Chapter 4 - The Search for June
The hours that followed blurred into a nightmarish montage of police interviews, hospital administrators in crisp suits, and social workers taking endless notes. Clara Vance had been reunited with her baby, Maya, after a tearful verification process involving genetic swabbing, but the relief in Room 210 was short-lived.
June was still missing.
According to Luke’s frantic confession to detectives down at the precinct, he hadn't hidden our daughter in the hospital at all. Terrified of getting caught by the maternity ward’s rigorous security patrols before he could finalize the exchange, he had managed to smuggle June out of the building during visiting hours the previous evening, handing her off to an intermediary in the hospital’s subterranean parking garage.
“We have an APB out on a black sedan matching the description Luke provided,” Sergeant Miller told me, standing by my bedside as the afternoon sun began to dip below the horizon. I was still hooked to an IV, pale and exhausted, my hands trembling as I clutched a photo of a tiny newborn footprint. “The broker, a woman operating under the alias Evelyn Vance—no relation to Clara—has multiple warrants for trafficking across state lines. We’re raiding her last known address in thirty minutes.”
“Can I come?” I asked, my voice raw from hours of crying.
“Sarah, you just had major surgery,” Sergeant Miller said gently, though his expression brook no argument. “You need to stay here. We’ll find her. We have every unit in the county looking for that car.”
Eli sat in the armchair beside my bed, refusing to leave my side. He hadn't spoken a word in over two hours. His small face was pale, his eyes hollowed out by the shock of what his father had done. I reached out and ran my fingers through his hair, drawing him close against my side.
“It’s going to be okay, buddy,” I whispered, fighting back a fresh wave of tears. “The police are going to bring your sister home.”
“It’s my fault,” Eli whispered back, his voice cracking. “If I hadn't looked out the window... if I hadn't followed him... maybe he wouldn't have gotten caught so fast, or maybe he would have put her back.”
“Stop right there,” I said fiercely, taking his face in my hands and forcing him to look at me. “Listen to me, Eli. What your father did was evil and wrong. You saved another mother’s baby today, and you are the only reason we knew June was gone. You are a hero, do you hear me? Never, ever blame yourself.”
He sniffled and nodded, burying his face in my shoulder.
Outside my window, the flashing red and blue lights of patrol cars reflected off the glass. Downstairs, the hospital was locked down tighter than a federal penitentiary. Reporters had already caught wind of the newborn trafficking ring operating out of the maternity ward, and satellite trucks were swarming the main entrance.
At 6:15 PM, my phone buzzed on the bedside table.
It was Sergeant Miller.
I snatched the phone, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. “Miller? Did you find her?”
There was a heavy pause on the other end of the line, the sound of sirens wailing in the background.
“Sarah,” Miller’s voice came through, strained and breathless. “We hit the stash house on Maple Street. The broker was there, and we recovered three infants... but June wasn't among them.”
My world tilted off its axis. A cold wave of despair washed over me, robbing me of the ability to breathe.
May you like
“What do you mean she wasn't there?” I choked out, tears blinding my vision. “Where is my baby?”
“The broker says she didn't take custody of June,” Miller replied grimly. “She claims Luke changed his mind at the last second in the parking garage, took the baby back, and drove off alone before the handoff ever happened.”
