try begging
"No matter how I thought about it, I came to the same conclusion. I can't do this."
Robert stared out the window, his chin resting on the windowsill, his gaze fixed on the child who looked out with a sullen face. The child had woken up early in the morning and gone straight to the window.
Seeing the child waiting for her parents, not knowing what fate awaited her, made his chest feel tight.
This is wrong for an innocent child."
He even weighed Dave's crimes. Naturally, the other side of the scale was empty, so the weight of the crime tipped towards Dave. Dave had killed the girl's grandfather, so he deserved punishment, but this child had done nothing wrong. So why did she have to be here? Why did she have to carry this invisible time bomb? The time was running out. Imagining how things would turn out tonight, Robert became even more anxious.
He had heard on the radio that Dave had been transferred to a detention center not far from here. Were they going to let him go as requested? But Nancy had said not to underestimate that devil, as she didn't know if he would actually let him go until the very end. Yes, the old him would have said the same thing.
As the sun began to rise, Robert turned his gaze to the clock on the table. It was time to get ready. Today was Sunday, the day he visited his wife. He shifted his gaze from the clock back to the child.
"...This is stupid."
Six days, the longest in their lives, had come to an end, and the day of reckoning had dawned.
The two of them moved to Brayton State Hospital before the sun had fully risen. According to the nurse's testimony, Robert Fisher visited his wife at different times each week. She said there had been no call saying he wouldn't be coming this week. He only hoped that he didn't have the slightest idea that his wife's location had been discovered.
wonder if he didn't just leave her with Nancy?
Two hours had already passed since Grace began anxiously waiting for news of Robert Fisher's arrival in the office of the mental institution. It was now 8 AM.
She lifted her hand, as if to bite her nails, then lowered it. She couldn't take her eyes off the clock on the wall.
"I hope he brings Ellie with him."
The best-case scenario for them was if Robert Fisher took Ellie and left Nancy Wilkins behind.
Leon had interrogated the rebel prisoners held in the detention center and discovered important information. Robert and Hattie Fisher had a daughter who was the same age as Grace.
And Annabelle Fisher, like Ellie, had died in the accidental shooting caused by James Blanchard Jr.
"How come you didn't know that?"
Leon had been astonished to find out that Grace was unaware of such crucial information.
"Who remembers when they were three?"
He had wondered if she had been brainwashed again, but it turned out that it simply wasn't in her memory.
"Grace had a cold around that time and didn't go to daycare. After that, it became something that couldn't be talked about. I was so stupid back then, I thought it was for everyone's good."
Jonathan Riddle Jr., who had been old enough to be in school at the time, remembered it clearly. Including Annabelle Fisher's appearance.
A child with blonde hair and green eyes. Robert Fisher would feel sympathy for Ellie, who resembled his deceased daughter. Even if he dared to project his daughter onto her, he could tolerate it as long as she played along with his plan. Arousing Fisher's sympathy and guilt to safely recover Ellie. That was Leon's first plan.
If persuasion didn't work, he could take Hattie Fisher hostage. If he didn't bring Ellie back, there was also a way to track down his location after he left the meeting. What if the child wasn't in his hideout? What if Nancy Wilkins had taken Ellie in the meantime? What if Fisher didn't come here? Leon repeated the word "what if" countless times, carefully considering countless plans in his head.
"...This is stupid."
He knew it was stupid, but he wanted to do it. There were things he hadn't done because he knew they were stupid. Like grabbing the collars of those who protected the child who killed his daughter and beating them up. Perhaps his wife had become sicker because of his cowardice. He had thought such thoughts from time to time, but he had been thinking about it constantly these past few days, all because of that child. Does Annie resent me too? Robert let out a heavy sigh.
Today was Sunday. It was the deadline that Nancy had set for Dave's release, and the day she had threatened to cut off the child's finger if her demands were not met. Judging by Nancy's recent madness, it seemed like something she would do.
"If you get money from that devil, I'll give you a share. I know it's not much compared to the money you can get directly from him."
Nancy made such a remark, making him out to be a kidnapper who had kidnapped the child for money.
"Once we rescue your father and go to a safe place, we'll go our separate ways."
He had readily nodded. That was his original plan. With his sick wife, he couldn't escape to a foreign country. But he couldn't nod at Nancy's subsequent proposal.
"I'll give you the child..."
"Didn't you promise to return her to her parents?"
"Of course I will, but it's a shame to return her right away. There's no better weakness for that devil than her..." Nancy pointed with her eyes at the child sleeping with a doll in a corner of the room.
"Why don't you keep her and get more money from Winston after ensuring your safety? The longer you keep her, the better the revenge will be. That arrogant Winston might even kneel and beg."
Nancy acted as if it was an amazing idea. Robert was also amazed, but for a different reason.
"Nancy, I do need money, but I'm helping you now."
"Of course I know that, sir. And I know you feel uneasy seeing her because she reminds you of
Annie. I do too. But she's not Annie."
Nancy chattered as if she understood, but Robert was only becoming more irritated. She kept bringing up Annie, making him feel like a lunatic who couldn't tell his dead daughter from another girl.
"What I'm trying to say is that the person you should be taking care of is not a child with a billionaire murderer for a father, but Aunt Hattie. Let's be realistic, sir."
Nancy noticed his hesitation over the child and tried to persuade him. The conclusion of this long persuasion was to kidnap the child instead of letting her go. Twice. It seemed like she didn't intend to kill her, which was fortunate, but of course, he couldn't completely trust her. Asking to take her hostage twice was an incredibly absurd suggestion, even assuming that Winston would release Dave.
He didn't know what Nancy would do if things didn't go her way. This is something I can't do. So I might as well do something stupid. Imagining Nancy doing something terrible to the child, Robert finally got up. Surprisingly, his steps felt light as he approached the child, having made his decision.
"Ellie, let's go with Uncle." He had to take her anyway. He couldn't just leave her with Nancy.
"Where? To Mommy?" The child turned to him, her eyes sparkling. Robert finally uttered the words that had been weighing heavily on his chest for days.
"Yes, I'll take you to your mother." Robert realized that the smiles the child had given him until now weren't really smiles.
"Let's go. Let's go."
Robert already had a plan in mind. He would stop by the police station before going to the hospital. Knowing that Dave had been transferred north meant that Grace and the man were also in the north. He would ask Grace to return the child and release Dave. Asking for a favor by first returning the hostage. He knew it was a hopeless, foolish thing to do. But it was nothing compared to harming the child.
"I'm definitely not going to kiss Mommy when I see her." The child ran to her bed excitedly and began to pack her things clumsily.
Let's leave this and come back for it later." Robert stopped the child and put on her coat. The truck keys were with Nancy, who was sleeping in another room, so he would have to walk. Besides, if he ran into Nancy, he wouldn't be able to explain why he was taking the child's belongings.
"Let's leave this too."
"Why?" He had been preventing her from wearing the paper bag because she would immediately draw attention, but she stubbornly wanted to put it on her head again.
"Then let's just hold it in your hand like yesterday."
"...Okay."
The child thought for a moment, then grabbed the paper bag and the rabbit doll and hugged them to her chest.
"Ellie, listen carefully to Uncle." Robert met the child's eyes and warned her.
"Don't say a word from now until we get out of here."
"Then I can't go to Mommy?"
"......"
While Robert was pondering how to indirectly explain that they were escaping without Nancy noticing, the child seemed to have reached her own conclusion, covering her mouth with one hand and nodding. Whatever she believed, it was enough that the child kept quiet. Robert grabbed his coat and gun and took the child out.
There wasn't a rat in the early morning hallway. Across the corridor, Nancy's door was, as expected, firmly closed. Robert walked down the stairs, silencing his footsteps and holding the child's hand. As they reached the first floor and headed straight for the front door...
"Where are you going?" Nancy's cold voice came from behind. A chill ran down his spine. Robert froze for a moment, then composed himself and turned around.
"What are you doing there? I thought you were still asleep." Nancy was sitting in a small lounge area behind the stairs, reading a newspaper.
"Well, I woke up as if I had a vision. By the way, where are you going so early in the morning?"
Robert replied as if it were a silly question. "I'm going to see Hattie. It's Sunday, isn't it?"
"Then is this a gift for Aunt Hattie?" Nancy pointed to the child holding his hand.
"Well, it's not wrong to say that Hattie would like it."
"It could also be wrong. What if it was a gift for someone else, not Aunt Hattie?" Nancy gave a wry smile and made a meaningful remark. An ashtray filled with cigarette butts was placed in front of her.
It meant she had been sitting there for quite a while. She had already gotten up early to monitor the exit, anticipating that he would take the child away. Damn it. Robert had to admit that he had been careless.
'Honey, please don't say I told you I would take you to Mommy. If you do, either Nancy or Uncle will get shot.' He looked at the three-year-old with an expectation that was too much for a child of her age, and continued his verbal battle with Nancy.
"Nancy, are you calling me a traitor now?"
"I was just making a logical deduction, sir."
"With that brilliant mind of yours, why can't you think of this? How can you leave a three-year-old alone? You're not going to look after her, are you? With your recent temperament, who knows what you might do."
"What are you trying to do, sir?"
"If you're so suspicious of me, why don't you come with me?" Robert gestured to Nancy to get up. Whether on the way or inside the hospital, there would be a way to shake off that guy.
"Why would I walk into a trap? If you don't want to be locked up in that guy's private room again, it would be best to skip the visit today."
"What are you saying? You mean, that guy has... Hattie in the hospital...?" Robert was deep in thought.
"It's just speculation for now." Nancy looked around the lobby, and even though she knew there was no one else, she lowered her voice.
"Grace also knows that you go to see Aunt Hattie every Sunday. Logically, she would have started by looking for Aunt in the hospital. Don't forget that the asylum is overflowing with potential defectors who are always looking for opportunities to get a comfortable life." There was nothing else to say in rebuttal. If he insisted on going despite hearing that, it would only turn her suspicion into certainty.
"Ugh, I've been going there every Sunday without fail... Hattie will be worried." Pretending to be frustrated, Robert suddenly had a good idea.
"Wait, then Hattie is in danger. She's probably being held hostage by that guy."
"Aunt will be fine. As long as that kid is here, he won't hurt her. And what can he get from Aunt Hattie? She won't cooperate."
"Yeah, she's crazy. Isn't she?"
"Oh, sir... I mean..."
"You're so quick to say since she's not your family."
"Sir, I really didn't mean it that way..." Nancy, who had made a slip of the tongue, was somewhat deflated. Robert didn't miss the opportunity.
"I need to know if my wife is safe. I have to call."
"You might be tracked." Nancy's gaze was fixed on the small phone booth in the corner of the lobby.
"Then I'll go to the train station and call. I'll tell Hattie I'm going to catch a train soon, so you don't have to worry about this place being discovered."
Nancy chewed her lip as if she was still dissatisfied.
"If it had been Dave who was caught instead, I would have gladly allowed you. I know it's a sensitive time, but this is excessive. You're on the level of a paranoid patient..."
"Oh, I get it."
Nancy grunted in annoyance, then stood up.
"I'll go with you."
She never let her guard down. It was only a partial victory for Robert.
He left the hotel and crossed the street toward the train station, staring fixedly at the back of Nancy's head as she walked ahead. At least she seemed to have dropped her suspicion that he was trying to kidnap the child.
Robert had not yet given up on his original plan. He intended to use a phone booth to report her to the police, away from her watchful eyes.
He looked down at the child who was quietly following him, holding his hand. The child hadn't said anything about being told she would be taken to her mother, even after hearing the argument he had with Nancy. Was she unusually perceptive?
The child seemed to sense the tense atmosphere between the two adults and looked back and forth between them with worried eyes. Robert patted the child's head. "It's okay."
He managed to get to a payphone booth inside the train station but failed to call the police. Nancy was standing in front of the booth, watching him. She was making sure he called the hospital. It meant she hadn't completely dropped her guard against him.
Robert had no choice but to ask the operator for the number of the psychiatric ward at Brayton State Hospital. Nancy's stiff expression softened noticeably.
"Ah, good morning. This is Harry Fisher, and I'd like to speak to my wife for a moment, please."
The nurse on the other end of the line asked him to wait a moment and then disappeared.
Why is it taking so long?
It seemed to be taking longer than usual, perhaps because it was a busy time. Meanwhile, Robert put a few more coins into the phone and kept an eye on Nancy pacing in front of the booth.
What am I going to do now?
He racked his brain, trying to figure out what to do, his mind clouded from the recent tense argument.
Then a woman's voice came from the other end of the phone.
[I'll put you through.]
It wasn't Hattie's voice.
Grace?
Robert was stunned. So Nancy had been right after all. Grace knew about the hospital where Hattie was. Winston had his wife captive.
His breath quickened. This was his only chance. He had to tell Grace her location quickly.
[Mrs. Fisher is doing well.]
As if thinking that Nancy might be listening in, Grace reassured him, pretending to be a nurse.
Relief washed over him, and his mind cleared. This was his only chance. He had to tell Grace her location quickly.
Robert answered loudly, as if for Nancy to hear, who was pacing back and forth in front of the booth.
"Yes, Hattie." When he called the nurse Hattie, Grace, realizing that Nancy wasn't listening, began to persuade him to give her back the child, asking if the child was okay. Just as Robert was choosing what he could say without Nancy noticing, she suddenly approached him closely.
"Ask the lady if there's anything wrong at the hospital, if there are any soldiers or strange men around. And if Grace has come looking for you."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll ask." Robert deliberately frowned, as if annoyed. To prevent Grace's voice from being heard by Nancy, he answered loudly.
"Yeah, I'm with Nancy right now."
[What about my daughter?]
He looked down. The child was holding a stuffed rabbit and standing next to him, staring at the passersby. He wanted to let her hear her mother's voice, but it was too dangerous.
"Yeah, she's doing fine." At that moment, a sigh of relief came from the other end of the phone. Robert, using words he might say to Hattie, informed Grace that the situation was difficult.
"Room 204 of Fields Hotel in the back alley opposite the central station. I will distract Nancy and leave the child. Can you promise to let Dave and Nancy go in return?"
As Nancy, who was standing in front of the ticket booth, turned towards him, Robert started talking about something else.
"Yeah, I'll definitely go next week, so don't be too upset."
He thought she would hang up the phone right away after finding out the child's location. But after a brief silence, Grace's voice came through again.
[He said he'll let them go.]
She must have asked Winston. If Grace, who didn't have the authority to release Dave, had readily promised to let the two go, Robert wouldn't have believed it. He felt reassured that she took her time to get confirmation from that guy.
"Okay. Then I'll hang up now."
[Thank you very much.]
Robert savored the tearful words of gratitude he heard just before hanging up the phone as he headed back to the hotel. He didn't deserve to hear such words.
But then again, he would. If someone told him the location of a kidnapped child, he would probably cry tears of gratitude, even if it was the kidnapper himself.
Yes, whatever the reason, I was a kidnapper.
The fact that he had a child himself and had done such a cruel thing to another parent made him feel even more miserable. Thankfully, he had managed to correct his mistake before it was too late.
Entering the hotel lobby, Robert looked at the back of Nancy's head with awkward eyes.
He felt sorry for betraying Nancy, but since Grace wasn't a cruel person, he would keep his promise.
Robert's face hardened as he was about to enter room 204. Nancy was also following him into the room.
"Oh, come on..."
He deliberately chuckled as if she still didn't trust him. While he unbuttoned the child's coat,
Nancy sat on the small bed.
The child's eyes spoke.That's my bed.
But the child just puffed out her cheeks, without saying a word. After undoing the child's scarf, Robert looked at the clock on the table.
"Oh, dear, look at the time. I forgot to buy breakfast while I was out."
Soon, the military would raid the place. He had to separate Nancy and the child before that.
"Nancy, let's go." Robert gestured for Nancy, who was starting to settle into bed, to get up.
Knowing she wouldn't go alone, he intended to leave the child here and go with her.
"I'm tired. I don't want breakfast."
"Are you trying to sleep?"
"No."
As if she knew he was waiting for her to fall asleep so he could sneak the child away, Nancy sharpened her tone.
"Go by yourself."
"You want me to leave this child with you? I'd rather leave a lamb with a wolf." Nancy opened her eyes and glared at him. Robert sighed heavily and looked down at the child standing silently beside him.
"Aren't you hungry?" The child covered her mouth with her hand and nodded vigorously. Only then did he realize that the child hadn't said a word until now. And the reason for it as well.
"Don't say a word from now until we leave here."
"Then I can't go to Mommy?"
Knowing that if she spoke, she couldn't go to her mother, she kept her mouth shut. Just a little longer. Your mother will be here soon. Feeling sorry for her, he stroked her head. Nancy, sprawled on the bed, let out a big sigh as if to be heard.
"I won't go far."
"There's a bakery next to the train station." Nancy sat up and stared at the child. Her premonition was right.
"Then let's all go together."
"Why would we do that?"
"You want to leave that child alone?"
"Are you saying I should put on the coat I just took off?" He acted annoyed, but Nancy wouldn't budge. It didn't seem like she had noticed. If she had, she wouldn't be here like this.
"Must you always be so oversensitive? We won't see each other forever starting tomorrow, so instead of being kind to each other..."
"You know perfectly well why I have to do this today, don't you?"
In the end, he couldn't win against Nancy's stubbornness. He put his child's coat back on and the three of them headed to the bakery. While watching the baker prepare sandwiches for him and his child, he pondered again.
It was about 20 minutes away from the hospital, so there were about 10 minutes left until the military arrived. I have to go back quickly. As soon as I get there, I'll mix some barbiturate in my coffee and give it to Nancy.
I should have chosen to put him to sleep like that from the beginning.
While I was quickly changing my plans as I paid for the sandwich... The child next to him murmured,
"Oh? There's Dad."
"Ellie, where are you going?"
Was there a newspaper hanging somewhere here? Because of the news of Dave's execution, Winston was in the spotlight again and appeared in the newspapers every day. A few times, the child had recognized his black-and-white photo on the page and called him
"Daddy," giving him a kiss. It was fine doing that in a hotel room, but outside, Nancy would be sensitive about it.
Robert turned around to stop the child, but his face turned pale. The child wasn't looking at his father in the newspaper. How did they get here already? Through the glass window that took up one entire wall of the bakery, he could see across the street clearly.
A line of military vehicles was entering the alleyway leading to the hotel, and a black sedan was parked right in front of the bakery. The tall man standing next to a young man, wearing a fedora and a trench coat, was only visible from behind.
"Hey, it's Daddy." But the child recognized her father just by that. Nancy, thinking the child was just talking nonsense, sat at a table by the window and looked down at her nails. No, no, Ellie.
Just as Robert was about to run to the window and cover the child's mouth, the child shouted, "Mommy's here too!" As soon as the child recognized her mother getting out of the car, Nancy turned her head sharply.
"Ellie, go away now!" He ran to get the child away, but Nancy was closer.
"Mommy! Mom, hic." Nancy snatched the child up faster than she could draw her gun.
"You dirty traitor!" In that moment when her lifelong neighbor had become a traitor, she pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
"Ugh..."
The traitor clutched his stomach and collapsed. Nancy kicked the gun that had fallen from his hand and turned her head toward the window.
"Damn it..." The devil and his henchmen were running towards them after hearing the gunshot.
It would be bad if they were trapped here. Nancy picked up the devil's child, who was trembling all over, and opened the door, passing the fallen traitor.
"Mommy!"
As soon as they stepped out, the child started crying loudly for her mother. Grace, along with the military surrounding Nancy, stopped just four steps away. Not knowing why her mother had stopped approaching, the child thrashed about wildly.
"Let go! I want to go. I'm going to Mommy!"
"Doesn't she know the thing touching her head is a gun? You all know, right?"
"Nancy, please don't do this. Put the gun down and let's talk."
"Ellie, it's okay. Be still."
While Grace tried to talk to her, Winston calmed the child.This was the first time she had seen him so closely.
She couldn't believe for a moment that this man, who was so well-dressed, was the monster who had brutally killed her blood relative.
This disgusting murderer.
She wanted to put a bullet in his smug face right away, but she held back. She decided to postpone her revenge until after she rescued her father.
A bullet to his daughter would be a greater torment to him. It would be the perfect revenge for what her father had suffered.
"Nancy Wilkins."
The devil called out to Nancy.
"Your father is in a detention center not far from here. If you want, I can bring him here right now and exchange him."
The devil had no idea that the promise to return the child had turned to ashes in the fierce flames of anger.
Without taking her eyes off the enemies surrounding her, Nancy pondered how to escape from this place.
It was a two-hour drive from the heart of the city to the border of Norden, the chosen destination for asylum.
Even if she received the car and funds as Nancy had requested, there was still a problem. She didn't know what plot he would devise in the two hours it would take to drive to the border with her father and child in the car.
"This isn't the place we agreed on, is it?"
The place where they were supposed to receive her father was a bridge that crossed a wide river in the middle of a forest. Once they crossed the bridge and entered Norden's territory, the roads branched out in many directions.
It was a very carefully chosen place where a secret sniper attack would be difficult over the river, and escape would be easy beyond the dense forest.
Hey, why don't you play dumb like your little brother?
Leon glared coldly at the cunning rat. He had no intention of handing over David Wilkins.
It would be the act of a fool to simply hand him over and let those guys disappear forever with the child.
The rendezvous point had been their last chance. But carrying out a rescue operation on a narrow bridge with a fast-flowing river on either side was tantamount to killing the child himself.
"And I clearly said I'd return the child after I crossed the border."
Wilkins gestured toward the sedan parked across the street. It was a demand for a handover. Or rather, a demand that she let go of the child once more, right before his eyes.