could stop her, Rachel took the brass key and ran toward the tower.
Gareth opened the gate.
Then he spoke through the speaker.
“I asked for Emma.”
Rachel looked up at him.
May you like
“I brought the person who knows why Daniel never finished his final recording.”
Continue to the next part: Rachel enters the tower and reveals she hid the last six trust numbers from Gareth for four years.
