Chapter 6: My Wife's Secret Meeting
I didn't tell Daniel about Vanessa's message immediately.
I read it several times, trying to understand what she wanted.
If Sarah was alive, why had she stayed away for two years?
If she had been threatened, why hadn't she contacted me sooner?
And why had Vanessa suddenly decided to offer a meeting?
Daniel noticed my expression.
"What happened?""
I showed him the messages.
He swore under his breath.
"Absolutely not. You're not meeting her alone.""
"She says she'll show me Sarah.""
"That could be a trap.""
"What if it's not?""
Daniel stared at me.
"Michael, that's exactly what they want you to think.""
I looked through the coffee shop window.
Evelyn was sitting alone, holding the empty folder.
"Can we trace the number that called her?""
"I've already asked someone to look into it.""
"How long?""
"An hour, maybe more.""
I checked the time.
11:42 a.m.
Vanessa had suggested meeting at 1:00 p.m. in the parking garage of an abandoned shopping center outside Charlotte.
I made a decision.
"We're going.""
Daniel shook his head.
"Not the way she wants.""
He took out his phone.
"We'll have people watching from a distance. You won't be alone, even if they think you are.""
I nodded.
Before leaving, I called Mrs. Bennett.
"Please don't let Vanessa near Lily.""
There was a pause.
"Michael, she just came back.""
My stomach tightened.
"Vanessa?""
"Yes. She says she's forgotten something upstairs.""
"Don't let her inside.""
"She already went in.""
I immediately started running toward the car.
"Mrs. Bennett, get Lily outside. Now!""
I heard the old woman shouting.
Then the call disconnected.
Daniel accelerated through the streets.
When we arrived, the front door was open.
Mrs. Bennett stood on the porch, breathing heavily.
"She took something," she said.
"Where's Lily?""
"She's with me. She's safe.""
I rushed toward my daughter.
Lily was sitting on the front steps, crying.
I knelt beside her.
"What happened?""
"Vanessa went into Mommy's room.""
"What did she take?""
Lily pointed upstairs.
"The blue picture.""
I looked at Daniel.
We ran inside.
The small framed photograph of Sarah and Lily that used to sit on the dresser was missing.
But that wasn't all.
The loose floorboard had been lifted.
The scarf was gone.
And the blue USB drive was missing.
I checked my pocket.
The second USB drive I had made from the original recording was still there.
Daniel examined the empty hiding place.
"She knew exactly where to look.""
I turned toward Mrs. Bennett.
"Did she say anything?""
The old woman nodded.
"She told me you were having a mental breakdown and that she was taking Lily somewhere safe.""
I felt rage rising.
"She said WHAT?""
"Then she told Lily that you might not come back.""
I looked at my daughter.
Lily wiped her nose.
"She said Mommy was waiting for me.""
I crouched.
"Did she tell you where?""
Lily nodded.
"She said Mommy was in a house with a blue door.""
Daniel and I exchanged looks.
"Did she mention an address?""
Lily shook her head.
"But she showed me a picture.""
She pointed toward the kitchen.
"She left it on the table.""
We hurried over.
There was a small photograph.
It showed a white house with a blue front door and a large oak tree in the yard.
On the back was an address in a town outside Nashville.
I recognized the handwriting.
It was Vanessa's.
Daniel photographed it.
"Now we have a location.""
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Hello?""
A man's voice spoke.
"Mr. Carter, this is Detective Hayes.""
My entire body went rigid.
"What do you want?""
"I want you to stop digging into matters you don't understand.""
"Where is my wife?""
Hayes laughed.
"Your wife is exactly where she belongs.""
"She's alive.""
A pause.
Then he said:
"Careful, Michael. Hope can make a man very stupid.""
I clenched my jaw.
"Why did you lie to me about her death?""
"Because you were easier to manage when you believed she was gone.""
My hand tightened around the phone.
"Did you arrange the accident?""
Hayes sighed.
"You're asking the wrong question.""
"What question should I be asking?""
"Ask your wife why she signed the documents.""
I glanced toward Vanessa's empty bedroom.
"Which documents?""
"The ones that transferred Lily's trust.""
I felt my blood run cold.
"She forged my signature.""
"No, Michael. Vanessa didn't forge anything.""
Hayes lowered his voice.
"She signed them as Lily's legal guardian, using a document your first wife prepared.""
I looked at Daniel.
He was listening carefully.
"That's impossible. Sarah would never authorize that.""
Hayes chuckled.
"Then perhaps you should ask why Sarah named Vanessa as an emergency guardian six weeks before she died.""
I couldn't speak.
Sarah had never mentioned Vanessa.
She hadn't even known her.
"You're lying.""
"Check the original paperwork.""
The call ended.
I slowly lowered the phone.
Daniel looked at me.
"He's trying to confuse you.""
"Could Sarah have named Vanessa as a guardian?""
"Not without a reason.""
I remembered the documents in the keepsake box.
The original trust agreement.
The sealed envelope.
Everything Hayes wanted had been inside that wooden box.
Then Daniel's phone rang.
He answered.
"Yes?""
His expression changed.
"What do you mean the number is active?""
He listened for a few seconds.
Then he looked at me.
"The call Evelyn received came from a registered mobile number.""
"Whose?""
Daniel swallowed.
"Sarah Carter.""
I felt the room tilt.
"That number was disconnected after the accident.""
"I know.""
"Then who has it?""
Daniel turned his screen toward me.
The account had been reactivated three days earlier.
The registered location was Nashville, Tennessee.
Then a new message arrived on my phone.
It contained a photograph of a woman standing in front of a blue door.
Her face was partially hidden beneath a scarf.
But I recognized her wedding ring.
The same simple silver band I had placed on Sarah's finger eight years earlier.
Beneath the photograph were seven words.
*MICHAEL, COME ALONE. YOUR WIFE IS WAITING.*
And for the first time in two years, I had a reason to believe Sarah might actually be alive.
But there was something else in the photograph.
Reflected in the window behind her was a little girl.
A little girl with long golden-brown curls.
A little girl who looked exactly like Lily.
I enlarged the image.
Daniel leaned over my shoulder.
Neither of us spoke.
Because the girl in the reflection wasn't six years old.
She looked closer to eight.
And standing beside her was a man whose face I had never expected to see again.
May you like
My father.
The man whose funeral I had attended eleven years earlier.
