Chapter 6
I didn’t sleep.
Emily did.
Barely.
At the hospital, doctors examined her hand.
No broken bones.
Bruising.
Swelling.
Fear.
The physical injuries would heal.
The rest would take longer.
She refused to let go of me.
When a nurse entered wearing shoes similar to Vanessa’s, Emily began screaming.
I held her until she calmed down.
“I’m right here.”
“Don’t go on airplanes anymore.”
The words cut deeper than anything Vanessa had said.
“I’m not going anywhere tonight.”
“Ever?”
I kissed her forehead.
“I’m going to make sure you’re safe.”
Maria sat across the room.
She had a bandage around one arm from Vanessa’s attack.
“You saved her,” I told her.
Maria shook her head.
“I should have told you sooner.”
“You were afraid.”
“I still should have.”
“We’re done blaming the people Vanessa frightened.”
Maria began crying.
Emily reached toward her.
“Maria.”
Maria moved closer.
Emily hugged her.
That was when I realized who had been protecting my child while I was busy believing everything at home was fine.
At 5:30 a.m., Bennett entered.
“Raymond got away.”
I had expected it.
“How?”
“Underground garage led to an alley. We found a motorcycle abandoned two miles away.”
“Vanessa?”
“In custody.”
“Michael?”
“Surgery went well. Bullet passed through his shoulder.”
“Did you question him?”
“Not yet.”
I looked at Emily.
Bennett lowered her voice.
“We need to talk privately.”
Maria stayed with Emily while I stepped into the hallway.
Bennett handed me a tablet.
Financial charts filled the screen.
“We traced most of the stolen money.”
“To my father?”
“Some.”
“And the rest?”
“To businesses controlled by Raymond Cole.”
“How much?”
“Nearly four million.”
“So Vanessa was collecting the debt.”
“Partly.”
“What does that mean?”
“She was also building leverage.”
Bennett swiped to another document.
A life insurance policy.
My name.
Twenty-five million dollars.
Beneficiary: Vanessa Mercer.
My stomach turned.
“When was this opened?”
“Three months ago.”
“I never signed this.”
“We believe your signature was forged.”
Another document.
A second policy.
Emily.
Five million.
Beneficiary through a family trust administered by Vanessa if I were deceased.
I stared at it.
“She planned to kill us.”
“We can’t prove the timeline yet.”
“She abused Emily, kidnapped her, and forged insurance papers.”
“I agree the evidence is bad.”
“Bad?”
Bennett kept her voice calm.
“I need facts that hold up in court.”
I looked through the glass window at my daughter.
“I want Vanessa gone forever.”
“Then we build the case correctly.”
At seven, Vanessa’s attorney arrived.
By eight, she refused further questioning.
But she had said enough during the hotel standoff.
And officers had body-camera footage.
Kidnapping.
Child endangerment.
Assault.
Unlawful imprisonment.
Financial fraud.
Conspiracy charges were developing.
Murder charges depended on Rachel.
On Raymond.
On the missing video.
At nine, Michael woke.
I entered his room with Bennett.
He wouldn’t look at me.
“How’s Emily?”
“Alive.”
He closed his eyes.
“Thank God.”
“Don’t.”
He looked at me.
“Don’t pretend you get to thank God.”
Tears formed.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Daniel—”
“You stood beside Rachel the night she died.”
“I tried to stop them.”
“Then you let them cover it up.”
“I was scared.”
“For four years?”
He looked away.
“For four years, you watched me blame myself.”
“I know.”
“You told Emily stories about her mother.”
His face crumpled.
“I loved Rachel.”
“Then why didn’t you tell the truth?”
“Because Raymond had proof of the theft.”
“You chose prison over your sister-in-law’s murder?”
“I had a family.”
“So did I.”
He flinched.
“Rachel had a daughter.”
“I know.”
“Emily grew up without her mother because you were protecting yourself.”
“I know!”
The machines beside his bed beeped faster.
Bennett stepped in.
“Michael, tell us about the dashcam.”
He breathed slowly.
“Rachel installed it after Vanessa started following her.”
“Following her?”
“Yes.”
“Did Daniel know?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Rachel wanted proof first.”
“What happened after the crash?”
Michael stared at the ceiling.
“Raymond hit her car.”
“You saw it?”
“No. Vanessa and I were behind them.”
“Why were you following?”
“Raymond said he was only going to scare her.”
I almost laughed.
“Scare her?”
“I didn’t know he’d hit her.”
“What happened next?”
“We reached the crash site.”
“Was Rachel conscious?”
Michael started crying.
“Yes.”
My knees weakened.
“What did she say?”
He looked at me.
“She asked for you.”
I turned away.
I couldn’t breathe.
Bennett continued.
“What did Raymond do?”
Michael swallowed.
“He pulled her from the car.”
“Why?”
“He wanted the camera.”
“And?”
“She had already removed the memory unit.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then how does Raymond have the video?”
“He found the camera later and recovered internal storage.”
Bennett leaned forward.
“What happened to Rachel?”
Michael closed his eyes.
“Raymond wanted to put her back in the car and push it farther down the embankment.”
My fists clenched.
“Did he?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“A truck appeared in the distance.”
“The witness.”
“Yes.”
“So you left?”
“Vanessa forced me into the car.”
“You left Rachel alive on the road.”
“Yes.”
“And emergency services came?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she die?”
Michael stared at me.
“I don’t know.”
Bennett’s expression sharpened.
“What do you mean?”
“By the time paramedics reached her, she was dead.”
“You’re saying Raymond didn’t kill her after the crash.”
“He might have injured her.”
“Did he?”
“I don’t know.”
I stepped closer.
“You were there.”
“It was dark.”
“What did he do?”
“He grabbed her.”
“Did he hit her?”
Michael hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Daniel—”
“Where?”
“Her head.”
My stomach turned.
Bennett asked, “With what?”
“His flashlight.”
Silence.
“But she was talking afterward,” Michael said quickly. “She was conscious. She was alive when we left.”
Bennett made notes.
“Could someone have returned?”
Michael’s eyes moved.
I noticed.
“Who?”
“No one.”
“You thought of someone.”
“I didn’t.”
“Michael.”
His face went pale.
“There was another vehicle.”
“When?”
“At Bellweather.”
“Whose?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
He started shaking his head.
I leaned over him.
“You owe Rachel one truth.”
Finally, he whispered.
“Our mother’s.”
I stepped backward.
“What?”
Michael’s voice broke.
“Mom was at Bellweather that night.”
My mind rejected the words.
Our mother, Eleanor Mercer, lived forty minutes away.
She had mourned Rachel.
She had blamed herself for not noticing Rachel was struggling.
She had practically raised Emily during the first year after the funeral.
“What was Mom doing there?”
“She knew about Dad’s debt.”
“Did she know about Vanessa?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“More than I did.”
I stared at him.
“You’re telling me our mother knew Rachel was being threatened.”
Michael nodded.
“Rachel called her before she went to Bellweather.”
“Why?”
“She wanted Mom to convince me to confess.”
“And Mom came?”
“Yes.”
“Was she at the crash?”
“I don’t know.”
“You just said her car was at Bellweather.”
“I saw it in the parking lot. After Rachel left, everything happened fast. Mom disappeared.”
My phone rang.
I looked at the screen.
Mom.
My hand shook as I answered.
“Daniel?”
Her voice sounded normal.
Warm.
Concerned.
“I heard about Emily. Are you at the hospital?”
I looked at Michael.
He stared back.
“Yes.”
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
Silence.
“Why?”
“Where were you the night Rachel died?”
Nothing.
Not even breathing.
Then my mother whispered,
“Michael told you.”
My heart shattered again.
“What did you do, Mom?”
She began crying.
“Daniel, there are things you don’t understand.”
“Then make me understand.”
“I can’t do this on the phone.”
“Did you see Rachel after the crash?”
Another silence.
“Yes.”
My legs weakened.
“Was she alive?”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
“What happened?”
My mother sobbed.
“She gave me something.”
“What?”
“A memory card.”
Rachel’s missing dashcam storage.
“Where is it?”
“I kept it.”
“For four years?”
“I was protecting you.”
“From what?”
May you like
My mother’s next words changed everything.
“From learning who ordered Rachel to be killed.”
