Chapter 7: My Dead Father Was Still Pulling the Strings
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
My father had been dead for eleven years.
I'd attended his funeral. I'd watched his coffin lowered into the ground. I'd inherited his watch, his house, and the construction company he'd spent thirty years building.
Yet Evelyn was telling me he had ordered Claire's death.
“That's impossible,” I finally whispered.
The woman on the phone was crying.
“I know what you were told, Ryan. But your father never died.””
I gripped the edge of Detective Bennett's desk.
“Who are you talking about? My father was buried.””
“His funeral was arranged. The body wasn't his.””
Detective Bennett immediately motioned for me to put the call on speaker.
“Evelyn,” I said, “I need you to tell me everything.””
She took a shaky breath.
“Your father was using another identity. His real name is Richard Mitchell, but he spent years operating through companies registered under different names. Thomas Reed worked for him.””
My stomach tightened.
“Why would my father fake his death?””
“Because the police were investigating financial fraud. He knew he might be arrested.””
I looked at Detective Bennett.
She was already writing everything down.
“Where is he now?”” I asked.
“I don't know. But Melissa does.””
“Why would my wife know where my father is?””
“Because they have been communicating for years.””
I felt sick.
Evelyn continued.
“Melissa wasn't just protecting Robert. She was following instructions from Richard. He wanted Claire's inheritance, and he wanted control over the children.””
I remembered the photograph of Claire holding Grace.
“Why did he want the children?””
“Because Claire's father established the trust. The money was supposed to pass to his grandchildren. Richard believed he could control it if he controlled the children.””
Detective Bennett leaned toward the phone.
“Evelyn, this is Detective Laura Bennett. Can you provide evidence of these claims?””
“Yes. I have bank statements, photographs, and recordings.””
“Where are you?””
“I'm at a motel outside the city.””
“Stay there. Officers are coming to protect you.””
Evelyn suddenly lowered her voice.
“There's something else.””
“What?”” I asked.
“Melissa knows I called you.””
My heart stopped.
“How?””
“Because she's standing outside my room.””
The line went dead.
Detective Bennett immediately called for officers.
I stood up.
“We have to find her.””
“Ryan, sit down.””
“My daughter is with a woman who has been hiding her for six years!””
“And rushing into an unknown situation could put her in greater danger.””
I paced across the office.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from Melissa.
Come home. We need to talk about your father.
I showed it to the detective.
She read it twice.
“Don't respond.””
But before I could put the phone away, another message arrived.
He wants to meet you. Alone. Tonight.
I stared at the screen.
My dead father wanted to meet me.
Detective Bennett immediately objected.
“No. Absolutely not.””
“He might know where Grace is.””
“We'll arrange a controlled meeting.””
I shook my head.
“You don't understand. If he really is alive, he's been watching my family for years. He knows our house, our routines, everything.””
“Which is precisely why you shouldn't go alone.””
Two hours later, officers arrived at Evelyn's motel.
The room was empty.
Her suitcase remained on the bed. Her phone lay broken beside the television.
On the bathroom mirror, someone had written a message in red lipstick.
STOP LOOKING FOR GRACE.
But there was something else.
A small envelope had been tucked beneath the mattress.
Inside was a photograph of Melissa standing beside an older man.
The man's hair was gray, his face thinner than I remembered.
But I recognized his eyes.
My father's eyes.
On the back, Evelyn had written:
October 18. The day Grace was born. Richard was there.
I looked at the photograph for a long time.
Then Detective Bennett noticed something.
“Ryan, look at his left hand.””
I zoomed in.
There was a gold ring on his finger.
A ring I'd seen hundreds of times growing up.
It had our family's initials engraved inside.
My father had supposedly been buried wearing that ring.
Detective Bennett quietly took the photograph.
“Your father is alive.””
I swallowed.
“And he's coming for my daughters.””
She nodded.
Then my phone rang.
Melissa.
I answered.
“Where is Grace?””
Her voice was unusually calm.
“Ryan, your father wants to speak with you.””
“Put him on.””
There was a brief silence.
Then a man's voice came through.
A voice I hadn't heard since I was twenty-seven.
“Hello, son.””
My knees nearly gave way.
“Dad?””
He chuckled.
“You've grown into quite the stubborn man.””
I clenched my jaw.
“Where is my daughter?””
“Which one?””
My blood ran cold.
He continued.
“Because there's something you still don't know about Claire's children.””
May you like
Then he said the words that destroyed whatever remained of my understanding of my family.
“Lily, Emma, and Grace aren't the only children Melissa has been hiding.””
