Chapter 10: The Three Days My Mother Never Explained
I called my mother seventeen times before she answered.
On the eighteenth attempt, her voice came through so quietly I almost didn't recognize it.
“Nia?””
“What happened during those three days?””
Silence.
I stood in the government office in Charleston, watching Captain Hayes stare at the floor. Investigator Bennett had ordered the team to locate Peter Lawson, but the call had left all of us shaken.
“Mom, I know you disappeared after the incident at Pier Seven. Peter Lawson told us.””
I heard her inhale sharply.
“Peter is alive?””
“Yes. And he says you were missing for three days.””
A long silence followed.
Then she whispered, “I prayed you would never have to know.””
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“Know what?””
“That your father wasn't the only person they took that night.””
I closed my eyes.
“Who took you?””
“I never saw all their faces. They kept me in a room with no windows. There was a chair, a metal table, and a clock that stopped at 2:15. They asked me where Daniel had hidden the records.””
“Did you know?””
“No. He hadn't told me where he kept them.””
“Then why did they take you?””
“Because I had seen the shipment documents. Daniel had shown me the original manifest before he went to Pier Seven. I knew the containers had been diverted, and I knew the names of some of the people involved.””
I looked at Hayes.
He had gone perfectly still.
“Who questioned you?”” I asked.
My mother began to cry.
“One man did most of the talking. He wore a uniform, but he never gave me his name. Another man stood behind him and wrote everything down.””
“Was Samuel there?””
“No.””
“Was Admiral Voss?””
She hesitated.
“I believe so.””
I pressed my palm against the wall.
“Then how did you get home?””
“On the third day, someone left me outside a bus station. I had no shoes, no purse, and no idea how I had gotten there. A woman helped me call a taxi.””
“What happened when you returned?””
“Samuel was waiting at the house.””
The answer sent a chill through me.
“He knew where you'd been?””
“He said he'd been searching for me. He told me Daniel had deserted, that the Navy had evidence against him, and that I needed to cooperate if I wanted to keep you safe.””
“What did he make you do?””
My mother struggled to speak.
“He brought me a statement. It said Daniel had taken classified material and voluntarily abandoned his post. It also said I had no reason to believe he intended to return.””
“And you signed it.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because he told me they knew where you were. You were staying with my sister in Savannah while I attended the ceremony aboard the ship. He said if I refused, they would take you away, too.””
I felt sick.
“You could have told the police.””
“I was afraid the police were already involved.””
“So you married Samuel.””
“I thought marrying him would keep him close enough for me to understand what he knew. I thought I could protect you by keeping him inside our lives.””
“Instead, you let me grow up calling him Uncle Sam.””
“I know.””
“You let him tell me my father was a coward.””
My mother's voice cracked.
“I thought Daniel was dead, Nia. I thought the only way to keep you alive was to stop looking for him.””
I wanted to believe her.
I wanted to hear something that made the years of lies hurt less.
But there was still one question.
“Why didn't you tell me when you learned Dad might be alive?””
“Because Samuel found me three weeks ago. He told me Daniel had contacted someone in the old investigation. He said if I helped the authorities, everyone who had kept us safe would be exposed.””
“Everyone who kept us safe?”” I repeated.
“Or everyone who kept you silent?””
She didn't answer.
I ended the call and turned toward Captain Hayes.
“You knew she was taken?””
His face was drawn.
“I knew Denise had been questioned. I didn't know the extent of it.””
“You were the executive officer. You signed the report.””
“Yes.””
“And you let her signature become evidence against my father.””
He lowered his head.
“I did.””
For a moment, I couldn't look at him.
Then Investigator Bennett entered the room, carrying a printed message.
“We've located Peter Lawson.””
“Where is he?””
“An address outside Charleston. He has agreed to meet us.””
“Good. Let's go.””
Bennett hesitated.
“There's another development. Samuel Brooks's flight never departed Hilton Head. The aircraft was found on the runway with its engine disabled.””
“Where is Samuel?””
“Gone.””
She placed a photograph on the table.
It showed a small office with an overturned chair and papers scattered across the floor. A security camera had captured a man leaving through a side entrance carrying a blue suitcase.
Samuel.
But behind him stood another figure.
A tall man in a dark coat.
I leaned closer to the photograph.
“Who is that?””
Bennett's expression tightened.
“We're trying to identify him.””
Captain Hayes stared at the image.
Then he whispered, “Richard Voss.””
I looked at him sharply.
“You're sure?””
“I served under him for years. I know the way he walks.””
Bennett took the photograph back.
“If Voss is involved, this investigation just became much more serious.””
I thought of the containers, the missing witnesses, and the three days my mother had spent in a room without windows.
“Then we need to find Samuel before Voss does.””
Hayes shook his head.
“Perhaps Samuel is working with him.””
“Then why would Voss chase him?””
“Because people who work together don't always remain allies.””
My phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
Your mother has told you what happened to her. Now ask what happened to the child she was carrying.
I stared at the screen.
For a moment, the room seemed to lose all sound.
My mother had never mentioned another child.
I called her again.
She answered immediately.
“Nia?””
I struggled to form the question.
“Mom, were you pregnant when you disappeared?””
The silence lasted so long that I thought she had hung up.
Then she whispered, “Yes.””
My throat closed.
“What happened to the baby?””
My mother began to sob.
“They told me the baby had died.””
I stared at Captain Hayes.
He was already reaching for the phone.
“Denise,” he said urgently, “who told you that?””
May you like
My mother's answer came in a broken whisper.
“Richard Voss.””
