Chapter 2 - The Secret Seam
Nathan carried Lily's frozen body into the bright light of his massive living room.
He yelled for his housekeeper, Rosa, his voice cracking with pure adrenaline.
Rosa came running from the hallway, her face completely draining of color when she saw the frozen children.
"Call 911 immediately," Nathan ordered, laying Lily carefully on the soft leather couch. "Bring warm blankets, thick towels, and my emergency trauma kit right now."
Nathan immediately turned his focus to the two infants bundled in the plastic sled.
He stripped away the soaked, icy blanket with lightning speed.
He checked the first infant, a little boy named Owen.
His pulse was very weak but still thankfully present.
The second infant, Ethan, had dangerously shallow breathing that terrified the experienced surgeon.
Rosa spoke rapidly into her cell phone, begging the emergency dispatcher to send an ambulance up the blocked mountain road.
Nathan worked methodically, wrapping the tiny babies in dry, heated towels while monitoring their core temperatures.
He grabbed a pen and scribbled his initial medical assessments on the back of an old envelope.
Writing down the clinical facts helped steady his shaking hands for a few precious seconds.
Suddenly, Lily began to shake violently on the couch as her body desperately tried to generate heat.
Nathan reached into his trauma kit and pulled out heavy, titanium surgical shears.
He began carefully cutting away her thick, frozen nylon coat to remove the dangerous wet layers.
The icy fabric fought him, stiff and unyielding against the sharp blades.
As he sliced deliberately along the side seam of the jacket, the heavy metal blade hit something that crackled strangely.
It was not fabric or typical coat insulation.
Nathan stopped cutting entirely.
He pressed two fingers firmly against the torn lining of the coat.
Something thick and solid had been meticulously sewn deep inside the hidden pocket.
"Rosa," he said quietly, not taking his eyes off the coat.
She looked over from where she was gently rubbing the babies' freezing hands.
Nathan sliced again, much more carefully this time.
The wet seam opened completely with a loud rip.
From the hidden interior pocket of Lily's ruined coat, he pulled out a folded manila envelope wrapped tightly in heavy plastic.
His estranged sister, Sarah, had known the storm would soak everything.
Sarah had known Lily might be the only one small enough and brave enough to carry it out completely undetected.
Nathan's hands began to shake violently before he even broke the plastic seal.
He expected to find a desperate letter, an apology, or a simple plea for help from the sister he had pushed away.
It was absolutely not a letter.
Inside were photocopied legal papers, a signed financial authorization, a massive life insurance document, and a typed custody petition.
A handwritten note from Sarah had been folded securely around the terrifying documents.
The ink had bled in several places, but Sarah's desperate message was perfectly clear.
"Nathan, Marcus took out these policies on the boys last week. He locked me in the basement tonight to ensure I burn with the house. If you are reading this, I am already dead. Do not trust the police."
May you like
Before Nathan could even process the horrifying fact that his sister had been murdered, a deafening crash echoed from the front of the house.
The massive black SUV had just successfully breached his fortified iron gates and was currently speeding up his long driveway.
