Chapter 6
The board meeting lasted three hours.
Mark fought the audit from the first minute.
That told me more than any speech could have.
He called it expensive.
Distracting.
Unnecessary.
He said the company had already passed annual reviews.
Our outside attorney finally interrupted.
“A normal audit is not a forensic audit.”
Mark glared at him.
I watched my brother lose control one inch at a time.
When the vote came, four members supported the investigation.
Two opposed it.
My mother abstained.
That hurt.
Afterward, she followed me into the hallway.
“Daniel.”
I kept walking.
“Daniel, stop.”
I turned.
She looked older than she had that morning.
“Why didn’t you vote?”
She lowered her voice.
“I don’t know what to believe.”
“Believe Emily.”
“This isn’t about Emily.”
“It is all about Emily.”
“I mean the company.”
I stared at her.
“Mark visited my house while I was away.”
Mom blinked.
“What?”
“He lied about it.”
“Why would he—”
“He left with Sarah’s necklace.”
Her face went white.
I saw it.
That tiny reaction.
“You know something.”
“No.”
“Mom.”
“I don’t.”
“You just changed color.”
She looked away.
I stepped closer.
“What do you know about Sarah’s necklace?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re lying.”
She flinched.
I had never said those words to my mother before.
Not like that.
“Daniel, this family has suffered enough.”
“Then stop helping people hide things.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
She shook her head.
“I can’t.”
That answer terrified me more than a denial.
I walked away.
At home, Emily was eating macaroni at the kitchen table.
Rebecca had stayed.
Maria sat beside her.
Emily had placed three peas in a line and was giving them names.
I stood in the doorway watching her.
She looked so small.
The company suddenly felt meaningless.
Every office.
Every project.
Every dollar.
None of it mattered if I failed the little girl at that table.
She looked up.
“Daddy, this pea is you.”
I smiled.
“Why am I a pea?”
“Because you’re green.”
“I’m not green.”
She giggled.
Rebecca smiled at me.
That sound loosened something in my chest.
After dinner, Emily asked if I would give her a bath.
I said yes.
She sat in the water playing with plastic boats.
Then she grew quiet.
“Daddy?”
“Yeah?”
“Is Madam coming back?”
I hated the name.
“No.”
“Ever?”
“She won’t be living here.”
Emily stared at a boat.
“What if she says sorry?”
I chose my words carefully.
“Saying sorry is important.”
“Then she can come back?”
“No.”
She looked confused.
“Why?”
“Because sorry doesn’t always mean someone is safe.”
She thought about that.
Then nodded.
“Okay.”
A minute later, she whispered, “Uncle Mark isn’t safe either.”
My hands stopped.
“Why did you say that?”
She kept looking at the water.
“He came when you were on the airplane.”
“I know.”
“He yelled.”
“At you?”
She shook her head.
“At Madam.”
“What did he say?”
Emily moved the boat in a slow circle.
“He said she better find the tiny thing.”
“The tiny thing?”
“She said she couldn’t.”
I leaned closer.
“What did Uncle Mark say then?”
Emily frowned, trying to remember.
“He said Mommy hid it because Mommy was smart.”
My heartbeat sped up.
“Your real mommy?”
She nodded.
“And then?”
“He said if you found the blue folder, everybody goes to jail.”
I stared at her.
A blue folder.
Rebecca had mentioned financial irregularities.
“Did you see a blue folder?”
Emily nodded again.
“Where?”
She pointed toward the hallway.
“Grandma took it.”
I went still.
“Grandma?”
“Daddy’s mommy.”
“When?”
Emily held up fingers.
Children’s time was unreliable.
I kept my voice gentle.
“Was I home?”
“No.”
“Was Madam there?”
“Yes.”
“Was Uncle Mark there?”
“Yes.”
I felt cold.
“What did Grandma do with the folder?”
“She put it in her big bag.”
I finished the bath without asking more.
I didn’t want to interrogate her.
Detective Ruiz had already warned me that trained interviewers should handle detailed questions.
After Emily was asleep, I called Ruiz.
She answered immediately.
I told her about the blue folder.
“And your mother?”
“Yes.”
“You believe the child?”
“I believe she saw something.”
“That’s the right way to say it.”
“What now?”
“I’ll speak with your mother.”
I hung up.
Rebecca was standing behind me.
“She knew?”
“I don’t know.”
“She knew something.”
I rubbed my face.
“My entire family is turning into strangers.”
Rebecca’s expression softened.
“Sarah used to say you trusted people all the way until they gave you a reason not to.”
“That sounds like a compliment.”
“It wasn’t.”
I almost smiled.
Then my phone buzzed.
A blocked number.
I answered.
No one spoke.
“Hello?”
Breathing.
Then a man’s voice.
“Drop the audit.”
I stood.
“Who is this?”
“If you care about Emily, drop it.”
The line disconnected.
Rebecca stared at me.
“What happened?”
I looked toward the stairs.
My daughter was sleeping above us.
Someone had just used her name as a threat.
May you like
I called Ruiz again.
Then I activated every alarm in the house.
