The missing hospital records changed everything.
Enzo's security team discovered that someone had accessed the archive using credentials linked to Victor Sloane's administrative office.
The hospital had already opened an internal investigation.
But before its investigators could interview Sloane, he disappeared.
His office was empty.
His phone was switched off.
And Claire Benton suddenly requested emergency leave.
Enzo refused to let her leave with Sophia's medication records.
"You can go," he told her. "But the documents stay."
Claire's face tightened.
"You're making a mistake."
"Then you can explain it to the investigators."
She walked out without another word.
Two hours later, Enzo's security chief, Marco DeLuca, entered the study carrying a tablet.
"Boss, we found something."
I was sitting across from Enzo reviewing a copy of Sophia's treatment timeline.
Marco placed the tablet on the desk.
Security footage showed Claire entering the west wing at 1:42 in the morning.
She carried a black medical bag.
At 1:51, she left through a service entrance.
A second camera captured her handing the bag to a man in a dark coat.
The man turned toward the camera.
My breath caught.
Victor Sloane.
Enzo's expression hardened.
"What was in the bag?"
"We don't know," Marco said.
"Find out."
Marco hesitated.
"There's something else."
He opened another recording.
It showed Sloane speaking with a man outside a private medical office.
The man was Daniel Mercer.
A former hospital administrator.
And one of the people who had testified against me.
I gripped the edge of the desk.
Enzo noticed.
"You know him."
"Yes."
"Who is he?"
I explained Mercer's role in the investigation.
He had overseen access to the hospital's electronic records.
He had also approved the release of the altered documents that implicated me.
Enzo leaned back.
"So the same people who destroyed your career are involved in my daughter's care."
"Possibly," I said. "But we need evidence of what they actually did."
Marco nodded.
"We're working on it."
That evening, an independent pediatric rehabilitation physician arrived to assess Sophia's immediate needs.
Dr. Evelyn Brooks was a calm, experienced specialist with no professional ties to Sloane.
She reviewed the available records, examined Sophia, and spoke with her privately.
I waited outside with Enzo.
He paced the hallway.
"How long does this take?"
"As long as it needs to."
He stopped.
"You always answer like a doctor."
I smiled faintly.
"I suppose I do."
He looked at me.
"Do you miss it?"
"Every day."
"Then why didn't you fight harder?"
I stared at him.
"I did fight."
He said nothing.
"I filed reports. I hired an attorney. I contacted the hospital board. Then someone threatened me."
My voice shook.
"I was alone, Enzo."
It was the first time I had used his first name.
He noticed.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he said quietly, "You're not alone now."
Before I could answer, the examination room door opened.
Dr. Brooks approached us.
"Sophia is resting."
Enzo stepped forward.
"What did you find?"
"Her presentation warrants a comprehensive reassessment at a specialized rehabilitation center."
"Can she move her legs?"
"She demonstrated a small movement during testing, but I cannot yet determine how much voluntary motor function is present or what it means for her long-term mobility."
Enzo closed his eyes.
Dr. Brooks continued.
"Her medication regimen also needs review. We should evaluate her sedation, spasticity, strength, sensation, and functional abilities together."
"Will you change the medication?"
"Any adjustment will be gradual and medically supervised. Abruptly stopping baclofen can be dangerous."
Enzo nodded.
"Whatever she needs."
Dr. Brooks looked at me.
"Dr. Halloway?"
My stomach tightened.
Enzo turned.
"She knows who you are?"
"I contacted her," I admitted.
Dr. Brooks extended her hand.
"I remember your research."
I shook it.
"Thank you for coming."
Her expression softened.
"I also remember the investigation. I never believed the public account explained everything."
For the first time in months, I felt something unfamiliar.
Relief.
But it did not last.
At 11:47 that night, the mansion's lights went out.
Every chandelier.
Every hallway lamp.
Every security monitor.
Darkness swallowed the house.
A second later, an alarm sounded.
I was in the upstairs hallway when Marco's voice crackled through the emergency intercom.
"Security breach. All staff remain in secure areas."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Sophia.
I ran toward her bedroom.
The emergency lighting flickered on.
Two guards rushed past me.
Then I heard a scream.
"Miss Clara!"
Sophia.
I reached her room and found the door open.
Her wheelchair stood beside the bed.
Empty.
My blood turned to ice.
"Marco!"
I ran into the hallway.
"She's gone!"
Footsteps thundered from the staircase.
Enzo appeared, his face white.
"What?"
"Her wheelchair is here. She's not in her room."
For one terrifying second, he looked unable to move.
Then he seized his phone.
"Lock down the property. Nobody leaves."
Marco's voice came through the radio.
"West service entrance compromised."
I turned.
The west wing.
Claire had used that entrance.
I ran before anyone could stop me.
Down the service staircase.
Past the laundry room.
Through the narrow corridor leading toward the old staff quarters.
Then I heard a small voice.
"Miss Clara?"
I stopped.
Sophia was sitting on the floor inside an unlocked storage room.
Her stuffed rabbit was clutched against her chest.
I dropped to my knees.
"Oh, sweetheart."
She threw her arms around me.
"Claire said Daddy wanted me downstairs."
My heart pounded.
"Where is she?"
Sophia pointed toward the service entrance.
"She went outside."
I lifted Sophia carefully, supporting her legs and back.
"You're safe. I've got you."
She buried her face against my shoulder.
Then footsteps sounded behind us.
Enzo appeared.
He stopped when he saw his daughter.
"Sophia."
His voice broke.
I handed her to him.
He held her so tightly that she squeaked.
"Daddy, you're squeezing me."
He loosened his arms immediately.
"I'm sorry, princess."
She touched his face.
"Are you crying?"
He pressed his forehead against hers.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I love you."
Marco arrived moments later.
"Boss, Claire is gone. We found a vehicle outside the service gate."
Enzo looked up.
His expression changed.
But Sophia was still in his arms.
And when he spoke, his voice was controlled.
"Call the police. Preserve every recording."
Marco nodded.
Then he looked at me.
"There's something you need to see."
He held up a phone recovered near the service entrance.
On its screen was an unsent message.
We have the girl. Bring Halloway to the old clinic.