Chapter 10 - The Lady Who Used Claire’s Voice
Ethan could not breathe until Laura grabbed his face.
“Look at me.”
He did.
“You panic later. Right now, find her.”
The deputies pulled video from neighboring homes.
The woman had parked three blocks away.
No visible plate.
Then Margaret remembered the rabbit.
“Sophie didn’t bring that one here.”
Ethan turned.
“What?”
“She arrived with a yellow bear. That rabbit was on the porch after lunch.”
The rabbit had a plastic voice box in its belly.
When Ethan pressed the paw, Claire’s voice played.
“Hi, bug. Mommy loves you.”
Ethan almost dropped it.
The sentence came from an old birthday video.
Someone had extracted Claire’s voice.
Laura found a stitched seam near the foot.
Inside was a tracker.
Not the kidnapper’s tracker.
A tiny device from Sophie’s preschool safety program.
Vanessa had installed it months earlier.
“For once,” Mara said, “her paranoia may help us.”
The signal led to a closed wellness center in Topanga.
Police surrounded the building.
Ethan waited outside because Mara physically stopped him from entering with the tactical team.
Seven minutes later, a detective came out carrying Sophie.
She was sleepy but awake.
“Daddy?”
Ethan ran.
He held her so carefully it hurt.
“They said Mommy wanted me to watch a movie.”
“You did nothing wrong.”
Inside the building, detectives found three rooms staged like children’s bedrooms.
Hidden cameras covered every angle.
A locked cabinet contained toys, medication, family photographs, and laminated interview cards.
One room had Sophie's name on the door.
On a monitor, a video was paused.
Claire.
Alive.
Recorded weeks before her death.
Ethan pressed play.
Claire looked directly into the camera.
“If Ethan is watching this, then Greybridge is still operating.”
Ethan’s skin prickled.
Claire continued.
“And if Margaret tells you she did all of this to protect our family, do not let love make you stupid.”
Margaret, standing behind him, made a broken sound.
Claire leaned closer to the camera.
“Your mother is not the architect. But she opened the door, and people got hurt because she refused to admit what she had invited inside.”
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