Chapter 2 - The Stolen Files
I grabbed the heavy metal fire extinguisher from the hallway closet.
Without a second thought, I swung it violently against the brass doorknob of the office.
The locking mechanism shattered, and the heavy door swung violently open.
Thick, acrid smoke immediately poured out, stinging my eyes and burning my throat.
Vanessa was standing next to a large metal trash can in the center of the room.
Flames were shooting out of the bin, consuming a massive stack of official-looking documents.
I pulled the pin on the extinguisher and sprayed a massive cloud of white foam into the trash can.
The fire hissed and died instantly, leaving behind a soggy, blackened mess of half-destroyed papers.
Vanessa screamed in frustration and tried to push past me to escape the room.
I grabbed her by the arm and pinned her against the wall just as the sound of police sirens echoed outside.
Maria had already called the authorities while I was breaking down the door.
Two armed police officers rushed into the office, pulling Vanessa away from me and forcing her hands behind her back.
As the cold steel handcuffs clicked around her wrists, Vanessa stopped struggling and started laughing.
It was a hollow, terrifying sound that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
"You think you are saving your precious family, Ethan?" she sneered.
"You don't even know the truth about that little brat."
The officers began dragging her down the hallway toward the staircase.
"She isn't even your biological daughter, you idiot!" Vanessa screamed as they pulled her out the front door.
I stood completely frozen in the ruined office, my heart pounding violently against my ribs.
I dropped to my knees and began digging desperately through the wet, charred papers in the trash can.
Most of the documents were completely destroyed by the fire and the foam.
But near the bottom, I found a partially burned hospital record enclosed in a plastic sleeve.
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It was Lily's birth certificate, but the name listed under the mother was not Vanessa Carter.
The mother's name was completely burned away, leaving only a mysterious fingerprint in blood.
