Chapter 5
I couldn’t speak.
The official story of Sarah’s death had been carved into my mind for years.
Rainy highway.
A truck losing control.
Sarah’s car leaving the road.
Police calling me at 2:13 in the morning.
I had identified her body.
I had buried my wife.
I had spent more than two years learning how to raise Lily without her.
“What do you mean?”
Mom was crying so hard I could barely understand her.
“Come here.”
“Tell me now.”
“Daniel—”
“Tell me.”
“There was another vehicle.”
I gripped the edge of Melissa’s desk.
“What vehicle?”
“A car that followed her.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Sarah called me.”
Everything inside me stopped.
“When?”
“That night.”
My knees weakened.
“She called you?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
“She said someone had been following her from the restaurant.”
“What restaurant?”
Mom hesitated.
“Please come here.”
I wanted to scream.
Melissa took the phone.
“Margaret, do you still have anything from that call? Voicemail? Notes? Old phone records?”
“I have something.”
“What?”
“A voicemail.”
My heart stopped again.
“You kept it?”
“I couldn’t delete it.”
We drove to Mom’s house.
I barely remembered the trip.
When we arrived, she opened the door before I knocked.
She looked ten years older.
I walked past her.
“Play it.”
“Daniel—”
“Please.”
She took out an old phone from a kitchen drawer.
The battery had died years ago, but she had saved the voicemail as an audio file on her computer.
Mom clicked it.
Sarah’s voice filled the kitchen.
“Margaret, it’s me.”
My chest collapsed.
I had not heard her voice in years.
Not like this.
Not unexpectedly.
“I think somebody’s following me. It might be nothing. A dark SUV has been behind me since I left dinner. Daniel’s probably asleep because he has that early flight. Don’t wake him yet. I’m going to take the highway and see if they stay behind me.”
The message ended.
I stared at the screen.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Mom covered her mouth.
“I did.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Not then.”
“What does that mean?”
“After the accident, I told the detective.”
“And?”
“He said they would check.”
“Who was the detective?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You had just lost your wife. Lily was a baby. You weren’t sleeping. You could barely function.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make!”
“I know!”
Mom’s voice cracked.
“I know.”
The kitchen went silent.
Melissa asked, “Why did Vanessa know?”
Mom looked at me.
“I told her.”
I felt sick.
“When?”
“Last year.”
“Why?”
“She asked about Sarah.”
“Why was she asking?”
“She said she wanted to understand your grief.”
I laughed bitterly.
Of course.
Vanessa gathering information.
Always information.
“What else did you tell her?”
“That Sarah had been nervous before she died.”
“Nervous about what?”
Mom looked down.
“Your company.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“Sarah thought someone was stealing money.”
My head snapped toward Melissa.
“From Carter Biomedical?”
Mom nodded.
“She never told me that.”
“She didn’t want to worry you until she was sure.”
“What did she know?”
“I don’t know. She said she found irregular payments.”
Sarah had worked in corporate compliance.
Not for my company officially.
But she helped my father review contracts when he was ill.
I suddenly remembered.
The week before she died, Sarah had asked me a strange question.
Do you trust everybody around your dad?
I had laughed.
I had told her my father was paranoid because he was sick.
She had looked disappointed.
I had forgotten the conversation until now.
Melissa asked Mom, “Who worked in finance then?”
I answered before she could.
“Ethan.”
Melissa looked at me.
“How long has he been CFO?”
“Six years.”
“And when Sarah died?”
“Senior financial controller.”
A cold line ran down my spine.
“No.”
Melissa didn’t answer.
“No. Ethan did not kill Sarah.”
“We don’t know anything yet.”
“He was at her funeral.”
“So were many people.”
“He held Lily.”
Melissa’s expression stayed calm.
“Daniel, we follow evidence.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Mr. Carter?”
“Yes.”
“This is Detective Harper. We spoke at your home two nights ago.”
I remembered him.
The officer who had questioned me before my arrest.
“We recovered additional video from your security provider. I need you to come to the station.”
“Is this about Vanessa?”
“Yes.”
“Am I being arrested again?”
“No.”
I looked at Melissa.
“We’re on our way.”
At the station, Detective Harper placed a laptop on the table.
“There’s a clip from your daughter’s bedroom.”
My muscles tightened.
“What happened?”
“Watch.”
The video began at 11:07 p.m., three nights before I returned.
Lily was asleep.
Vanessa entered.
She sat on the bed.
“Lily.”
My daughter stirred.
“Mommy?”
“No. Vanessa.”
Lily rubbed her eyes.
Vanessa smiled.
“I need you to remember something.”
“What?”
“If anyone asks, your daddy gets angry.”
I felt Melissa stiffen beside me.
Lily looked confused.
“Daddy doesn’t yell at me.”
“Sometimes he does.”
“No.”
Vanessa’s smile disappeared.
“Listen.”
Lily pulled the blanket higher.
“Daddy loves me.”
“Maybe.”
I nearly stood.
Melissa grabbed my arm.
Onscreen, Vanessa leaned close.
“If you say the wrong thing, people might take Daddy away.”
Lily started crying.
“I want Daddy.”
“Then you tell them he gets angry.”
“No.”
Vanessa grabbed her chin.
“You tell them.”
The video ended.
The detective closed the laptop.
“We’ve sent this to the prosecutor handling your assault charge.”
“Does this clear me?”
“It helps.”
“Helps?”
“You did admit striking Vanessa.”
I looked away.
“I shouldn’t have.”
“No.”
“I saw her hit my child.”
“I understand.”
“But I shouldn’t have.”
He nodded.
That answer mattered.
Then he opened another file.
“This is from your office camera.”
The hidden one.
The video showed Vanessa entering while I was traveling.
Ethan followed her.
My blood went cold.
He walked through my house as if he belonged there.
Vanessa kissed him.
Not on the cheek.
On the mouth.
I felt almost nothing.
The betrayal should have hurt.
It didn’t.
Not compared to Lily.
Not compared to Sarah.
They moved to my desk.
Ethan opened a folder.
Vanessa asked, “What happens if Daniel refuses?”
Ethan answered.
“Then we make him look dangerous.”
“And Lily?”
“We need her long enough to pressure him.”
My hands curled.
Vanessa frowned.
“I don’t want a kid.”
Ethan laughed.
“You wanted the house.”
“I want more than the house.”
“You’ll get it.”
He kissed her again.
Then he said something that changed the room.
“Once the board suspends him, you get the proxy signed.”
Vanessa said, “And if he won’t sign?”
Ethan stared directly toward the hidden camera without realizing it.
“Daniel’s father didn’t want to sign either.”
My skin went cold.
“What does that mean?”
Detective Harper paused the video.
“We don’t know.”
My father had died from a heart attack.
At home.
Three years after Sarah.
I whispered, “Keep playing.”
Vanessa’s voice came through.
“You promised me we weren’t doing anything like before.”
Ethan’s face hardened.
“You don’t need details.”
“Sarah was different.”
I stopped breathing.
Ethan walked toward her.
“Never say that name in this house.”
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“You’re the one who brought me into this.”
“And you’re being paid.”
“I married him.”
“Exactly.”
Silence.
Then Vanessa said, “Daniel actually loves me.”
Ethan laughed.
“Then this should be easy.”
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
Detective Harper looked at me.
“We’ve forwarded this to major crimes.”
I stared at the black screen.
“How long have you had it?”
“Three hours.”
“Where is Vanessa?”
“We’re looking for her.”
“And Ethan?”
“We’re looking for him too.”
My phone buzzed.
A text from Rachel.
CALL ME NOW.
I called.
She answered screaming.
“Daniel!”
“What happened?”
“It’s Lily.”
I stood so fast the chair fell.
“What about Lily?”
“She’s gone.”
Every sound in the room disappeared.
“What do you mean gone?”
“Someone took her.”
My heart stopped.
Rachel was crying.
“I turned around for maybe thirty seconds.”
“Where were you?”
“The pediatrician’s parking lot.”
My voice broke.
“Who took her?”
Rachel sobbed.
“I saw the car.”
May you like
“What car?”
“A black SUV.”
