Chapter 6
By the time I left the library, the sky was already getting dark.
A cold wind swept past, and I shivered.
It felt like I'd gotten tangled up in a giant spider's web.
Every step I took was careful, like I was afraid to trigger something.
Instead of going straight home, I stopped by Lily's preschool.
I wanted to make sure about a few things.
I asked Cora if Lily had ever mentioned where she first saw or got the doll.
Cora said Lily got it right outside the preschool entrance.
Some lady Lily didn't know handed her the doll and told her it was a present from her "Daddy."
My hands balled into fists before I even realized it.
Some random lady?
Who the hell was she?
If Michael was the one who sent me this doll, then why did an unknown woman hand it to Lily at the preschool entrance?
This just didn't make any sense.
Unless...
Michael might not have even touched the doll himself.
Maybe someone pretended it was from him and handed it to Lily.
And that person was probably Vivian.
Or someone working with her.
She couldn't hand it over herself, so she had to get someone else to help her out.
And she picked Lily to give it to, because she knew Lily would take the "gift" home for sure.
I immediately recalled the information on the shipping label.
The recipient was listed as Lily.
There was no sender listed.
There was just a vague address—Vivian's old apartment complex.
If the shipping label was blank, then what made the teacher let Lily take the delivery?
I went back to Cora to confirm the details.
She thought for a moment.
"The courier handed it directly to Lily.
"He told her it was a gift from her dad."
My heart skipped a beat.
This made no sense at all.
Couriers just drop off packages—how would they possibly know who sent it, much less that the sender was Lily's "dad"?
Unless the courier was actually part of the scheme.
Or maybe this wasn't even a standard delivery at all.
This was a staged event—a "gift" meticulously orchestrated from the very beginning.
I pulled out my phone and pulled up the photo of the shipping label I'd saved yesterday.
I checked out the tracking number, looking it over carefully.
I tried to look it up on the courier company's website.
The website just told me, "Tracking number does not exist."
My heart plummeted.
This wasn't a normal delivery.
It meant the whole thing was orchestrated.
Maybe Michael was just a pawn in all this.
Or maybe he was actually part of the scheme all along.
I had no way of knowing for sure.
But one thing was clear: Vivian was trapped, and this was her way of asking me for help.
She picked me precisely because I was once married to Michael.
She figured I could find him.
Or maybe she thought I could uncover who was really keeping her captive.
Her desperate voice kept echoing in my mind.
"He's... watching... me..."
Just who exactly was she talking about?
Was it Michael? Or was there someone else pulling the strings behind the scenes?
I called the older officer again.
I told him everything I'd discovered, and shared my concerns about the shipping label.
He sounded very serious.
"Ms. Evans, just stay calm.
"What you've told me is really important.
"We've already contacted Vivian's relatives, and they all said they haven't seen her for a long time.
"Her father, Richard Lane, is still in the ICU and remains unconscious.
"Starlight Holdings' business is at a standstill.
"Vivian's uncle, Gregory Lane, is currently managing the company," he said.
Gregory. That name rang a bell.
I racked my brain, trying to place it.
That was it!
Before Michael's wedding, he brought me along to a business event.
Gregory was at that event as well.
He and Michael seemed pretty close.
They were even huddled together, whispering about something.
I didn't think much of it at the time.
But now that I think about it, their conversation seemed a bit off.
I told the officer about this detail.
"Gregory and Michael used to hang out together.
"They seemed pretty close," I added.
The older officer paused for a moment.
"Gregory... he's already on our radar.
"After Vivian went missing following her marriage, he didn't show much concern.
"And after Richard fell into a coma, Gregory gained significant power in the company," he continued.
My heart clenched, as if an icy hand had wrapped around it.
Everything was leading toward the same answer.
Was Gregory the one who kept Vivian prisoner?
Was he the one pulling Michael's strings all along?
I suddenly remembered that deleted comment I'd seen before.
"Just married, but already trapped in a cage."
If Vivian was imprisoned right after Richard fell ill, then the marriage between Michael and Vivian was probably nothing more than a sham.
It was all part of a scheme to transfer Vivian's shares or wrest control of Starlight Holdings.
And Michael? He was nothing more than a pawn in Gregory's game.
The more I pieced things together, the more a chill crept down my spine.
This was way more than just a kidnapping now.
There was a huge fight over money tangled up in all this—and maybe even crimes far worse than I dared to imagine.
My brain was working overtime, trying to piece everything together.
I had to do something.
I couldn't let Lily get swept up in this dangerous whirlpool.
And I absolutely couldn't let Vivian down when she was reaching out for help.