Chapter 6 - Claire’s Missing Seven Hours
Claire woke beneath fluorescent lights.
Her head hurt.
Her wrists were free.
That frightened her more than restraints would have.
People who did not tie you down either believed you could not escape or wanted everything to look voluntary.
She sat up.
The room looked like a private clinic.
White walls.
Medical cabinet.
Reclining chair.
No windows.
A camera in the corner.
Her first thought was Leo.
Her milk had already begun to ache painfully.
She checked her clothing.
Still the jeans and sweater she had worn at the hospital.
The door opened.
Dr. Samuel Voss entered carrying a tablet.
Claire stood.
“Where am I?”
“Sit down.”
“No.”
Voss sighed.
“You’re making this unnecessarily difficult.”
“You kidnapped me.”
“No one kidnapped you.”
Claire laughed in disbelief.
“I was taken from a parking garage.”
“You agreed to accompany a patient liaison.”
“To another floor.”
“That misunderstanding can be explained.”
Claire stared at him.
“You’ve done this before.”
Voss set down the tablet.
“Claire, you are exhausted. Six weeks postpartum. Sleep deprived. Under enormous stress. You’ve begun interpreting ordinary family disagreements as threats.”
“There is phenobarbital in my baby’s blood.”
His expression barely changed.
Interesting.
He had known.
“My mother-in-law hit me.”
“Family conflicts happen.”
“She prepared false custody paperwork.”
Voss folded his hands.
“You found unsigned documents and created a frightening interpretation.”
Claire stepped closer.
“And my sister?”
For the first time, Voss’s eyes changed.
Claire had guessed.
She had no proof Anna connected to Voss.
But his pause told her everything.
“What about Anna?” he asked.
Claire’s heart pounded.
“You knew her.”
“I meet many people.”
“You knew my sister.”
Voss smiled faintly.
“Anna was idealistic.”
Claire felt grief turn into rage.
“My sister died in a car crash.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t sound surprised.”
“I’m aware.”
“How?”
“Your family has been discussed extensively.”
Claire glanced at the camera.
Everything she said was being recorded.
So she changed tactics.
She sat.
Voss visibly relaxed.
Good.
Let him believe she was becoming cooperative.
“What do you want?”
“We want you safe.”
“From Daniel?”
“If necessary.”
Claire almost smiled.
There it was.
“Daniel loves me.”
“Your husband secretly recorded his own mother.”
“After our baby became sick.”
“He reacted aggressively.”
“He protected us.”
“His father suffered from severe paranoid delusions.”
Claire stared at Voss.
“And now you’re saying Daniel inherited them.”
“I’m saying mental illness can have familial patterns.”
The trap was elegant.
If Claire defended Daniel, she was blind.
If she agreed, Daniel became unstable.
If she became angry, she became unstable.
So Claire said nothing.
Voss tapped the tablet.
“I can arrange a seventy-two-hour voluntary evaluation.”
“Voluntary?”
“Yes.”
“What happens if I refuse?”
He smiled.
“Then we discuss whether it needs to remain voluntary.”
Claire understood.
They intended to create medical records.
Real records.
Once admitted, every objection could be documented as agitation.
Every fear as paranoia.
Every demand to leave as poor judgment.
A modern version of what they had done to Michael.
“What happens to Leo?”
“Daniel’s mother has expressed willingness to assist.”
Claire nearly lunged at him.
Instead, she breathed slowly.
“Can I pump?”
Voss blinked.
“What?”
“My baby is six weeks old. I need to pump milk.”
A pause.
Then he nodded.
“I’ll arrange it.”
Claire lowered her eyes.
“Thank you.”
It was the first thing she had said that sounded submissive.
Voss liked it.
She could tell.
Thirty minutes later, a young nurse brought a breast pump into the room.
Her badge read MAYA LEWIS.
Claire watched her quietly.
Maya avoided eye contact.
“How long have you worked here?”
“Three months.”
“Does my husband know where I am?”
Maya hesitated.
“I’m not permitted to discuss—”
“My six-week-old son is in a hospital without me.”
Maya’s hands stopped moving.
Claire softened her voice.
“Do you have children?”
A pause.
“A daughter.”
“How old?”
“Four.”
Claire nodded.
“Imagine someone taking you from a parking garage and telling your husband you voluntarily checked into a psychiatric clinic.”
Maya’s face changed.
“Please don’t.”
“Then help me.”
“I can’t.”
“You can.”
Maya looked toward the camera.
Claire understood.
She pointed toward the pump tubing.
“Can you show me how this piece works?”
Maya came closer.
As she leaned down, Claire whispered.
“My husband is Daniel Walker. Detective Maria Alvarez is investigating. Just tell her where I am.”
Maya went rigid.
Then she stood and spoke loudly.
“This valve needs replacing.”
She left.
Claire had no idea whether the message worked.
Two hours passed.
Voss returned with forms.
“Sign these.”
Claire scanned them.
Voluntary admission.
Release of medical information.
Consent for psychiatric evaluation.
“No.”
Voss sat opposite her.
“Claire.”
“My lawyer will review them.”
“Your current state suggests delay could be harmful.”
“My current state is kidnapped and angry.”
He leaned forward.
“Do you know what Anna’s mistake was?”
Claire stopped breathing.
Voss smiled slightly.
“She believed truth automatically defeats power.”
Claire’s eyes burned.
“What did you do to her?”
“Nothing.”
“You killed her.”
“No.”
“But you know who did.”
He stood.
“Your sister could have walked away.”
“She was protecting children.”
“She was destabilizing families.”
“You mean exposing you.”
Voss’s face hardened.
A mask finally slipping.
“Be careful.”
Claire stood too.
“No. You be careful.”
He gave a quiet laugh.
“Who is going to believe this version of you after three days in here?”
Suddenly alarms sounded.
Voss froze.
Not medical alarms.
Fire alarms.
The door opened.
Maya stood there.
“Doctor, there’s smoke in the west wing.”
Voss swore and stepped into the corridor.
Maya looked at Claire.
“Go.”
Claire stared.
“What?”
“I triggered the alarm.”
Claire’s heart leaped.
“Exit stairs. Right, then left. There are cameras everywhere, so move now.”
Claire grabbed her coat.
“What about you?”
Maya swallowed.
“I have a daughter.”
That was answer enough.
Claire ran.
Behind her, someone shouted.
She pushed through a stairwell door.
Down one flight.
Two.
Three.
A man appeared below.
Claire stopped.
He looked up.
Dark coat.
Security badge.
“Mrs. Walker.”
She turned and ran upward.
The man followed.
Claire reached the fourth floor landing.
Locked door.
Third.
Locked.
Footsteps closing.
Then the second-floor door suddenly burst open.
Detective Alvarez stood there with two officers.
“Claire!”
Claire nearly collapsed.
Alvarez pulled her through.
The man below turned and ran.
Police flooded the building.
Voss was detained in the lobby.
But when officers searched the facility, they discovered something worse than one illegal detention room.
There were twelve rooms.
Four currently occupied.
Three patients had court cases involving Covenant-connected professionals.
And in a locked records office, investigators found a folder with Claire’s name.
Inside was a photograph of Leo.
Stamped across the back:
PLACEMENT APPROVED.
Claire stared at it until the words blurred.
Then Alvarez opened the next page.
A couple’s profile appeared.
Wealthy.
Married.
May you like
Childless.
And already approved to adopt Claire’s son.
