Seventy-Eight Minutes
Chapter 03 - Seventy-Eight Minutes
Emily had seventy-eight minutes to find two newborns while still weak from surgery.
Noah wanted her to stay in bed, but she refused. “They counted on me being too broken to fight.”
A detective was called, yet the forged consent forms created a legal delay. Grant’s attorney claimed the transfer was voluntary and warned the hospital against interfering. Every minute spent arguing brought the private jet closer to departure.
Then Emily remembered the family tracking app Grant had insisted they install. He had disabled his location weeks ago, but his tablet was still linked to their shared account. Noah opened the app on a hospital computer. A blue dot pulsed near an old cargo terminal twelve miles away.
Emily called Grant again.
This time, she pretended to surrender.
“I understand,” she said, forcing calm into her voice. “Maybe two children really are all we can handle.”
Grant exhaled with relief. “I knew you’d see reason.”
“But I want to say goodbye.”
“You can’t.”
“Then tell me which couple is taking them.”
Grant hesitated. Emily heard a car door close, an engine idling, and the distant whine of an aircraft.
Finally he said, “The Merricks. They’ve waited ten years. They’ll give the babies a life we never could.”
Noah searched the name. Adrian and Celeste Merrick were wealthy donors to St. Matthew’s new maternity wing. Celeste had also been the woman speaking behind Grant. The hospital administrator who prepared the documents worked for their charitable foundation.
The conspiracy was no longer a family dispute. It was trafficking hidden behind philanthropy.
Police units headed for the airfield, but Grant saw them coming. The blue dot began moving toward the runway.
Emily grabbed Noah’s arm. “Call the pilot.”
“We don’t know who he is.”
“Yes, we do.” She pointed to the forged transfer form. At the bottom was a transport company number that matched a small medical aviation service.
Noah reached the pilot seconds before takeoff and told him the infants on board might have been abducted. The plane slowed, then stopped at the edge of the runway.
But Grant was not on it.
Officers opened the cabin and found two empty neonatal carriers, still warm.
Emily’s phone lit up with a new message from Grant.
You should have trusted me. Now you’ll never find them.
Attached was a photograph of Baby C and Baby D inside a moving car.
May you like
In the reflection of the window, Emily saw a red neon sign she recognized immediately.
It belonged to the motel where Grant had proposed to her seven years earlier.
