Chapter 4
“What does transfer mean?”
Ethan asked the question three times.
Nobody answered him.
Not because they didn’t hear.
Because everyone was thinking the same thing.
My son.
Transfer.
Tomorrow.
I clutched Noah against my chest until Maya told me gently that I was holding him too tightly.
I loosened my arms.
My whole body shook.
“We’re leaving this house,” Daniel said.
“Where?” Ethan demanded.
“A secure location.”
“No.”
Daniel stared at him.
“No?”
“I’m not hiding my family somewhere while whoever did this disappears.”
“You have a ten-day-old child and a wife who needs medical care.”
“This is my house.”
“And someone turned your basement into a surveillance archive.”
That silenced him.
Maya photographed the calendar.
“Do not call Linda.”
Ethan laughed without humor.
“You think I want to talk to her?”
“I think you want answers.”
“I want her arrested.”
“We need evidence.”
“There’s evidence everywhere!”
“There is evidence that someone had access to your house. We have not established who placed it here.”
Ethan looked like he wanted to punch the wall.
Instead he took Noah’s diaper bag.
“Fine. Where are we going?”
First, the hospital.
The doctor examined me while Ethan sat beside the bed holding Noah.
I had torn stitches.
My bleeding was heavier than it should have been.
My blood pressure was elevated.
The doctor wanted to admit me overnight.
I refused until Maya promised an agent would stay outside the room.
Ethan didn’t argue with me anymore.
He looked devastated.
When the doctor left, he sat silently for almost a minute.
Then he said, “I failed you.”
I turned toward him.
“No.”
“I left you with her.”
“You thought she was helping.”
“I should have known.”
“I didn’t know.”
“You told me she made you uncomfortable before Noah was born.”
“She made everyone uncomfortable.”
“I laughed.”
His voice cracked.
“You told me she criticized everything you ate, everything you wore, how much weight you gained. I said that was just Mom.”
I touched his hand.
“Ethan.”
“She hurt you because I kept making excuses for her.”
I knew he needed to say it.
So I didn’t interrupt.
“She controlled me my entire childhood.”
He stared at the floor.
“I thought I escaped that.”
I had known Linda was strict.
I hadn’t known much about Ethan’s childhood.
He rarely discussed it.
“What did she do?”
“If I got a B, she ignored me for days.”
He smiled bitterly.
“If I got an A, she asked why it wasn’t an A-plus.”
My chest tightened.
“My dad left when I was twelve. She told everyone he abandoned us.”
“Didn’t he?”
“That’s what I believed.”
He looked at me.
“Until tonight.”
I frowned.
“What happened tonight?”
“Daniel asked me who else might know the safe code.”
“And?”
“I remembered something.”
He pulled out his phone.
“There’s an old number I haven’t called in fourteen years.”
“Your father?”
He nodded.
“Why now?”
“Because my mother taught me one thing very well.”
“What?”
“When she wants you to hate someone, she makes sure you never hear their side.”
He dialed.
The number rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
A man answered.
“Hello?”
Ethan couldn’t speak.
The man said hello again.
Then Ethan whispered, “Dad?”
Silence.
“Ethan?”
The voice changed.
I heard shock.
Then something that sounded like pain.
“Oh my God. Ethan.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“I need to ask you something.”
“Anything.”
“Why did you leave?”
The silence lasted too long.
“I didn’t.”
Ethan gripped the phone.
“What?”
“I tried to see you for years.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Your mother got restraining orders.”
“For what?”
“She accused me of threatening her.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“She said you hit her.”
“I never touched Linda.”
Ethan stood.
“She showed me photographs.”
“I know.”
“What does that mean?”
“She injured herself.”
My skin prickled.
The room suddenly felt colder.
Ethan stared at me.
“What?”
“I found her in the bathroom hitting her arm against the sink,” his father said. “She told me if I tried to take you away from her, she would make sure everyone believed I was violent.”
Ethan sat down again.
“She filed reports.”
“Yes.”
“She said you were dangerous.”
“I was never charged because there was no evidence. But family court was different. She buried me in allegations.”
“Why didn’t you fight?”
“I did.”
His father’s voice broke.
“For six years.”
Ethan pressed his fist against his mouth.
“I sent letters. Birthday cards. Money. Your mother returned everything.”
“I never got anything.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because when you turned eighteen, I came to your graduation.”
Ethan froze.
“You weren’t there.”
“I was in the parking lot.”
“No.”
“She saw me before you did.”
He took a shaky breath.
“She told me you hated me. She said if I approached you, you would call the police.”
Ethan looked destroyed.
I squeezed his hand.
“Dad, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was afraid of hurting you more.”
There was a pause.
“Why are you asking now?”
Ethan looked at Noah.
“Because Mom is doing something to Rachel.”
His father immediately became alert.
“What?”
Ethan explained.
Not everything.
Enough.
When he mentioned the photographs and false allegations, the man interrupted.
“Listen to me.”
We both went still.
“Do not underestimate her.”
“Dad—”
“She did this before.”
“To you?”
“No.”
Ethan frowned.
“To your aunt.”
“What aunt?”
The question hung in the air.
His father sighed.
“Her younger sister. Caroline.”
Ethan looked at me.
“My mother doesn’t have a sister.”
“Yes, she does.”
“What happened to her?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“What do you mean?”
“Caroline had a baby when she was nineteen.”
The hair rose on my arms.
“Linda became obsessed with helping her. At first everyone thought she was being generous.”
I looked at Noah.
“Then?”
“Caroline became sick after delivery. Exhausted. Depressed. Linda told everyone Caroline was unstable.”
I stopped breathing.
“She documented everything. Every time Caroline cried. Every messy room. Every missed appointment.”
Ethan’s face went gray.
“What happened to the baby?”
“Linda petitioned for temporary guardianship.”
My heart pounded.
“Did she get it?”
“For six months.”
“And then?”
“Caroline disappeared.”
Ethan stood again.
“What do you mean disappeared?”
“She left town.”
“Where is she?”
“I haven’t seen her in thirty years.”
“What happened to her child?”
“Linda’s parents raised him.”
“Why?”
“Because Linda didn’t want him after she won.”
The words were so ugly I almost didn’t understand them.
“She wanted to prove Caroline was unfit,” his father said. “Once she did that, the baby wasn’t important anymore.”
Ethan walked to the window.
“Why has nobody ever told me this?”
“Your mother made it clear Caroline’s name wasn’t spoken.”
“What was the baby’s name?”
“Marcus.”
Ethan shook his head.
“I’ve never heard that name.”
“Neither had I until after we married.”
The door opened.
Daniel entered with Maya.
One look at Ethan’s face and he stopped.
“What happened?”
Ethan put the phone on speaker.
“Tell them.”
His father repeated the story.
Maya took notes.
Daniel asked, “Do you know Caroline’s last known location?”
“Phoenix, maybe. That was twenty-five years ago.”
“Full name?”
“Caroline Ann Mercer. Mercer was their maiden name.”
Maya wrote quickly.
“Date of birth?”
He gave it.
Daniel stepped into the hallway to make calls.
Maya stayed.
“Mr. Carter, did Linda ever falsify evidence against you?”
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
“Medical records once.”
Ethan turned.
“What?”
“She submitted a letter claiming a psychiatrist had diagnosed me with explosive anger.”
“Had one?”
“No.”
“How did she get away with that?”
“She didn’t completely. My attorney proved the doctor’s signature was questionable. But by then the accusation had already done damage.”
Maya looked at me.
Medical records.
False violence allegations.
Claims of instability.
The pattern was too similar.
My phone buzzed on the bedside table.
Unknown number.
Everyone stared at it.
Maya lifted a finger.
“Don’t answer normally.”
She connected a recorder.
Then nodded.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A woman was crying.
“Rachel?”
My blood froze.
“Who is this?”
“Please don’t hang up.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Caroline.”
Ethan nearly dropped the phone.
Maya motioned for silence.
The woman continued.
“I heard Linda was doing it again.”
My mouth went dry.
“How did you get my number?”
“Your husband’s father called someone who called someone else. It doesn’t matter.”
Her voice shook.
“You have a baby, right?”
“Yes.”
“A boy?”
“Yes.”
“Listen to me carefully.”
I looked at Noah sleeping against Ethan’s chest.
“Linda doesn’t want your baby.”
That surprised me.
“What?”
“She wants Ethan.”
Ethan looked up.
Caroline took a breath.
“She thinks children belong to mothers forever. Not spouses. Not partners. Mothers.”
I remembered Linda saying this was her son’s house.
Not our house.
Her son’s.
“She did the same thing to me because I was going to move away with my baby,” Caroline said.
“Why target me?”
“Because you replaced her.”
Ethan whispered, “Jesus.”
Caroline heard him.
“Ethan?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For not stopping her thirty years ago.”
Maya leaned toward the phone.
“Caroline, I’m Special Agent Maya Torres. Do you have evidence of what Linda did to you?”
“I kept everything.”
Maya’s eyes sharpened.
“Where are you?”
“Colorado.”
“Can we send someone?”
There was a long silence.
“Yes.”
Then Caroline said one more thing.
“Rachel?”
“Yes?”
“If Linda knows you discovered the boxes, she’ll change the plan.”
“What plan?”
“The transfer.”
My stomach dropped.
“You know what it means?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
Caroline began crying again.
“It means she already found a place to send you.”
“Send me where?”
“A psychiatric facility.”
Ethan stood.
“She can’t do that.”
“She can if she makes you look dangerous enough.”
I remembered every question.
Do you hear voices?
Do you feel like hurting the baby?
Do you ever wish you could disappear?
Caroline continued.
“And while you’re being evaluated, she’ll tell Ethan he needs her.”
“No,” Ethan said.
“She won’t get near my family again.”
Caroline’s answer was quiet.
“That’s what my husband said too.”
Everyone went silent.
“What happened to him?” I asked.
“He was arrested.”
“For what?”
“For attacking Linda.”
“Did he?”
“No.”
She inhaled.
“She attacked herself.”
Just like Ethan’s father had described.
“And tomorrow is the date on the calendar?” Caroline asked.
“Yes.”
“Then don’t let Linda see you.”
Maya was already texting someone.
“Why?”
“Because the day before she took my baby, she became very kind.”
My stomach twisted.
“She apologized.”
Caroline’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“She brought me tea.”
Then the hospital room door opened.
A nurse entered carrying a tray.
“Mrs. Carter?”
“Yes?”
“Someone sent you this.”
On the tray sat a cup of tea.
Beside it was a card.
Ethan ripped it open.
May you like
Three words were written inside.
FORGIVE ME, RACHEL.
