Chapter 7
I stood so fast the chair slammed into the wall.
“My mother?”
Detective Parker motioned for me to sit.
I didn’t.
“What happened?”
“She’s alive.”
Those words nearly destroyed me because I hadn’t realized death was one of the possibilities until he said them.
“Is she hurt?”
“Minor injuries. She’s being examined.”
“How did Vanessa get her?”
“We’re still determining that.”
“Where is Vanessa?”
“Custody.”
“And Marcus?”
“Not there.”
I called my sister.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Parker said, “Your sister is safe. Officers are with her.”
I stared at him.
“How do you know?”
“She called police when your mother disappeared.”
My mother had left my sister’s house that morning after receiving a text that appeared to come from me.
Come alone. Ethan wants Grandma. Hotel changed. I’ll send address.
She followed the address.
It led to a gas station.
A woman approached her in the parking lot.
Vanessa.
My mother tried to leave.
Vanessa got into the passenger seat and showed her a photograph of Ethan.
Then she told my mother that if she didn’t drive, “things would get worse.”
My mother drove.
To the cabin.
“Why?” I asked.
Parker’s jaw tightened.
“Vanessa wanted the security phrase confirmed.”
“She already knew it.”
“She knew the phrase. She wanted the second authentication.”
I looked at David.
“What second authentication?”
My attorney looked embarrassed.
“Your grandmother anticipated potential disputes. For major changes before final distribution, the firm requires a verbal family verification.”
“From my mother?”
“She’s the alternate verifier.”
I stared at him.
“And nobody thought to mention that after someone impersonated me?”
“We froze the transfer as soon as police contacted us.”
“Then why did Vanessa need Mom?”
“Because she may not know it’s frozen.”
That was one advantage.
A small one.
“What happened at the cabin?”
Parker continued.
“Vanessa forced your mother to record a statement confirming the changes were legitimate.”
My hands clenched.
“She refused?”
“At first.”
“What did Vanessa do?”
“She threatened Ethan.”
My stomach dropped.
“Mom knew he was safe.”
“She wasn’t sure.”
Of course she wasn’t.
Not after seeing that photograph.
Not after knowing what Vanessa had already done.
“So she recorded it.”
“Yes.”
“What minor injuries?”
“Bruising on her wrist. Scrape on her forehead from falling while trying to get away.”
I closed my eyes.
“Who found them?”
“Daniel.”
That made me look up.
“What?”
“Daniel went to the cabin.”
“Why?”
“He received a message from Vanessa.”
Parker slid a printed screenshot toward me.
Come finish what you started.
I stared at it.
“He went alone?”
“Yes.”
“After everything?”
“Yes.”
“That idiot.”
Parker almost smiled.
“On that point, we agree.”
Daniel arrived and found Vanessa trying to upload my mother’s recorded statement.
He confronted her.
My mother ran.
Vanessa tried to stop her.
Daniel pulled Vanessa away.
My mother reached the road and flagged down a county deputy who happened to be passing.
Within minutes, officers surrounded the cabin.
Vanessa surrendered.
“Did she say where Marcus is?”
“No.”
“Did she say anything?”
Parker hesitated.
“She claims Marcus is coming for Ethan.”
Every muscle in my body tightened.
“Where is my son?”
“Still at the secure hotel with two officers.”
“I’m going back.”
Parker nodded.
“We’re moving both of you.”
“Where?”
“We’ll tell you when transport is ready.”
I turned toward the door.
Then stopped.
“Can I see my mother?”
“At the hospital, with an escort.”
My mother looked smaller in the hospital bed.
Her forehead had a bandage.
Her wrist was wrapped.
When she saw me, she started crying.
“I’m sorry.”
I hugged her.
“Stop.”
“I should never have gone.”
“You thought Ethan needed you.”
“I should have called.”
“Yes.”
She gave a weak laugh through tears.
“You sound exactly like me when you were sixteen.”
I almost smiled.
Then her expression changed.
“Rachel, Vanessa told me something.”
“What?”
“She said Daniel was never supposed to fall in love with her.”
I frowned.
“Fall in love with Vanessa?”
“Yes.”
“What does that mean?”
“She said Marcus introduced them because Daniel was supposed to be useful.”
That fit what we knew.
“But then Daniel married her.”
“Yes.”
“She said that complicated things.”
“How?”
My mother swallowed.
“She said Daniel started asking too many questions.”
I sat beside her.
“Did she talk about me?”
“All the time.”
“What did she say?”
“That you were arrogant. That you had everything handed to you.”
I laughed bitterly.
My father died when I was thirteen.
My grandmother raised me while my mother worked two jobs.
The inheritance came from property my grandmother had spent forty years building.
But Vanessa had never cared about facts.
“She said your grandmother’s money was wasted on someone who didn’t understand power.”
“That sounds like Marcus.”
“I think she was repeating him.”
“Did Vanessa say where he is?”
“No.”
My mother looked at the door.
Then lowered her voice.
“But she got a call.”
“When?”
“At the cabin.”
“From Marcus?”
“She called him M.”
“What did you hear?”
“Not much. But she said, ‘The boy remembers the room.’”
My stomach tightened.
“What did he say?”
“I couldn’t hear.”
“Then what?”
“She said, ‘No, Rachel doesn’t know about the school account.’”
I froze.
“The school account?”
My mother nodded.
“What school account?”
“I thought you’d know.”
I didn’t.
After leaving the hospital, I called Ethan’s school.
The principal answered immediately because police had already contacted them.
“Mrs. Cole, Ethan is not here.”
“I know. I’m asking about his account.”
“What account?”
“Anything financial. Tuition. Emergency fund. Online portal.”
“There’s the parent payment account.”
“Who has access?”
“You and Daniel.”
“Anyone else?”
“A guardian can be added.”
“Is Vanessa added?”
The principal typed.
Then went quiet.
“Mrs. Cole?”
“Yes?”
“There’s another authorized guardian.”
“Who?”
“I don’t recognize the name.”
My pulse jumped.
“Tell me.”
“Michael Vale.”
The room tilted.
“Since when?”
“Eight months ago.”
“Who authorized it?”
More typing.
“The request came from Daniel’s parent portal.”
I closed my eyes.
Daniel again.
Maybe hacked.
Maybe careless.
Maybe worse.
“What access does an authorized guardian have?”
“Pickup permissions, emergency contact information, attendance, health forms.”
My blood chilled.
“Pickup?”
“Yes.”
“Can Michael Vale pick Ethan up?”
“He could have.”
“Could have?”
“We removed all non-parent permissions after police contacted us.”
I pressed a hand against my chest.
“What else can he see?”
“Parent addresses.”
“Schedules?”
“School calendar and some classroom schedules.”
“Medical information?”
“Only basic emergency information.”
My mind flashed to Ethan’s asthma.
His inhaler.
The reason I had gone back to Daniel’s house.
Suddenly, that forgotten inhaler felt different.
Too convenient.
Too perfectly timed.
“Can you see who logged into the account recently?”
“I’d need IT.”
“Please.”
Ten minutes later, the school’s IT manager joined the call.
He found six logins under Michael Vale’s guardian profile.
Three were from unknown locations.
One was Friday afternoon.
One Saturday morning.
The morning Ethan ended up at the curb.
Then the IT manager said, “There’s something unusual.”
“What?”
“The guardian downloaded a document Saturday at 8:14 a.m.”
“What document?”
“Ethan’s emergency contact sheet.”
My throat tightened.
“What information is on it?”
“Parents’ numbers. Authorized contacts. Physician. Allergies. Home addresses.”
Both mine and Daniel’s.
My mother’s.
My sister’s.
Everything.
I hung up and immediately called Parker.
He swore quietly when I told him.
“We’ll trace the logins.”
“Marcus has been tracking us through Ethan’s school.”
“It appears possible.”
“Possible?”
“Rachel, I need to be careful with language.”
“I don’t.”
I looked through the tinted window of the police vehicle taking me back to the hotel.
Cars passed us.
Every driver suddenly looked suspicious.
Every parked vehicle looked like the black SUV.
Parker said, “We’re moving you and Ethan now.”
“To where?”
“A protected location.”
“How long?”
“Until we find Marcus.”
I closed my eyes.
Then another call came in.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Parker told me not to answer unknown calls.
But something made me.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then a man’s voice.
Calm.
Professional.
“Rachel.”
My entire body went cold.
“Marcus?”
A quiet laugh.
“Daniel always did talk too much.”
I signaled the officer beside me.
He immediately radioed someone.
“What do you want?”
“What belongs to me.”
“The inheritance isn’t yours.”
“Neither was the money Daniel borrowed.”
“He paid you.”
“He paid interest.”
“You used him.”
“Daniel used himself.”
I hated that part because it contained a grain of truth.
“You will never get near Ethan again.”
Marcus paused.
Then said, “Again?”
My breath stopped.
“What does that mean?”
“You really don’t know.”
I gripped the phone.
“Know what?”
“He met me before.”
My chest tightened.
“When?”
“The blue room wasn’t the first time.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“What did you do to my son?”
“Nothing.”
“Where did you see him?”
“At school.”
My stomach dropped.
“Why?”
“To introduce myself.”
“As Michael Vale?”
“Yes.”
“You signed yourself in as his guardian?”
“With Daniel’s authorization.”
“That authorization was fake.”
“Was it?”
I said nothing.
Marcus continued.
“Ask Daniel what he signed eight months ago.”
Then the call ended.
The officer beside me was already speaking into his radio.
I called Daniel.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Then I received a text.
Not from Daniel.
From Detective Parker.
DO NOT CONTACT DANIEL. WE ARE BRINGING HIM IN.
I typed back.
WHY?
The response came thirty seconds later.
WE CONFIRMED THE SCHOOL GUARDIAN AUTHORIZATION CAME FROM HIS DEVICE.
I stared at the message.
May you like
Then another arrived.
AND IT CONTAINS HIS VERIFIED DIGITAL SIGNATURE.
