Chapter 7
Detective Holt refused to let me go to Pine Hollow.
I argued.
He didn’t care.
“This is a possible crime scene.”
“That’s my mother.”
“Which is exactly why you’re not going.”
“She could destroy everything before you get there.”
“And if she’s involved in an arson and possibly more, you showing up helps nobody.”
He was right.
I hated him for being right.
Police units were sent toward the lake house.
Jenna gave them directions.
Two hours later, officers confirmed the property existed.
It was still owned by the Carter Family Trust.
Another lie.
Dad had told me it was sold fifteen years ago.
Mom’s abandoned car had been found twenty miles away, but Holt believed she could have switched vehicles.
Rosie was discharged from the hospital shortly after midnight.
We went to the hotel.
Jenna drove.
I sat in the back with Rosie.
She woke once.
“Are we home?”
“No, baby.”
“Where are we going?”
“A hotel.”
“Like vacation?”
The innocence in her question nearly broke me.
“Yes.”
I forced a smile.
“Like vacation.”
“Can we get waffles?”
“You can get all the waffles you want.”
She went back to sleep.
At the hotel, Jenna checked us in.
We used an elevator from the parking garage.
Holt had arranged a patrol unit to check the property.
I felt ridiculous.
Then I remembered the car.
The videos.
The fire.
Nothing felt ridiculous anymore.
I put Rosie in bed.
She refused to let go of my hand.
“Stay.”
“I’m staying.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
I lay beside her until she slept.
Jenna sat by the window.
When I joined her, she whispered, “You should sleep.”
“I can’t.”
“Me neither.”
For a long time we said nothing.
Then I asked, “What happened when Emily took you to the cabin?”
Jenna looked toward Rosie.
“She was terrified.”
“Of Dad?”
“Yes.”
“What did she hide?”
“Copies of financial records. Emails. Something about the trust.”
“That’s it?”
“No.”
I waited.
“She had a recording.”
My heartbeat changed.
“Of what?”
“She wouldn’t play it.”
“Why?”
“She said if Ryan hears this before I’m ready, he’ll confront his father.”
“She knew me.”
“She loved you.”
“She didn’t trust me.”
Jenna looked at me.
“She trusted your heart. Not your conditioning.”
That hurt.
But it was fair.
“What did she mean?”
“She said your family trained you to react before thinking whenever someone challenged them.”
I looked down.
“She was right.”
“Yes.”
Jenna didn’t soften it.
I appreciated that too.
My phone was gone for forensic examination.
So when the hotel room phone rang at two in the morning, both of us jumped.
I answered.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then breathing.
“Who is this?”
A woman whispered.
“Ryan.”
My whole body went rigid.
Mom.
“Where are you?”
“Don’t ask.”
“Did you burn my apartment?”
She started crying.
“I didn’t mean for the whole thing to burn.”
Jenna stood.
I raised a finger.
Stay quiet.
“You set the fire?”
“I had to destroy something.”
“What?”
“The folder.”
“Why?”
“Because your father will kill me if you find out.”
Cold swept through me.
“Find out what?”
She sobbed.
“Everything.”
“Mom, listen to me. Go to the police.”
“No.”
“They can protect you.”
“No one can protect me from Richard.”
“Then help me.”
Silence.
“Tell me what happened to Emily.”
Mom stopped crying.
Completely.
That silence frightened me more.
“Mom.”
“I loved her.”
“What happened?”
“I loved Emily.”
“Then tell me.”
“She wouldn’t listen.”
My knees weakened.
“What wouldn’t she listen to?”
“She kept pushing.”
“About the trust?”
“Yes.”
“What did Dad do?”
“You don’t understand him.”
“Stop protecting him.”
“I’m not.”
“You’ve protected him my entire life.”
“He protected us!”
“From what?”
“Being poor. Being nobody. Losing everything.”
I almost laughed.
“There was eighteen million dollars in the trust.”
She gasped.
“You know.”
“Yes.”
“Oh God.”
“How much did Dad take?”
“Ryan…”
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
“I never knew the exact amount.”
“Was Daniel helping him?”
“Yes.”
There it was.
The first clean admission.
“Bethany?”
“Later.”
“What does that mean?”
“She found out after Emily died.”
“And she joined them?”
“Your sister likes money.”
Pain burned behind my eyes.
“Did Emily discover the theft?”
“Yes.”
“Did Dad threaten her?”
“Yes.”
“Did he kill her?”
Mom began sobbing again.
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t do this.”
“I swear.”
“You know something.”
Silence.
“Mom.”
“The night Emily died…”
My throat closed.
“Yes?”
“Your father followed her.”
I stopped breathing.
Jenna covered her mouth.
“Did you see him leave?”
“Yes.”
“Was Daniel with him?”
“I don’t know.”
“When did Dad come home?”
“After two.”
Emily crashed shortly after midnight.
“What did he say?”
“Nothing.”
“Did he have damage on his car?”
Mom whimpered.
“Mom.”
“Yes.”
My legs gave out.
I sat on the floor.
“What kind of damage?”
“Front passenger side.”
The police report from Emily’s crash had mentioned paint transfer.
I remembered.
A dark scrape on the rear quarter panel.
Investigators believed she clipped the guardrail before losing control.
What if she had been hit?
“What happened to Dad’s car?”
“He replaced the bumper.”
“When?”
“The next morning.”
I covered my mouth.
Jenna was crying silently.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“You knew enough.”
“I was afraid.”
“You let me bury my wife and call it an accident.”
“I was afraid!”
“And now Rosie got hurt because you were still afraid.”
Mom made a broken sound.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I tried to stop today.”
“What?”
“I told Richard not to touch your car.”
“You knew?”
“He said he only wanted to scare you.”
“Mom!”
“I didn’t think he would actually—”
“That sentence has defined your whole life!”
Silence.
I breathed hard.
“Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Are you going to the lake house?”
Her breathing stopped.
I knew.
“Mom, don’t destroy anything.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Emily hid evidence there.”
“Yes.”
“Leave it.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s something in that cabin that will destroy all of us.”
“Good.”
She gasped.
I continued.
“Maybe we need to be destroyed.”
“Ryan.”
“No more protecting the family name.”
“You’ll lose everything.”
“I already lost Emily.”
I looked toward Rosie.
“And I almost lost my daughter.”
Mom whispered, “Your father didn’t mean for Rosie to get hurt.”
“What about Emily?”
No answer.
“Did he mean for Emily to get hurt?”
Silence.
Then Mom whispered:
“I saw the car.”
My heart pounded.
“What car?”
“Richard’s car.”
“After the crash?”
“Yes.”
“You already said it was damaged.”
“No.”
Her voice dropped.
“I mean I saw it on the road.”
My blood went cold.
“You were there?”
“I followed him.”
Jenna crouched beside me.
Mom continued.
“I knew he was angry. I was afraid he would frighten her.”
“What happened?”
“I was too far back.”
“Tell me.”
“I saw Emily’s car.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“Dad was behind her?”
“Yes.”
“Then?”
“A curve.”
“Mom.”
“Richard accelerated.”
Every muscle in my body locked.
“He hit her?”
“I saw his headlights move.”
“Did he hit her?”
“I heard something.”
My eyes filled.
“Then Emily’s car went through the guardrail.”
Jenna started crying openly.
I could barely speak.
“And you did nothing?”
“I stopped.”
“You stopped?”
“I wanted to help.”
“What did Dad do?”
“He blocked me.”
“What?”
“He got out of his car. He grabbed me. He said Emily was gone.”
My whole body shook.
“Was she still alive?”
Mom sobbed.
“I don’t know.”
“But you didn’t check.”
“No.”
“You left her.”
“I’m sorry.”
I pressed my fist against my forehead.
Emily might have been alive.
Might have been waiting.
Bleeding in the dark.
While my parents drove away.
“Did Dad call 911?”
“No.”
“Who did?”
“Another driver later.”
I wanted to vomit.
Mom whispered, “Ryan, please believe me. I never wanted her dead.”
“But you protected the man who killed her.”
“I was afraid.”
“You were more afraid of Dad than you cared about Emily.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t understand what he does to people who turn against him.”
I suddenly heard another sound through the phone.
A door.
Mom gasped.
“What?”
She whispered, “Someone’s here.”
“Where are you?”
No answer.
“Mom!”
Footsteps.
A man’s voice in the background.
Too faint to identify.
Mom whispered, “No.”
Then louder:
“You weren’t supposed to know I was here.”
I shouted, “Mom!”
The line went dead.
Jenna stared at me.
“Who was that?”
“I don’t know.”
Then we heard pounding on our hotel door.
Rosie woke and screamed.
I rushed toward her.
Jenna froze.
Another pounding.
“Police!”
I looked through the peephole.
Uniformed officers.
I opened the door.
One officer stepped inside.
“Ryan Carter?”
“Yes.”
“Detective Holt asked us to move you immediately.”
“Why?”
“There’s been an incident at Pine Hollow.”
My stomach dropped.
“What happened?”
“We don’t have all the details.”
“Is my mother alive?”
The officer hesitated.
That hesitation told me enough.
“Tell me.”
“She was found injured near the cabin.”
My knees weakened.
“Is she alive?”
“Yes.”
Relief hit me.
Then the officer continued.
“But she wasn’t alone.”
“Who was there?”
“A second person fled before units arrived.”
“Dad?”
“Your father is still in custody.”
“Daniel?”
“We don’t know.”
The officer glanced toward Rosie.
“We also found evidence the cabin had been searched.”
“Destroyed?”
“Partially.”
“What about Emily’s evidence?”
“I don’t know.”
Then his radio crackled.
He listened.
His eyes moved toward me.
“What?”
He lowered the radio.
“Officers recovered a recording device.”
My pulse quickened.
“From the cabin?”
“Yes.”
“What’s on it?”
“I don’t know.”
But Detective Holt did.
He called the hotel twenty minutes later.
His first words were:
“Ryan, we found Emily’s recording.”
I sat down.
“What does it show?”
“It’s audio.”
“Of Dad?”
“Your father. Daniel. And Emily.”
My heart hammered.
“Tell me.”
There was a pause.
Then Holt said:
“Emily recorded them discussing how to keep you from ever becoming trustee.”
I closed my eyes.
“What did they plan?”
“First, to convince you voluntarily to sign control to your father.”
“And if I refused?”
“Daniel suggested documenting you as emotionally unstable.”
Rosie.
The videos.
They had followed the same plan years later.
“And Emily?”
Holt’s voice became quieter.
“She says she will expose everything.”
“What does Dad say?”
Holt hesitated.
“Ryan.”
“Tell me.”
“Your father says, ‘Then you need to disappear before his thirty-fifth birthday.’”
I felt the room vanish beneath me.
But Holt wasn’t finished.
“Daniel responds to him.”
“What does he say?”
Three seconds passed.
May you like
Then:
“He says, ‘Leave it to me.’”
