Chapter 5
I stared at my father.
“You’re lying.”
“I wish I were.”
Rachel had never mentioned a sister.
Not once.
In eight years together, I had heard stories about her parents, cousins, grandparents, even a childhood neighbor who stole her bicycle.
Never a sister.
Dad tapped the death certificate.
“Olivia Cole was declared dead at seventeen after a house fire.”
My hands shook.
“Rachel would have recognized her.”
“Not necessarily.”
“That’s her sister.”
“They were separated when they were children.”
I said nothing.
Dad leaned back.
“Rachel’s parents adopted her when she was five.”
I remembered Rachel telling me she had been adopted.
She rarely talked about it.
Her adoptive parents died before we met.
“She didn’t know?”
“She knew she had biological siblings. She didn’t know their names.”
I looked at the death certificate again.
“So Vanessa—Olivia—found her?”
“Years ago.”
“Why?”
My father smiled bitterly.
“Money.”
I wanted to hit him.
Instead I gripped the table.
“You hired her.”
“Yes.”
“You helped kidnap Rachel.”
He looked away.
“Yes.”
“You let Vanessa abuse Sophie.”
His head snapped back.
“No.”
I laughed.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I knew Olivia was controlling her. I didn’t know what she was doing.”
“You said Sophie couldn’t be allowed to connect the pieces.”
Dad’s face tightened.
“You saw the video.”
“I saw enough.”
“That conversation wasn’t about killing her.”
“What was it about?”
“Moving Rachel.”
“Why would Sophie matter?”
“Because she saw Olivia going into the basement.”
“So you were going to do what? Frighten a four-year-old into silence?”
“I was trying to keep this contained.”
“You mean protect yourself.”
“Yes.”
The honesty was almost worse.
Mrs. Harper made a muffled sound from the other room.
I looked toward the door.
“Let her go.”
“When we’re finished.”
“There is no finished.”
“There is if you understand what’s really happening.”
He pushed another file toward me.
Inside were photographs of Olivia before she became Vanessa.
Different hair.
Different nose.
Different teeth.
Plastic surgery.
New identity.
New life.
She had spent years turning herself into someone Rachel wouldn’t recognize.
“Why marry me?”
Dad’s jaw tightened.
“That wasn’t the plan.”
“What was the plan?”
“She was supposed to watch you.”
“Why?”
“Because after Rachel disappeared, I thought you might find what she had uncovered.”
“You thought your son would expose you?”
“I knew you would.”
That was the first thing he said that sounded like love.
A twisted version of it.
But love nonetheless.
“I should have.”
“Yes.”
“Then why not kill the investigation? Destroy the files?”
“Because Ethan had copies.”
Rachel’s brother.
Dad rubbed his face.
“Your wife was smarter than I expected. She had already sent material to Ethan.”
“So you kidnapped her.”
“Olivia did.”
“You paid her.”
“I paid her to scare Rachel and recover the files.”
“And when she kidnapped her instead?”
“I panicked.”
My hands curled into fists.
“You panicked for two years?”
“I made a series of terrible decisions.”
“You buried my wife.”
“No. You buried an unidentified woman Olivia put in Rachel’s car.”
I felt sick.
“Who was she?”
Dad didn’t answer.
“Who?”
“A woman Olivia knew from a shelter.”
I stood so fast the chair fell.
“You murdered someone.”
“I didn’t.”
“You helped cover it up.”
“Yes.”
I walked away before I lost control.
My hidden transmitter was still active unless the thick walls blocked it.
Agents might hear.
Or maybe not.
Dad watched me.
“I never wanted anyone dead.”
“Stop saying what you wanted.”
He flinched.
“Look at what you did.”
His eyes dropped.
For the first time that night, he looked old.
Then I remembered Mrs. Harper tied outside and stopped feeling sorry for him.
“You kidnapped Sophie’s teacher tonight.”
“I needed you here.”
“You could have called.”
“You wouldn’t have come.”
“You threatened her life.”
“The gun isn’t loaded.”
I stared.
“Prove it.”
He picked it up.
I tensed.
He removed the magazine.
Empty.
Then cleared the chamber.
Nothing.
He put it down.
“I’m not going to hurt her.”
“Then untie her.”
“After you listen.”
“No.”
I moved toward the door.
Dad stepped in front of me.
“You need to know why Olivia targeted Sophie.”
I stopped.
He had me.
“What do you mean?”
He walked back to the table.
“Olivia didn’t abuse Sophie because she was difficult.”
“Don’t.”
“She hated her.”
“Why?”
“Because Sophie is Rachel’s daughter.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It does to Olivia.”
He opened another folder.
Old court records.
Adoption papers.
Photographs of two little girls.
One was about five.
The other looked three.
“They were biological sisters,” Dad said. “Rachel and Olivia. Their mother was addicted to drugs. Their father disappeared. Child services separated them.”
I picked up a photograph.
Rachel.
Olivia.
Children.
Holding hands.
“Rachel was adopted quickly. Olivia stayed in foster care.”
I could barely speak.
“And she blamed Rachel.”
“She believed Rachel got the life that should have been hers.”
“That’s insane.”
“She spent years looking for her.”
“She found her through you?”
Dad nodded.
“When Rachel began investigating my accounts, I hired a private security contractor to find out who she was talking to. Olivia worked for him under another name.”
“And she recognized Rachel.”
“Eventually.”
“So she volunteered to destroy her own sister’s life.”
“She wanted more than money.”
My stomach twisted.
“What?”
“Rachel’s life.”
I understood.
The house.
The husband.
The child.
Everything.
“She replaced her.”
Dad nodded.
“She became Vanessa. She arranged the accident. Kept Rachel hidden. Then waited.”
“How did she meet me?”
“I introduced the opportunity.”
A memory hit me.
A charity dinner.
Dad insisted I attend.
I was miserable.
Vanessa sat beside me.
She listened while I talked about grief.
She cried when I talked about Sophie.
She told me she had lost her fiancé years earlier.
All lies.
“You put her at that dinner.”
“Yes.”
I wanted to break him.
Instead I whispered, “You watched her marry me.”
“I tried to stop it.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“I told you it was too soon.”
“That’s not stopping it.”
“I couldn’t expose her without exposing myself.”
There it was.
The center of everything.
Robert Carter had always chosen Robert Carter.
I looked at the files.
“Why is she trying to kill Sophie?”
Dad’s expression changed.
“I don’t know if she is.”
“The insurance policy.”
His eyes widened.
“What insurance policy?”
I watched him.
For once, his surprise seemed real.
“Five million dollars. Vanessa forged my signature.”
Dad stood.
“I didn’t know.”
“Congratulations.”
“Daniel, listen to me. If Olivia took out a policy—”
“I know what it means.”
“No. You don’t.”
He began pacing.
“She always needed an exit plan.”
“What kind?”
“Money. New identity. Somewhere to disappear.”
A terrible thought formed.
“If Sophie died, she gets the money.”
“Yes.”
“And everyone thinks it was an accident.”
“Yes.”
My chest tightened.
“Her birthday.”
“What?”
“She punished her on her birthday.”
Dad looked confused.
Then his face changed.
“What did Sophie eat?”
“Dog food.”
“Before that.”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Olivia make her a cake?”
I remembered the pink box on the counter.
Untouched.
“Why?”
Dad grabbed his phone.
“Because Olivia asked me three days ago how long certain medications remain detectable after death.”
The room disappeared around me.
“What medications?”
He looked at me.
“Sedatives.”
I lunged for my phone on the floor.
Dad caught my arm.
“Police may already have it.”
“Get off me.”
“She could have planned to drug Sophie tonight.”
I shoved past him.
We opened the steel door.
Mrs. Harper was still tied to the chair.
I rushed over and removed the tape from her mouth.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
I untied her wrists.
Dad stood behind me.
Sirens sounded outside.
He closed his eyes.
“They followed you.”
“Good.”
He didn’t run.
Police flooded the building.
“Hands up!”
Dad raised them.
Mrs. Harper began crying.
Agents pulled me aside.
I told them about the unloaded gun.
About Olivia.
About the cake.
One detective immediately called the hospital.
I grabbed his sleeve.
“Is Sophie okay?”
“They’re checking.”
“Call.”
“He is calling.”
Seconds became years.
Then the detective looked at me.
“Sophie is okay.”
My knees weakened.
“But?”
“The cake from your kitchen tested positive on a preliminary field screen.”
“For what?”
“A sedative.”
Dad lowered his head as officers handcuffed him.
I turned on him.
“You knew who she was.”
“I didn’t know she would hurt Sophie.”
“You brought her into our lives.”
“I know.”
“You helped her take Rachel.”
“I know.”
“You watched me marry the woman who destroyed my family.”
His eyes filled.
“I know.”
I expected satisfaction.
I felt none.
Police led him away.
Then an agent approached.
“We have another problem.”
“What now?”
“Vanessa Reed—Olivia Cole—never arrived at county booking.”
I stared.
“What?”
“The transport vehicle was struck at an intersection.”
“Accident?”
“No.”
My blood ran cold.
“Someone hit it deliberately.”
“Where is Vanessa?”
The agent held my gaze.
“Gone.”
I immediately thought of Sophie.
“The hospital.”
“Already locked down.”
“Rachel.”
“Protected.”
I ran toward the exit.
The agent caught up.
“There’s more.”
I stopped.
“The officer transporting Olivia was found unconscious.”
“And?”
“His uniform is missing.”
I knew exactly what that meant.
Olivia didn’t need to sneak into the hospital.
She could walk through the front door looking like someone everyone trusted.
A police officer.
I called Rachel.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Then Sophie’s child advocate answered Rachel’s phone.
Her voice was shaking.
“Daniel.”
“What happened?”
“She was here.”
My heart stopped.
“Where is Sophie?”
May you like
The woman started crying.
“Vanessa took her.”
