Chapter 57 Depths and Despair

Chapter 57 Depths and Despair
(Tony POV)
The alarm on Lily's heart monitor flatlined at 3:47 AM. I'd been reviewing surveillance footage in the hospital cafeteria when my phone exploded with alerts. Security breach. Medical emergency. Code Blue, Room 412. I ran faster than I'd ever run in my life.
By the time I reached her room, nurses and doctors swarmed around Lily's bed. I caught a glimpse of her pale, lifeless face before someone pushed me back into the hallway.
"Sir, you need to wait outside."
"What happened?" I demanded, trying to see past them.
"She pulled out her IV and injected herself with something. We're doing everything we can."
Injecting herself. Suicide attempt.
My legs gave out and I slid down the wall, my head in my hands. This was my fault. I should have anticipated this. Should have put her on suicide watch. Should have known that telling a mother her baby was dead would push her over the edge.
"Mr. Stark?" Dr. Chen appeared beside me, her scrubs spotted with blood. "We got her back. Her heart is beating. But Tony... she's not responsive. She's breathing on her own, but she won't wake up."
"What does that mean?"
"It means her body is alive but her mind has shut down. Sometimes trauma causes this, a complete psychological withdrawal. She's retreated somewhere inside herself where the pain can't reach her."
"Is she going to wake up?"
Dr. Chen's pause told me everything. "I don't know. Days, weeks, months or never. There's no way to predict."
I stood up, my legs shaky. "I need to see her."
"Tony, maybe you should.."
"I need to see her."
Dr. Chen nodded and led me into the room. Lily lay perfectly still, eyes closed, her face empty of all emotion. Machines beeped rhythmically around her. She looked like a corpse, like someone who'd already given up on living. I pulled a chair to her bedside and took her hand. It was cold, lifeless.
"Lily," I said softly. "I know you can hear me. I know you're in there somewhere. And I know you think your baby is dead. But I don't believe it. I'm going to find her. I'm going to bring your daughter home. So you need to fight. You need to come back."
No response. Not even a flicker behind her closed eyelids.
"The baby we found in the warehouse was Sarah's," I continued, squeezing her hand. "Sarah went into labor that night too. Her baby was stillborn. But yours wasn't. Your daughter was alive when Sarah took her. Which means she's still alive. Somewhere."
I wanted to believe that. Needed to believe it. Because if Lily's baby really was dead, I didn't know how to save her from this darkness.
"Sir?" One of my security team stood in the doorway. "Agent Morrison needs to speak with you. It's urgent."
I kissed Lily's forehead and left, though everything in me screamed to stay.
Agent Morrison waited in the hall with two other FBI agents. His expression was grim.
"We found Sarah's motel," he said without preamble. "Three hours north. But she'd already cleared out. Left behind some baby supplies, formula, diapers."
"So the baby was alive when they were there."
"Yes. But Tony..." He hesitated. "We need to prepare for the possibility that the baby isn't alive anymore. Sarah has no maternal instinct. She abandoned her own stillborn child. If Lily's baby became too much trouble, too loud, too difficult.."
"Don't." I cut him off. "Don't say it."
"We're doing everything we can, but the odds of finding a newborn alive after this much time.."
"I don't care about odds." My voice was harsh. "Find her. Use whatever resources you need. Stark Industries will cover all costs. But find that baby."
Agent Morrison nodded. "We're tracking Sarah's phone, credit cards, and known associates. We'll find her."
"Not fast enough." I pulled out my own phone and called Pepper. "I need you to mobilize every tech resource we have. Facial recognition software, satellite imaging, data mining, everything. We're finding Sarah Morrison."
"Tony, the FBI is already.."
"The FBI is bound by laws and regulations. We're not. Do whatever it takes, Pepper. Legal or not, I don't care. Find her."
I hung up before she could argue.
Over the next forty-eight hours, I didn't sleep. Didn't eat. Just reviewed footage, tracked leads, coordinated with my tech team.
Sarah had gone completely off-grid. No phone activity. No credit card use. No sightings.
But my team was better than good. They were the best. And slowly, we pieced together her trail. A gas station attendant three towns over remembered a woman matching Sarah's description buying formula at 2 AM. Security footage confirmed it.
A motel clerk reported a couple with a crying baby checking in under a false name. The description matched Sarah and Marcus.
We were getting closer. But not close enough. I spent every spare moment at Lily's bedside, talking to her catatonic form, begging her to wake up.
"They found another lead today," I told her on the third day. "Sarah bought baby supplies in Ohio. That means your daughter is alive, Lily. She's alive and we're going to find her."
No response. Just that empty, peaceful face that looked like death.
Dr. Chen pulled me aside that afternoon. "Tony, you need to rest. You're going to make yourself sick."
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. You've lost ten pounds. You have dark circles under your eyes. You're running on pure adrenaline and stubbornness."
"I can't rest. Not while Lily's baby is out there. Not while Lily is... like this."
Dr. Chen studied my face. "You love her."
It wasn't a question, but I answered anyway. "Yes."
"Does she know?"
"No. And she probably never will. Because by the time she wakes up, if she wakes up she'll remember that I failed her. That I promised to protect her and her baby, and I failed at both."
"You didn't fail. Sarah is a sociopath who.."
"I should have found them faster. Should have tracked them better. Should have anticipated Sarah would go into labor and make the switch." I ran my hands through my hair. "If I'd been smarter, faster, better, better, Lily would have her daughter. She wouldn't be lying in that bed wanting to die."
"Tony.."
My phone buzzed. Pepper.
"Tell me you found something," I said, answering.
"We did. We hacked into Sarah's email, don't ask how. She's been communicating with Alex through a prison intermediary. They're planning to flee to Mexico."
"Where is she now?"
"We're tracking her to a location in rural Pennsylvania. But Tony, you need to let the FBI handle this. If you go yourself.."
"Send me the coordinates."
"Tony.."
"Send them."
She did. I was out of the hospital in minutes, my security team scrambling to follow.
We drove for three hours to a rundown farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. FBI was already there, surrounding the building.
"Mr. Stark, you can't be here," Agent Morrison said when he saw me.
"Is she in there?"
"We don't know yet. We're about to.."
I didn't wait. I ran toward the house, ignoring the shouts behind me. The door hung open. Inside, the house was trashed, furniture overturned, clothes scattered, clear signs of a hasty departure.
"Clear!" An FBI agent called from upstairs. "No one's here!"
I searched frantically anyway, looking for any sign of the baby. A blanket, a bottle, anything.
In the kitchen, I found a bassinet. Empty but still warm, as if someone had been sleeping in it recently.
"She was here," I said to Agent Morrison when he caught up to me. "The baby was here. We just missed them."
"By how long?"
"Hours. Maybe less."
I wanted to scream. We'd been so close. So damn close. My phone buzzed. An unknown number. I answered, hoping it was a lead.
Instead, I heard Sarah's voice.
"Hello, Tony."
My blood ran cold. "Where is she? Where's the baby?"
"Safe. For now. Fed, changed, healthy. But that could change very quickly if you don't do exactly what I say."
"What do you want?"
"What everyone wants. Money. Ten million dollars, to be exact."
"Done. Tell me where to wire it."
"Not so fast." She laughed, and the sound was unhinged. "I want it in cash. Unmarked bills. And I want it delivered personally by you. Alone. No FBI. No police. No tracking devices. Just you and the money."
"How do I know the baby is even alive?"
"Check your email."
I pulled up my email on my phone. A new message from an unknown address. I clicked the video attachment.
The footage was shaky, clearly shot on a phone. But there she was, a tiny infant, maybe a week old, wrapped in a pink blanket. She was crying, her face red and scrunched up.
"That's her," I breathed. "That's Lily's daughter."
"Yes. And she'll stay alive if you bring me ten million dollars. Otherwise..." Sarah's voice turned cold. "Otherwise, I'll leave her somewhere she'll never be found. A baby can only survive a few days without food or water, Tony. The clock is ticking."
"Where do I bring the money?"
"I'll text you instructions in twenty-four hours. Be ready to move fast. And Tony? If I see any cops, any FBI, any surveillance, the baby dies. Understand?"
"I understand."
"Good. I'm looking forward to meeting you in person. Lily always did have good taste in men." She hung up.
I stared at the phone, my heart pounding.
Agent Morrison had been listening to the speaker. "We can trace that call. Set up a tactical.."
"No." I cut him off. "You heard her. Any sign of law enforcement and she kills the baby."
"Mr. Stark, we can't let you go alone. It's too dangerous."
"I don't care about danger. I care about getting Lily's daughter back alive."
"And what about Lily? What happens if Sarah kills you? If you don't come back?"
I thought of Lily lying in that hospital bed, catatonic with grief. If I died trying to save her daughter, at least I'd die doing something good. Something that mattered.
"Then make sure you tell her I tried," I said. "Tell her I never stopped looking. Tell her..." I paused, the words catching in my throat. "Tell her I loved her. Even though she never knew."
I walked out of the farmhouse, already planning. Twenty-four hours to get ten million in cash. Twenty-four hours to prepare for what would probably be a trap.
Twenty-four hours to figure out how to save a baby and maybe, just maybe, give Lily a reason to live.
My phone buzzed with a text from the unknown number. A photo.Lily's daughter, sleeping peacefully, her tiny hand curled into a fist. And underneath: "Clock is ticking, Tony. Don't be late….."