There was a long silence before Eleanor’s voice turned icy. “She’s a liar. Kids make things up for attention.”
“I grabbed her to stop her from falling,” Eleanor shot back. “Enough. What do you want? To take my daughter?”
Officer Grant jotted down every word.
Dr. Hale returned, confirming that while Lily had no broken bones, the infection was severe. “She’ll need to stay for at least 48 hours,” the doctor said, his face grim. “This injury should have been treated within the first 24 hours.”
Upon hearing the word “police,” Eleanor’s tone shifted. “Police? You’re insane. I’m coming down there, and you’ll regret this,” she snapped before hanging up.
Julian thought the worst was over, but he was wrong. After leaving the hospital to grab fresh clothes for Lily, he dug through a hidden backpack in the back of the closet. Inside, he found two passports—Eleanor’s and Lily’s—and a printed itinerary: a one-way trip to Madrid, scheduled to depart the next morning. Beneath the tickets, a note in Eleanor’s handwriting read: “If you say a word, your dad leaves forever. If you talk, I take you where he can’t find us.”
The ground seemed to fall out beneath Julian’s feet. It wasn’t just abuse—it was a planned abduction.
At the hospital, he handed the evidence to Detective Reed. “This changes everything,” Reed said grimly. “This is attempted abduction and coercion.”
When Eleanor arrived, she was pristine, as if unaware that she was standing in the middle of a crime scene. She demanded to see her daughter, dismissing the injury as a simple misunderstanding. Reed placed the flight tickets on the table, watching as Eleanor’s face went white.
Eleanor stammered. “Those were… for a vacation.”
“And the note?” Officer Grant asked, his pen poised.
Eleanor opened her mouth to lie, but no words came out.
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