Chapter 12 - A Father’s Worst Night
The headlines appeared at 5:32 a.m.
BILLIONAIRE ACCUSED OF BUYING ADOPTION PROCESS
CROWE CHILD PLACEMENT UNDER INVESTIGATION
THE WOLF’S SECRET SON?
Vincent read three headlines.
Then stopped.
Eli was asleep.
He wanted the boy to remain unaware for as long as possible.
That lasted until 7:15.
A television in the kitchen automatically turned on with the morning news.
Eli walked in carrying his cereal bowl.
Vincent reached for the remote.
Too late.
His own face filled the screen.
Then Eli’s school photograph.
Vincent shut it off.
Eli stared.
“Why am I on TV?”
Vincent placed the remote down.
“Someone told lies.”
“Victor?”
“Yes.”
“Will people believe him?”
“Some.”
Eli looked at his cereal.
“Do you believe him?”
Vincent frowned.
“Of course not.”
“Then I don’t care.”
The answer nearly made Vincent smile.
But Claire arrived thirty minutes later.
Her expression told him everything.
Emergency review.
Temporary placement suspended pending investigation.
Eli would need to spend several nights at a secure foster facility.
Vincent said one word.
“No.”
Claire closed the door.
“Don’t.”
“No.”
“Vincent.”
“You know the evidence is fake.”
“I do.”
“Then he stays.”
“I don’t control this.”
“I do.”
“No, you don’t.”
Vincent stepped closer.
Claire did not move.
“If you refuse the order, you prove every accusation against you.”
His face hardened.
“You expect me to hand him over?”
“For forty-eight hours.”
“You cannot guarantee that.”
“No.”
Vincent looked toward the hallway.
Eli was listening.
He knew.
Vincent closed his eyes.
This was Victor’s real weapon.
Not guns.
Not money.
Not threats.
The law.
Because the law was the one force Vincent could not overpower without becoming exactly what everyone feared.
Eli walked into the room.
“I have to go?”
Vincent crouched.
“For a little while.”
“You said no matter where I sleep, you’re still my dad.”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s okay.”
Vincent nearly lost control.
Eli was comforting him.
A six-year-old was comforting him.
The foster facility was secure.
Private.
Staffed.
No public address.
Marcus inspected it personally.
Bruno could not stay.
Eli cried over that more than leaving Vincent.
“You’ll take care of him?”
“Yes.”
“He gets scared when I’m gone.”
Vincent looked at the dog.
“I know someone else like that.”
Eli hugged Bruno.
Then Vincent.
“How long?”
“Two nights.”
“You promise?”
Vincent hesitated.
Eli noticed.
“Don’t promise if you don’t know.”
Vincent swallowed.
“I’ll do everything I can.”
“That’s better.”
Vincent watched Claire take his hand and lead him through the door.
It was the worst moment of his life.
Worse than losing money.
Worse than violence.
Worse than the orphanage.
Because this time, Vincent knew what waited on the other side of abandonment.
Someone he loved.
He returned to the penthouse.
Bruno sat outside Eli’s bedroom.
Vincent sat beside him.
Neither moved for an hour.
At 10:06 p.m., Marcus called.
“Eli is missing.”
Vincent did not understand the words.
“What?”
“There was a fire alarm. Evacuation procedure.”
“What do you mean missing?”
“During the headcount—”
Vincent stood.
“Where is he?”
“We don’t know.”
The phone dropped from Vincent’s hand.
For half a second, the world went silent.
Then the Wolf returned.
Every emotion vanished except purpose.
“Car.”
Marcus arrived downstairs in three minutes.
Police were already responding.
Security footage showed a maintenance employee entering the facility thirty minutes before the alarm.
Fake badge.
Hat.
Face partially hidden.
During evacuation, he approached Eli.
He showed him something.
Eli hesitated.
Then followed.
Vincent watched the footage.
“Why did he go?”
Marcus zoomed.
The man held a phone.
On the screen was a picture of Vincent.
A message.
Vincent’s voice became ice.
“The code.”
Marcus looked at him.
“What?”
“He would have asked the code.”
They replayed the footage.
Eli did speak.
The man answered.
Then Eli followed.
Somebody knew the code.
Sharks sleep.
Only Vincent.
Eli.
Marcus.
And possibly—
Vincent turned.
“Who was in the room when we made it?”
Marcus thought.
“Daniel walked in later.”
“Claire?”
“No.”
“Security camera?”
Marcus froze.
Vincent looked toward the ceiling.
The penthouse cameras.
Victor had accessed them.
He had heard everything.
The code was compromised before it was even used.
Vincent felt physically sick.
The city search began.
Police.
Federal agents.
Marcus’s entire security network.
Vincent called every contact he had.
Legitimate.
Formerly illegitimate.
Everyone.
“I want eyes on train stations, roads, airports, docks.”
Daniel grabbed his arm.
“Stay within the law.”
Vincent turned so sharply Daniel almost stepped back.
“My son is missing.”
“I know.”
“No. You don’t.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“If you become reckless, you may make this worse.”
Vincent moved closer.
“For twenty years, people believed I was dangerous.”
His voice dropped.
“Tonight they may discover they were right.”
Daniel did not flinch.
“And what does Eli discover?”
Vincent stopped.
Daniel continued.
“If you get arrested, shot, or killed, what does he discover?”
Vincent looked away.
“He discovers another father didn’t come back.”
That was enough.
Vincent forced himself to stay controlled.
At midnight, they found the vehicle.
Abandoned beneath a bridge.
Eli’s jacket was inside.
Vincent held it.
His hands shook for the first time Marcus had ever seen.
At 1:20 a.m., investigators traced a toll-camera image.
At 2:05, another camera caught the vehicle switching plates.
At 3:40, Darren Pike provided a clue from custody.
Victor owned an abandoned summer camp two hours north.
Police moved.
Vincent followed despite orders.
The camp consisted of six cabins beside a frozen-looking lake.
Agents entered silently.
Cabin one.
Empty.
Two.
Empty.
Three.
Empty.
Then Bruno barked.
Vincent had brought him in the SUV.
The dog jumped from the open door before Marcus could stop him.
“Bruno!”
The Rottweiler ran toward cabin six.
Vincent followed.
Agents surrounded it.
The door opened.
A man ran from the back.
Police tackled him.
Vincent entered.
“Eli!”
A small sound came from behind a table.
Vincent found him.
Curled beneath a blanket.
Alive.
Unhurt.
Terrified.
“Dad?”
Vincent dropped to his knees.
Eli ran into his arms.
“You came.”
Vincent held him so tightly the boy squeaked.
“I told you.”
“I knew you would.”
Bruno crashed into them.
For several minutes, nobody moved.
Victor was not there.
He had left Eli with an accomplice and escaped again.
But on the cabin wall, he had written a message.
Vincent read it while holding his son.
NOW YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO HAVE SOMETHING TAKEN FROM YOU.
Vincent stared at the words.
Then at Eli.
Victor believed fear would awaken the Wolf.
He was wrong.
Because that night Vincent finally understood something.
The Wolf would destroy Victor.
A father would make sure Victor could never hurt another child again.
And there was a difference.
One would require revenge.
The other required justice.
May you like
For Eli, Vincent chose justice.
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