The Search at North River
Chapter 06 - The Search at North River
A state judge issued the warrant by late afternoon.
Ortiz led investigators into North River with independent pediatric advocates and medical regulators.
Ethan remained at the hospital with Lucas.
He kept Anna’s instruction.
Do not arrive angry.
Arrive with a warrant.
The clinic’s public floors appeared spotless.
Children sat in bright classrooms while staff described individualized therapy.
The lower level told another story.
Behind a coded elevator, investigators found rooms without outside windows, shelves of duplicated wristbands, and files organized by profitable insurance identities.
Some children had been assigned records belonging to wealthy patients like Lucas.
Others existed under initials because guardians had changed their names.
Anna’s room was empty.
A cup of tea remained warm.
Clinic director Dr. Paul Mercer claimed she had been discharged that morning.
No discharge destination appeared in the record.
Security footage showed Victoria entering the lower level at 6:10 a.m.
She left twenty minutes later with Anna inside a dark vehicle.
The vehicle belonged to Reed Children’s Health Network.
Victoria controlled the network temporarily through a board position Anna gave her before the accident.
Ortiz traced the vehicle to an abandoned maternity hospital once owned by Anna’s father.
The building was scheduled for demolition in two days.
Before police could reach it, the fire alarm activated.
Smoke appeared on a remote security camera.
Ethan saw the alert on Ortiz’s shared feed.
He wanted to leave Lucas and drive there.
Lucas reached for his sleeve.
“Stay.”
Ethan stayed.
Firefighters, police, and trained rescuers handled the building.
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Parenthood was not proven by entering every dangerous place.
Sometimes it was proven by refusing to abandon the child already beside you.
