Ryan didn't leave the hospital.

By morning, he had ordered a DNA test.

Michael handled the legal arrangements while detectives continued questioning Claire.

Ryan sat beside Sophie's bed and tried not to stare at her.

Once he knew what to look for, he couldn't stop seeing pieces of himself.

The shape of her eyebrows.

The slight dimple in her left cheek.

Even the way she pressed her lips together when she was frightened reminded him of photographs of himself as a child.

It meant nothing.

He kept telling himself that.

Children looked like strangers all the time.

At eight in the morning, Leo arrived with Ryan's sister.

Ryan met him in the hallway.

Leo immediately wrapped both arms around his father.

"Is Sophie okay?"

"She's okay."

"Is Mom coming home?"

Ryan hesitated.

"I don't know yet."

Leo looked toward Sophie's room.

"Are you mad at me?"

Ryan crouched.

"No."

"I didn't tell you."

"Why?"

Leo's eyes filled with tears.

"Mom said Sophie would disappear."

Ryan felt something inside him go still.

"What exactly did Mom say?"

Leo stared at the floor.

"She said I wasn't supposed to go near the vent. Then I heard Sophie crying again."

"How long have you known she was there?"

"Maybe two weeks."

"Did Mom feed her?"

Leo nodded slowly.

"Sometimes."

Ryan closed his eyes.

"And sometimes she forgot?"

"She said Sophie wasn't supposed to be there."

Ryan stood.

That afternoon, Michael returned with information about Emily.

"You're not going to like this."

Ryan looked up.

"Try me."

"Emily Bennett essentially disappears from normal records seven years ago."

"What does that mean?"

"No employment history we can verify after that point. No marriage record. No property in her name. Nothing that looks like a normal life."

"She left New York."

"Maybe."

Michael placed several documents on the table.

"But here's the strange part. I checked the renovation history of your house."

Ryan frowned.

"What does my house have to do with Emily?"

"The kitchen service area was altered seven years ago."

Ryan stared at him.

"Right before Claire and I moved in."

"Correct."

Michael tapped a signature.

"Who authorized this?"

Ryan looked down.

Margaret Hayes.

Claire's mother.

"Why would Margaret sign construction documents for my house?"

"That's what I'd like to know."

Ryan's phone rang.

The hospital laboratory.

He answered.

"Ryan Whitmore."

"Mr. Whitmore, your expedited paternity results are available."

His grip tightened around the phone.

Michael watched him.

Ryan listened without speaking.

When the call ended, he remained motionless.

"Ryan?"

He looked at Michael.

"99.99 percent."

Michael exhaled.

Ryan stared through the window into Sophie's room.

His daughter.

He had a daughter.

Six years of birthdays.

Six Christmas mornings.

First steps.

First words.

Fevers.

Nightmares.

Everything.

Gone.

Someone had taken all of it from him.

He entered Sophie's room.

She was awake, coloring.

Ryan sat beside her.

"Hey."

She smiled cautiously.

"Hi."

He struggled for words.

"You were right."

"About what?"

Ryan's throat tightened.

"I am your dad."

Sophie stared at him.

Then she put down the crayon.

"Really?"

"Really."

She climbed into his arms.

Ryan held her.

He had known her for less than twenty-four hours.

Yet when she whispered "Dad" against his chest, something broke open inside him.

After several minutes, Sophie pulled back.

"Can Mommy come now?"

Ryan's heart sank.

"I'm trying to find her."

"Mrs. Whitmore said she can't come."

Ryan went still.

"What did Claire tell you?"

Sophie looked confused.

"Who's Claire?"

"My wife. The woman from the house."

"Oh."

Her expression changed.

"Mrs. Whitmore."

"What did she say about your mother?"

Sophie picked at the edge of the blanket.

"She said Mommy was gone."

"Gone where?"

The girl looked at him.

"She said Mommy was dead."

Ryan felt the blood drain from his face.

Behind him, Michael stopped in the doorway.

Ryan leaned closer.

"Sophie, did you see your mother before you came to my house?"

She nodded.

"When?"

"I don't know."

"Was it recently?"

Another nod.

"Mommy put me in the car."

Ryan's pulse jumped.

"Whose car?"

Sophie frowned, trying to remember.

"A lady's."

"What lady?"

"The older lady."

Ryan glanced at Michael.

"Did she tell you her name?"

Sophie shook her head.

Then she looked at the photograph of Ryan and Emily on the bedside table.

"She said Mommy was making trouble again."

Ryan's stomach tightened.

"What did she look like?"

Sophie thought for a moment.

"She had white hair."

Michael slowly pulled out his phone.

He found a photograph and held it toward Sophie.

It was taken at Leo's birthday party the previous year.

Margaret Hayes stood beside Claire.

Sophie recoiled.

"That's her."

Ryan stared at the screen.

"You're sure?"

Sophie grabbed his hand.

"She took me away from Mommy."