Chapter 10: The Passenger Who Was Never Supposed to Arrive
The plane ticket was booked for 7:15 the following morning.
Daniel Reed was supposed to fly to Denver under his own name, carrying a backpack that contained two changes of clothes and a folder of documents Tasha had prepared for him.
But the name printed beside the emergency contact information wasn't Tasha's.
It was Rebecca Lane.
And beneath Rebecca's name were two words that made my blood run cold.
*Receiving guardian.*
Marcus stood in my kitchen, holding the ticket between his fingers.
"Why would Rebecca be listed as his guardian?""
Eleanor Brooks, who had arrived less than an hour earlier, examined the document without touching the original.
"We can't determine the purpose from this ticket alone," she said.
"But given the suspected financial fraud, the forged documents, and the threatening messages, we need to preserve this as evidence.""
Marcus paced across the room.
"Someone is trying to steal from my son, and now they're sending my other son across the country to a woman who pretended to be Renee.""
Eleanor remained composed.
"Then we stop guessing and establish what can be proved.""
I understood her point, but patience was becoming difficult.
My grandson had spent months believing he was a burden. His stepmother had withheld money for school supplies while apparently preparing an elaborate scheme involving his identity.
Now Daniel, an eighteen-year-old who had been lied to about his father, was caught in the middle.
I couldn't stop thinking about the possibility that both boys had been treated as pieces in a game neither understood.
Marcus called Daniel.
The young man answered immediately.
"Did you find the ticket?"" Daniel asked.
"Yes. Why are you supposed to fly to Denver?""
Daniel hesitated.
"Mom said I needed to leave for a while.""
"Leave because of what?""
"She said people would be asking questions. She told me that if I went to Denver, Rebecca would help me get settled.""
"Did she tell you where you'd live?""
"She said I'd stay with someone who knew my father.""
Marcus's voice tightened.
"You mean me?""
"No. She said the person knew about you.""
I stepped closer.
"Daniel, did Tasha give you any other documents?""
"There's a folder in my room. She told me not to open it until I reached Denver.""
Eleanor immediately wrote that down.
"Daniel, do not travel with those documents or alter anything. Keep them safe, and let the investigators know what you have.""
Daniel sounded frightened.
"Am I in trouble?""
"We're trying to establish exactly what happened," Eleanor replied.
"The most important thing right now is that you remain safe and tell the truth.""
Daniel went quiet.
Then he said, "There's something else.""
Marcus stopped pacing.
"What?""
"Mom told me that after the money arrived, she would finally tell Dad the truth about me.""
Marcus closed his eyes.
"She doesn't need to use money to tell me the truth. I'm your father, Daniel. If that's confirmed, nothing changes the fact that I want to know you.""
Daniel's breathing became uneven.
"She said you wouldn't believe me.""
"I believe that you're scared. And I believe you deserve answers.""
After the call, Eleanor contacted the investigators handling the bank's report. We provided the ticket, the message threatening our family, and the information Daniel had shared.
The investigator advised us not to approach Tasha or Rebecca while the evidence was being reviewed.
Then Marcus received a call from Tasha.
He put it on speaker.
"Where are you?"" she demanded.
"With my mother.""
"You've been avoiding my calls all morning.""
"I've been dealing with something important.""
"Important? You disappeared without telling me where you were going, and now your mother is interfering in our marriage again.""
Marcus stared at the phone.
"Why did you arrange a flight for Daniel?""
Silence.
Then Tasha laughed nervously.
"What are you talking about?""
"The ticket to Denver. Why is Rebecca listed as his receiving guardian?""
"Daniel is an adult. He can travel wherever he wants.""
"Then why did you tell him to leave after the money arrived?""
Her tone changed.
"Who told you that?""
Marcus leaned forward.
"Answer the question.""
"You have no idea what you're talking about.""
"Did you use Isaiah's identity to obtain money from his trust?""
Tasha's voice rose.
"How dare you accuse me of stealing from your own child? I've spent years taking care of that boy while you ran off to work in another state.""
Marcus flinched, but he didn't back down.
"You were given five hundred dollars for his school supplies. He came to my mother's house wearing shoes with holes in them.""
"He has everything he needs!""
"Then explain the forged withdrawal request.""
"I don't know anything about that.""
"Explain the fake birth certificate.""
"I said I don't know anything!""
The sound of something breaking came through the phone.
Then Tasha lowered her voice.
"Marcus, listen to me. Your mother has always wanted to turn you against me. Don't let her destroy our family over a misunderstanding.""
Marcus's face tightened.
"Was Daniel ever going to meet me honestly?""
No answer.
"Did you tell him I abandoned him?""
Tasha began crying.
"Please don't do this.""
"Did you?""
"I was protecting him!""
"From what?""
"From you!""
The words hung in the air.
Marcus looked at me.
For eighteen years, he had not known that Daniel existed. He had not refused to raise his son. He had not abandoned him.
Someone had deliberately kept the truth from him.
Tasha continued speaking through her tears.
"You had Renee. You had your perfect little family. Daniel deserved something, too.""
"Then why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I knew you'd choose Renee over me!""
Marcus stared at the phone in disbelief.
"Renee was my wife. Isaiah was my son. You could have told me the truth.""
"And what would you have done? Left me?""
"I might have helped raise my child!""
Tasha's crying stopped abruptly.
For a moment, there was no sound at all.
Then she said, very quietly, "You should have stayed out of this.""
The call ended.
Eleanor immediately told Marcus not to call her back.
"We have enough to document the conversation," she said.
"Don't provoke her or attempt to obtain a confession.""
Marcus sat down, shaking.
I placed a hand on his shoulder.
"She admitted she hid Daniel from you.""
"She said she was protecting him.""
"That doesn't make it true.""
He looked at the plane ticket.
"What if Daniel had boarded that flight tomorrow? What if we never found out where he went?""
I had no answer.
At noon, the investigator called Eleanor with an update.
The bank had confirmed that the eighty-five-thousand-dollar request had been stopped before any funds were released. Investigators were examining the disputed signatures and the supporting documents.
They had also identified a second application connected to the same suspicious contact information.
But there was a problem.
The address associated with Rebecca Lane was a rented mailbox, and the identity documents used to establish it appeared to contain inconsistencies.
The woman who had called herself Rebecca might not have been using her real identity.
Then the investigator asked whether anyone in our family had recently received a package from a law office in Denver.
Marcus and I looked at each other.
Neither of us had.
Eleanor, however, had gone completely still.
"Why are you asking?"" she said.
The investigator explained that a document linked to the suspicious applications had been mailed to Denver several months earlier.
It was addressed to a person whose initials were R.J.
The same initials printed on Daniel's ticket.
When Eleanor hung up, she opened Renee's old file and searched through the remaining pages.
At the very bottom was a folded sheet of paper bearing an address in Denver.
Beneath the address, Renee had written a name.
*Rachel Johnson.*
Marcus stared at it.
"Who is Rachel Johnson?""
Eleanor's face had turned pale.
"I don't know.""
I leaned forward.
"Is she connected to Renee?""
Eleanor slowly shook her head.
"No. But this address appears in a document Renee specifically instructed me to preserve.""
She turned the paper over.
May you like
On the back, in Renee's handwriting, were eight words.
If Rachel contacts Isaiah, do not let her near him.
