Chapter 6: The Man Who Knew Too Much
Nobody spoke.
Tyler stood in the hallway as if he had just realized he had said something he could never take back.
Jessica moved first.
“Tyler, come here.””
He shook his head.
“Mom, please don't make me lie anymore.””
“I'm not asking you to lie.””
“You told me to say I didn't know Richard!””
Daniel pushed away from the kitchen island.
“Jessica, what the hell have you done?””
She spun toward him.
“Don't you dare act innocent. You were the one who stole the money.””
“And you were the one who helped Richard cover it up!””
I stepped between them.
“Both of you, stop.””
My voice was so sharp that Emma startled beside me.
I immediately softened my tone.
“Emma, sweetheart, go sit in the living room with Tyler. I'll be there in a minute.””
She hesitated.
“Are you going to be okay?””
I swallowed hard.
“Yes.””
It was the first time that night I had answered a question from my daughter without being certain the answer was true.
She took Tyler's hand, and they disappeared around the corner.
I turned to Jessica.
“Start talking.””
She crossed her arms.
“Richard was trying to protect your company.””
“By stealing money?””
“Daniel made the transfers.””
“Did you know about them?””
She hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
“How long?”” I demanded.
“Michael, it wasn't what you think.””
“How long have you known?””
“Almost two years.””
I stared at her.
For nearly two years, she had sat across from me at dinner, kissed me goodbye in the mornings, and asked how my business was doing.
All the while, she had known that hundreds of thousands of dollars were missing.
“And Rachel?”” I asked.
“What did you know about her death?””
Jessica's eyes flicked toward Daniel.
He looked away.
“Jessica.””
She exhaled shakily.
“I met Richard after Rachel died. He told me she had discovered the transfers and planned to report them.””
“Why didn't you tell the police?””
“Because he said the company would collapse. He said you could lose everything, including the house.””
“So you decided to keep quiet?””
“I was trying to save your future!””
I laughed bitterly.
“You were trying to save yourself.””
She flinched.
Then her expression hardened.
“You don't know what Richard is capable of.””
“Then tell me.””
Jessica looked toward the living room.
“Not with Emma here.””
“Emma has spent months being frightened in her own home because of your lies. You don't get to decide what she can handle anymore.””
Jessica's face twisted with anger.
“You think you're protecting her, but you have no idea what you're dragging her into.””
I stepped closer.
“Then explain why you gave Richard information about her school.””
For the first time, Jessica looked genuinely ashamed.
“I didn't know what he planned to do with it.””
“You gave a man connected to your financial crimes my daughter's school information?””
“He asked whether Emma was still attending the same school. I thought he wanted to know if you'd moved.””
“Why would he care where we lived?””
She didn't answer.
Daniel suddenly sat down, burying his face in his hands.
“I should have told you everything,” he muttered.
“After Rachel died, Richard said the accident was a tragedy and that nobody could have predicted it. I wanted to believe him.””
I turned toward my brother.
“Did you see Rachel that night?””
“Yes.””
“Did you argue?””
Daniel looked up.
“She was furious. She told me she had copies of the transactions and that she was going straight to you.””
“And what did you do?””
“I tried to convince her to wait until morning.””
“Why?””
“Because Richard told me he'd arrange a meeting where we could settle everything without destroying the company.””
I gripped the back of a chair.
“What happened next?””
Daniel's voice dropped.
“Rachel left the hotel. Richard followed her.””
The air seemed to disappear from the room.
“You saw him follow her?””
Daniel nodded slowly.
“He told me he was going to talk to her. I didn't think—”
“You didn't think what?””
“That he would hurt her.””
My brother's words broke on the last syllable.
I wanted to hit him. I wanted to shake him until he gave me an answer that made the last three years make sense.
Instead, I forced myself to ask the only question that mattered.
“Did Richard cause the accident?””
Daniel shook his head.
“I don't know.””
Jessica suddenly reached for her phone.
I caught the movement.
“Who are you calling?””
“Nobody.””
“Put it down.””
She clutched it to her chest.
“Michael, you have to listen to me. Richard has people who can make this disappear. If you go to the police with a notebook and a recording made by a twelve-year-old, he'll destroy us.””
“Us?””
She stared at me.
I could see her trying to find the words that would bring me back to her side. An apology. A promise. Some reminder of the life we had built together.
But I could still see Emma stumbling backward from that chair.
I could still hear her whispering that she was sorry for ruining my birthday.
“You don't get to call this a family anymore,” I said quietly.
Jessica's face went white.
I took out my phone and called the police.
She didn't try to stop me.
Instead, she sank into a chair and stared at the floor.
While I spoke to the dispatcher, Daniel began telling me things he had kept secret since Rachel's death: the unexplained withdrawals, Richard's late-night calls, the meeting at the hotel, and the envelope Richard had handed him afterward.
The envelope had contained a statement claiming Rachel had been distraught and driving recklessly.
Daniel had signed it.
He had told the police he believed Rachel's death was an accident.
He had never mentioned Richard.
When I finished the call, I looked at my brother.
“You lied to the police.””
Daniel nodded, tears running down his face.
“Yes.””
“Then you're going to tell them the truth.””
“I will.””
A sudden vibration came from the kitchen counter.
Jessica's phone.
The screen lit up with a message from a contact saved only as *R*.
I glanced at it before she could turn the phone over.
Did you get the notebook? I need to know tonight.
A second message appeared.
If Michael has it, bring Emma to the old Lakeshore property. Come alone.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
I snatched the phone from the counter.
Jessica stood abruptly.
“Michael, don't!””
I read the message again.
Richard wasn't asking about the money.
He was asking about Emma.
I turned toward the living room.
“Where's my daughter?””
Jessica's face drained of color.
“She was just with Tyler.””
I ran into the living room.
The sofa was empty.
Tyler stood beside the front window, staring outside.
“Tyler?”” I shouted.
“Where's Emma?””
He turned, his eyes wide with panic.
“She said she was going upstairs to get her jacket.””
I took the stairs two at a time.
Emma's bedroom door stood open. Her music box sat on the desk, and the blue notebook was gone from my jacket pocket.
On the bed lay a folded sheet of paper.
I snatched it up.
The handwriting was Emma's.
Daddy, I know where Richard is. I'm going to find out why he hurt Mommy. Please don't be mad.
Below the note was a location.
The old Lakeshore property.
My hands went numb.
I ran back downstairs, shouting for Daniel to call the police again.
Jessica stood in the middle of the living room, crying silently.
For once, I didn't care whether her tears were real.
I grabbed my keys and raced toward the front door.
Then my phone rang.
An unknown number.
I answered immediately.
A man's voice came through, calm and almost amused.
“Michael, you should have left the past alone.””
“Where is my daughter?””
A pause.
Then Richard Cole spoke the words that made my blood run cold.
“She's safe for now. But if you want to see Emma again, bring me Rachel's notebook.””
The line went dead.
I stood frozen in the doorway, staring at my phone.
Behind me, Jessica whispered, “Michael, there's something else you need to know.””
I turned slowly.
She wiped her tears and looked straight into my eyes.
“Richard isn't the only person who knows what happened to Rachel that night.””
Then she reached into her purse and pulled out a photograph I had never seen before.
It showed Rachel standing beside Richard outside the Lakeshore Hotel.
Between them stood a little girl.
A little girl who looked exactly like Emma.
But the date printed on the back was six months before Emma was born.
May you like
And beneath it, in Rachel's handwriting, were the words:
*If anything happens to me, find out who this child belongs to.*
