Chapter 7: The Child in the Photograph
For several seconds, I couldn't hear anything except the pounding of my own heart.
The photograph trembled between my fingers.
Rachel stood outside the Lakeshore Hotel, her hair blowing across her face. Richard Cole stood beside her, one hand resting on the shoulder of a little girl who appeared to be about three years old.
The child's dark eyes, small nose, and crooked smile looked disturbingly familiar.
She looked like Emma.
But Emma hadn't been born when the photograph was taken.
I turned it over again, hoping the date might somehow have changed.
It hadn't.
“Jessica,” I said slowly, “who is this child?””
My wife swallowed.
“I don't know.””
“Don't lie to me.””
“I'm not!””
I held the photograph inches from her face.
“You kept this picture hidden in your office, along with a letter from my dead wife and documents about stolen money. Now my daughter has disappeared, and you're telling me you don't know anything?””
Jessica pressed a hand against her mouth.
“I know what Richard told me.””
“What did he tell you?””
She glanced toward the front door.
“He said Rachel had been investigating something before she died. Something involving another child.””
My stomach tightened.
“Another child?””
“He claimed Rachel had discovered that a little girl had been placed with a family under a different identity. He said she was connected to the financial scheme.””
I stared at her.
“What does that have to do with Emma?””
“I don't know, Michael!””
Her voice cracked.
Then she lowered her head.
“I didn't want to know. I thought if I stayed out of it, Richard would leave us alone.””
I wanted to scream at her.
Instead, I forced myself to think.
Emma was somewhere with Richard. He had demanded the blue notebook, and the photograph suggested that Rachel had been investigating something far more complicated than missing money.
I pulled out my phone and called the police again.
When the dispatcher answered, I gave them Richard's name, explained the threat, and told them my ten-year-old daughter had gone missing.
Then I called Daniel.
“Where are you?”” I demanded.
“I'm in the driveway. Michael, what's happening?””
“Emma is gone. Richard has her.””
Daniel went silent.
“I'm coming back inside,” he said.
“No. Call the police and tell them everything you know about the Lakeshore Hotel. Every detail.””
“Michael—”
“Every detail, Daniel!””
I ended the call.
Jessica stood beside the staircase, twisting her wedding ring.
“I can help you find her.””
I turned toward her.
“You've done enough.””
She flinched as though I'd struck her.
“I know you hate me right now.””
“Hate doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling.””
“I deserve that. But Emma is still a child, and Richard is dangerous. If you go there alone, you could make things worse.””
I looked at the message on her phone.
Bring Emma to the old Lakeshore property. Come alone.
Richard hadn't asked for a meeting.
He had arranged a trap.
“Then tell me everything,” I said.
“Right now.””
Jessica sat on the bottom stair.
“Three months after we married, Richard contacted me. He said he was worried about your company and wanted to protect your family if anything happened to you.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Richard has been my business partner for twelve years. Why would he need to go through my wife?””
“Because he didn't trust Daniel anymore.””
She explained that Richard had discovered Daniel's unauthorized transfers and used them to pressure him into signing false financial statements. Jessica had initially agreed to help Richard convince me that my company's problems were caused by Daniel's mistakes.
In exchange, Richard promised to protect her financial future and ensure that Tyler would never be affected by the fallout.
“But Rachel's letter changed everything,” I said.
Jessica nodded.
“Richard told me she had found evidence that could send him to prison. He said her death was a tragic accident and that the police would reopen the investigation if the notebook surfaced.””
“And you believed him?””
“I wanted to believe him.””
“That isn't the same thing.””
“No,” she whispered.
“It isn't.””
My phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
It contained a photograph of Emma sitting on a wooden bench inside a dimly lit room.
Her hands were clasped in her lap. She looked frightened, but unharmed.
Below the image were six words.
*Bring the notebook. No police.*
I zoomed in on the background.
A rusted metal cabinet stood beside the bench. Behind Emma, a narrow window revealed the silhouette of an old water tower.
I had seen that water tower before.
The Lakeshore Hotel had been demolished years ago after a storm damaged the structure. The property had been converted into storage buildings before the redevelopment project was abandoned.
One of those buildings stood beside the old water tower.
I called Daniel.
“Tell the police to check the Lakeshore storage buildings. There's a water tower nearby.””
“I know the place,” he replied.
“Michael, there's something else. The night Rachel died, I saw Richard carrying a blue folder into the hotel. I thought it was the company documents.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because he told me Rachel had stolen money too. He said if I spoke up, he'd make sure we both went to prison.””
I closed my eyes.
“You should have trusted me.””
“I know.””
I ended the call and grabbed my coat.
Jessica stepped into my path.
“Michael, please take me with you.””
I looked at her.
“Why?””
“Because I know Richard. I know how he thinks.””
“You knew him well enough to help him manipulate my family.””
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
“I know. And I'll spend the rest of my life regretting it.””
For a moment, I saw the woman I had fallen in love with. But the memory didn't soften what she had done.
I walked past her.
As I reached the door, she spoke again.
“Michael, there's one more thing about that photograph.””
I stopped.
Jessica held out the picture, pointing to the child's wrist.
A thin silver bracelet circled it. A tiny heart-shaped charm hung from the chain.
I recognized it immediately.
Rachel had bought an identical bracelet for Emma when she was born.
I had buried it with Rachel's belongings after the funeral.
“How is that possible?”” I whispered.
Jessica shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Then she turned the photograph over and pointed to a small line of writing I hadn't noticed before.
Two girls. One secret. One promise.
My phone rang again.
Richard.
I answered.
“Where is Emma?””
His voice was calm.
“She's waiting for you, Michael. But you'd better hurry.””
“What do you want?””
“The notebook. And the truth about your first wife.””
I tightened my grip on the phone.
“What truth?””
Richard paused.
Then he said, “The child in that photograph wasn't a stranger to Rachel.””
The line crackled.
May you like
“She was her daughter.””
And before I could ask how that was possible, Richard hung up.
