Chapter 23 - The Porcelain Doll
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We left Clara upstairs in the nursery under the watchful eyes of Sarah, a trusted pediatric nurse and former security officer Ben had vetted personally.
Downstairs in the entryway, Marcus, the lead security guard, stood holding a sleek white box tied with a black satin ribbon. He wore latex gloves as he carefully set it down on the foyer table.
"It arrived via a local courier service," Marcus explained, stepping back. "The driver said a man in a grey suit paid him five hundred dollars in cash on a street corner downtown to deliver it directly to Lydia Caldwell."
"My name is Sterling," I corrected automatically, my stomach churning with anxiety. "I reclaimed my maiden name."
"To them, you're still the woman tied to the debt, Lyd," Ben said grimly. He reached out and gently pulled the black ribbon away, tipping the lid open with the tip of a pen.
Inside the box lay an antique porcelain doll. It had delicate painted features, blonde curls, and a pale lace dress.
My breath caught in my throat. I recognized it instantly.
"That... that was my mother's doll," I whispered, pressing a hand to my mouth. "She kept it in her private safe deposit box at First National Bank. How could anyone have..."
Ben reached down and carefully lifted the doll out of the box. Tucked into the folds of the porcelain doll's lace apron was a small, silver flash drive.
"They're showing us their reach," Ben spat, his eyes blazing with fury. "They breached your mother's bank box just to prove they can touch things you think are safe."
"Plug it in," I said, my voice suddenly deadly quiet. The terror that had paralyzed me for the last three days began to calcify into something else—a cold, fierce anger. "If they want to communicate, let's see what they have to say."
May you like
Ben hesitated, then pulled out his encrypted laptop from his briefcase. He inserted the flash drive into a sandboxed drive.
A single video file popped up on the screen. Ben clicked play.
