CHAPTER 236: THE PLANNING

Clicking to the parking lot footage.

They saw the same masked man gently help Emma into the backseat of a dark colored car. The license plate wasn’t clear, but the investigator reassured,

"I’ve got someone trying to enhance it. If we get a partial number, we can run it."

Jean folded her arms, the chill of dread prickling her skin. "Find him, Priya," She said quietly. "And find Emma. Whatever it takes."

Logan stood beside her, jaw tight, his hand unconsciously brushing her back in silent support. "If Henry did this," He murmured, "he did it for a reason. We need to find out what that reason is before someone else does."

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Priya stood by the window, tablet in hand, her sharp eyes scanning each face in the room before she spoke. Jean sat beside Hannah, hands clasped tightly, while Logan leaned against his desk, arms folded... trying to read Priya’s expression.

"Alright," Priya began, her voice calm but clipped, "I have something that might help us."

She tapped the tablet, turning it toward them. A grainy still frame from the hospital’s underground parking lot filled the screen.

"This is from the night Emma went missing. The masked man in the scrubs pushed her in a wheelchair to this black SUV."

Logan’s gaze darkened as he leaned in. "Can you track it?"

"That’s what I did," Priya continued. "The license plate was partially blocked by car light glare, but I got three clear characters... ’9’, ’8’, and ’K’. Combine that with the make and model of the SUV... there were only a handful of matches."

She paused, glancing at Jean as if bracing her.

"The car is registered under a private shell company. But guess whose name is buried behind that company?"

Jean felt her stomach drop. "Henry..." She whispered.

Priya nodded slowly.

"Yes. Henry Matthews. He set it up a few years back, probably to keep personal matters off the record."

Hannah’s voice cracked as she asked, "Did the car go anywhere?"

"Its last toll crossing was logged northeast of the city. After that... no more cameras, no more pings. Whoever’s driving knows what they’re doing, and they planned this carefully."

Logan’s jaw tightened, the muscle ticking at his temple. "Meaning Henry is deliberately staying off grid but he’s with Emma."

"That’s the current assumption," Priya confirmed. "I know you don’t want to believe he’s hurting her. But he’s hiding her from someone... or something?"

Jean’s voice trembled, "From us...? Or from Alex?"

"Maybe both of your suspicions," Priya admitted. "I’m continuing to look. If he uses the car again, stops for gas, or makes any digital trail... I’ll know."

The room fell into silence. Logan finally spoke, voice low and sure of his mind. "Keep going, Priya. Whatever it costs... find them."

Priya gave a curt nod. "You have my word Mr Kingsley. I won’t stop until I do."

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The office felt painfully silent after Priya left, the soft click of the door echoing far too loud. Jean stood rooted in place, her breathing ragged, eyes fixed on nothing. Emma. Alive. Taken. And Henry... Henry of all people.

Hannah’s voice, shaky and small, broke through first. "Jean... you really think it’s Henry? That he’d do something to her?"

Jean’s lips parted, her voice cracking on the first word. "No... no, Hannah, he wouldn’t hurt her. He... he’s been by her side every day. If he took her... it must be because he thought it was the only way to keep her safe."

She swallowed hard, but her chest still felt tight, the words scraping like glass in her throat. "But from who? From us? From Alex? Or... something Emma remembered?"

For a moment, silence settled again, pressing down heavily and suffocating. Jean’s mind wouldn’t stop racing. ’Emma woke up. Henry vanished with her. Alex must know... Alex must be looking, too. And what if he finds them first?’

The thought burned, her stomach twisting into painful knots. She clenched her fists so tightly her nails bit into her palms.

That was when Logan quietly stepped closer, until his warmth brushed against her side.

"Jean." His voice was low, gentle but there was an undercurrent of iron that made her chest squeeze. "We’ll find her first. Before Alex. I swear to you."

Jean’s eyes glistened, the weight of relief and fear tangled together until it nearly spilled over. "And if... if he does find her first?"

For a second, Logan’s expression shifted... soft worry replaced by something sharp, lethal.

"Then he’ll have to go through me."

The certainty in his voice wrapped around her like a shield, and Jean felt something inside her unclench just enough to let air in again. Her fingers, trembling, reached for him; she barely brushed his sleeve, but Logan covered her hand with his own, anchoring her.

"You’re not alone in this, Jean," He murmured, so quietly it felt meant for her alone.

Jean drew a breath, and nodded at him.

Hannah, standing by the desk, swallowed back tears of her own.

"Henry must know something... or Emma told him something so dangerous he thought it was safer to disappear than to trust anyone."

Jean nodded, her throat too tight to speak.

"Emma must have remembered who attacked her. And if she remembers... Alex will do whatever it takes to keep her silent."

Logan’s jaw tightened, his hand still steady on Jean’s. "Then we get to them first. Priya will track him and I’ll call every contact I have. Alex won’t get anywhere near her."

"She’s been through too much already. I won’t let anyone hurt her again. Even if I have to burn everything to the ground."

Logan met her gaze, fierce and protective. "Then that’s what we’ll do."

And Hannah, her eyes red with tears but a determined look on her face, wiped her cheek. "We’ll bring Emma home. Before Alex even knows where to look."

The three of them stood there... afraid, but united. Outside the window, the city kept moving, unaware of the storm about to break. But inside that office, resolve took root... fierce, unyielding, and finally shared.