Chapter 5: The Father's Name
I stared at the phone.
For a moment, the police station seemed to disappear around me.
Amanda's father.
The man who had supposedly treated my wife's final injuries.
The man whose name appeared in a medical report Margaret claimed had been hidden.
“Margaret, are you certain?””
“Emily told me herself.””
I looked at Detective Morgan.
She had stopped writing.
“Mr. Bennett,” she said, “put the call on speaker.””
I did.
Margaret repeated everything.
Thomas Reed had worked as a paramedic for nearly twenty years. According to Emily's research, he had been the first responder at the accident scene.
He had also been in contact with Richard Collins.
“Why would a paramedic help an attorney steal a child's inheritance?”” I asked.
“Because Thomas owed Richard money,” Margaret replied.
“A lot of it.””
Detective Morgan took the phone.
“Ms. Ellis, this is Detective Morgan. Do you have documents supporting that claim?””
“I have copies of bank transfers and messages. I can bring them tomorrow.””
“Don't send them electronically. We'll arrange a secure meeting.””
After the call ended, I leaned back in my chair.
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“This is insane.””
I looked at Sophie.
She had drawn three people holding hands.
A tall man.
A little girl.
And a woman with long brown hair.
“Who's that, sweetheart?”” I asked.
“Mommy.””
My throat tightened.
“That's beautiful.””
She turned the paper around.
“Can I give it to Mommy?””
I swallowed.
“We'll put it somewhere safe for her.””
Detective Morgan returned from a brief conversation with her supervisor.
“Mr. Bennett, we're going to investigate the estate documents and the threats. But I need to ask about something else.””
She placed a printed photograph on the table.
It showed a dark sedan parked near the hospital entrance on the night Emily died.
“Do you recognize this vehicle?””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Your wife was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. According to the official report, this vehicle followed the ambulance.””
I leaned forward.
“Why wasn't that in the accident report?””
“That's what we're trying to establish.””
She pointed to the license plate.
“Can you read it?””
I squinted.
The plate was partially obscured by mud.
Then I noticed something.
The final three characters.
R8K.
I remembered them.
Not because of the car.
Because I'd seen them on a photograph Amanda once showed me.
A photograph of her father standing beside his old sedan.
I looked at Daniel.
He saw the recognition in my face.
“Michael?””
I pointed at the plate.
“I've seen that car before.””
Detective Morgan leaned closer.
“Where?””
“In Amanda's father's driveway.””
The detective wrote it down.
Then she asked an officer to retrieve the original photograph.
Two hours later, she returned with a printed record.
The vehicle belonged to Thomas Reed.
I felt my stomach turn.
“Can you arrest him?””
“Not based on this alone. We need to establish what happened that night.””
I looked toward the hallway.
“Where is Amanda?””
Detective Morgan folded her hands.
“We haven't located her.””
That frightened me more than I expected.
She had disappeared after the wedding was canceled.
No phone calls.
No messages.
Nothing.
Then Daniel's phone rang.
He checked the screen.
“It's my wife.””
He answered.
“Hey, sweetheart.””
His expression changed immediately.
“What?””
He stood.
“Slow down. What happened?””
I rose from my chair.
Daniel turned toward me.
“Someone is at your house.””
My blood ran cold.
“Who?””
“My wife says the front door is open. The security camera has been disconnected.””
I looked at Sophie.
“Is she inside?””
“No. She took the kids to her sister's.””
I called Detective Morgan.
She arranged for officers to accompany us to the property.
We arrived just before sunset.
The house looked normal from the street.
The porch light was on. The curtains were closed. Sophie's little pink bicycle still lay beside the garage.
But when we entered, I noticed the smell.
Something sharp.
Chemical.
The living-room drawers had been emptied onto the floor.
My office was worse.
The safe was open.
The documents inside were gone.
I rushed upstairs.
Sophie's bedroom door stood open.
Her stuffed animals were scattered across the carpet.
The wardrobe had been emptied.
Someone had searched the room.
Then I noticed her teddy bear.
The one Amanda had supposedly given her.
It lay on the bed with its stitching cut open.
I picked it up.
There was a small memory card hidden inside.
Detective Morgan took photographs before allowing me to touch it further.
“Do you know what this contains?””
“No.””
An officer brought a laptop.
We inserted the card.
A video file appeared.
The timestamp was from the previous evening.
The video showed Sophie sleeping.
Then her bedroom door opened.
A man entered.
He wore a dark jacket and gloves.
He walked directly to the wardrobe and searched behind the stuffed animals.
Then he approached Sophie's bed.
He leaned down and whispered something.
The audio was faint, but the microphone caught his voice.
“Where did your mother hide it, little girl?””
Sophie stirred.
The man stepped back.
Then he reached into his pocket and placed a folded piece of paper beside her pillow.
He left without turning on the light.
I felt sick.
“Can you identify him?”” Detective Morgan asked.
I watched the video again.
The man turned slightly toward the camera.
His face became visible for two seconds.
It was Thomas Reed.
Amanda's father.
Then the video continued.
He returned to the bedroom doorway.
And spoke one final sentence.
“Your mother should have stayed quiet.””
I slammed my hand against the desk.
Daniel grabbed my shoulder.
“Michael. Don't.””
Detective Morgan immediately ordered the video preserved as evidence.
Then an officer called from downstairs.
“Detective! We found something in the kitchen.””
We followed him.
On the counter sat a white envelope.
My name was written across it.
Inside was a photograph of Sophie at the hotel that morning.
Someone had taken it from the opposite end of the hallway.
On the back, a message had been written in black ink.
*You canceled the wedding. That was your mistake.*
Beneath it was another sentence.
*Now we take what Emily left behind.*
My phone vibrated.
An incoming call.
Amanda.
I answered without saying a word.
Her voice sounded strangely calm.
“Michael, I know you've been talking to the police.””
“Where are you?””
“Somewhere safe.””
“What do you want?””
She sighed.
“I want to prevent you from making another terrible mistake.””
I looked at the photograph.
“Your father broke into my daughter's bedroom.””
Silence.
Then Amanda said something that made my blood run cold.
“Michael, you need to stop calling him my father.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“He isn't my biological father.””
I stared at Detective Morgan.
Amanda continued.
“And if you want to know why he was involved in Emily's accident, you should ask your daughter what she saw that night.””
The call disconnected.
I slowly turned toward Sophie.
She was standing beside Daniel, holding her stuffed rabbit.
I knelt.
“Sweetheart, Amanda said something. Did you see something when Mommy had her accident?””
Sophie's lower lip trembled.
May you like
Then she whispered:
“Mommy told me not to tell Daddy because the man was inside our house.””
