Chapter 6
Ethan called Victor immediately.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
A third time.
Straight to voicemail.
Daniel took the phone from him.
“Stop calling.”
“That man was in my house three days ago.”
“I know.”
“He held my son.”
“Ethan.”
“He brought us dinner.”
Daniel grabbed his shoulder.
“And if he is involved, every call tells him we know.”
Ethan pulled away.
“He picked up my mother.”
“According to one camera.”
“Why would he do that?”
Nobody answered.
Because the possibilities were worse than silence.
Victor had keys to company buildings.
Access to delivery schedules.
Access to employee records.
He knew Ethan’s routines.
He knew when Ethan worked late.
He knew our home address.
He knew Linda.
And unlike Linda, Victor understood computer systems.
He could have deleted nursery recordings.
He could have accessed hospital networks.
He could have obtained medical information.
Maya contacted the team investigating Carter Medical Logistics.
Within an hour, the hospital room had become a temporary command center.
Names.
Dates.
Vehicles.
Phone records.
I sat in bed holding Noah while pieces of my life were turned into evidence.
At midnight, my doctor finally insisted I sleep.
I couldn’t.
Every time I closed my eyes, I imagined Linda standing over Noah’s bassinet.
Or Victor holding him and smiling.
At two in the morning, Ethan came back from speaking with investigators.
His face looked older.
“What?”
He sat beside me.
“Victor emptied one of the company accounts.”
“How much?”
“Eight hundred thousand dollars.”
My mouth fell open.
“When?”
“Today.”
“Before or after he picked up Linda?”
“Before.”
“Where are they?”
“We don’t know.”
I looked at Noah.
“Do you think they’re together?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Victor’s wife died five years ago.”
I waited.
He looked uncomfortable.
“Mom helped him afterward.”
“How?”
“She cooked for him. Stayed at his house sometimes. They became close.”
“How close?”
“I don’t know.”
I stared at him.
“You never thought that was strange?”
“He was grieving. She was lonely.”
“Were they dating?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“No.”
That answer scared me more.
At three fifteen, Daniel entered.
“We found Victor’s SUV.”
“Where?”
“Airport parking.”
Ethan stood.
“They flew somewhere?”
“No record of either boarding.”
“Then why leave the car there?”
“Diversion.”
Maya followed Daniel in.
“And we found Linda on another camera.”
She showed us a still image.
Linda wearing a dark coat and baseball cap.
Walking through a train station.
Beside her was Victor.
“What train?” Ethan asked.
“They didn’t board one.”
“Another diversion?”
“Probably.”
“They know cameras are being checked,” Daniel said.
“Victor knows how investigations work.”
“How?”
Daniel’s expression tightened.
“Because he used to be a police officer.”
I blinked.
“What?”
Ethan nodded slowly.
“He left the department before I hired him.”
“You never told me.”
“It never mattered.”
Now everything mattered.
“Why did he leave?”
Ethan looked at Daniel.
Daniel answered.
“Officially, injury.”
“Unofficially?”
“He was investigated for evidence tampering.”
Ethan stared at him.
“You knew that?”
“We learned tonight.”
“What happened?”
“A suspect accused Victor of planting narcotics. Internal affairs couldn’t prove it. Victor resigned months later.”
My stomach turned.
False evidence.
Again.
It was like Linda had found someone who understood her language.
“How long have they known each other?” Maya asked.
Ethan thought.
“Since I was a teenager.”
“What?”
“Victor was a patrol officer in our neighborhood.”
Daniel and Maya exchanged a glance.
“Did he know your father?”
“Maybe.”
“Did he respond to any domestic disturbance calls at your childhood home?”
Ethan went still.
“I don’t know.”
Maya immediately requested old records.
We got the answer before sunrise.
Officer Victor Hale had responded to three calls involving Linda and Ethan’s father.
One resulted in an incident report supporting Linda’s claims that her husband threatened her.
The report was written by Victor.
Ethan read the scanned document.
His hands shook.
“He knew.”
Maya nodded.
“He may have helped establish the record against your father.”
“Why?”
“We don’t know.”
Ethan laughed.
“I do.”
“What?”
“He loved her.”
I looked at him.
He pointed to the report.
“I remember him.”
“You were a child.”
“I remember a police officer coming after Dad moved out.”
His voice dropped.
“He brought Mom flowers.”
The room went silent.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
Victor wasn’t a recent ally.
He had been there for decades.
Daniel pulled another record.
Victor had been one of the officers called when Caroline’s husband was arrested.
Seventeen years later, Victor had interviewed Linda’s coworker during her custody dispute.
Three women.
Three families.
One man appearing around the edges.
“This is bigger than Linda,” Maya said.
Daniel nodded.
“And older.”
My skin crawled.
“Was Victor helping her destroy people?”
“We don’t know how much he did.”
“Stop saying that.”
Everyone looked at me.
I was crying.
I hadn’t realized it.
“You keep saying you don’t know. I know what happened to me. I know she took my medication. I know somebody took pictures of me sleeping. I know my son’s DNA was stolen. I know fake records were created.”
Maya softened.
“You’re right.”
“I need you to stop talking like this is paperwork.”
She nodded once.
“You’re right.”
Ethan sat beside me.
I took a breath.
“What happens now?”
“Now we locate them.”
At six twenty, Victor finally called Ethan.
This time investigators were ready.
Ethan answered on speaker.
“Victor.”
“Hey, buddy.”
His voice was relaxed.
Like he was calling about work.
Ethan’s face twisted.
“Where are you?”
“Does it matter?”
“You stole from the company.”
“I borrowed.”
“You picked up my mother.”
“She needed help.”
“She tried to drug Rachel.”
“Careful.”
Victor’s tone changed.
“You don’t know everything.”
“Then explain it.”
“Rachel has turned this family into chaos.”
I almost laughed.
There it was again.
My fault.
Always my fault.
“She did nothing,” Ethan said.
“She got Daniel involved.”
“Daniel was already involved.”
A pause.
“So he told you.”
“Yes.”
“Then maybe you understand why your mother was scared.”
“Scared of what?”
“Losing you.”
“She already lost me.”
Victor sighed.
“Don’t make decisions while you’re emotional.”
Ethan looked ready to explode.
I touched his arm.
He controlled himself.
“Where’s my mother?”
“Safe.”
“Let me speak to her.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“She’s upset.”
“Victor, if you care about her, bring her in.”
A soft laugh.
“You sound like your father.”
Ethan froze.
“What did you say?”
“Always thought he could fix things by talking.”
“You knew him.”
“Of course I knew him.”
“Did you frame him?”
Silence.
Victor answered slowly.
“Your father was weak.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
“He was going to take you away from Linda.”
“So you helped her.”
“I protected a mother.”
Ethan’s face turned white.
“You lied in those reports.”
“I wrote what was necessary.”
Daniel’s eyes sharpened.
A confession.
Not complete.
But close.
“You ruined my relationship with my father.”
“No. He gave up.”
“You made sure he lost.”
“Sometimes the right person has to win.”
I looked at Maya.
Victor truly believed this.
That was the terrifying part.
He wasn’t just covering crimes.
He thought he was correcting the world.
Ethan asked, “Is that what you’re doing to Rachel?”
“Rachel is unstable.”
“No.”
“She hides things from you.”
“So does my mother.”
“She lied about Daniel.”
“Because she was afraid.”
“She made you turn against your own mother.”
“No. Mom did that herself.”
Victor’s voice sharpened.
“Linda sacrificed everything for you.”
“I didn’t ask her to destroy people for me.”
Another silence.
Then Victor said, “You sound just like Caroline.”
Ethan looked toward Daniel.
“What happened to Caroline’s husband?”
Victor chuckled.
“You’re asking the wrong questions again.”
“What should I ask?”
“Ask where Marcus is.”
The name hit the room.
Caroline’s son.
The baby Linda had helped take thirty years ago.
“Where is he?”
“You’ve known him your whole adult life.”
Ethan frowned.
“What?”
Victor laughed softly.
“Think, Ethan.”
The call ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then I looked at Ethan.
Victor was the right age to be Caroline’s son?
No.
He was too old.
But someone else could be.
Someone we knew.
Someone connected to Linda.
Daniel began searching.
Marcus Mercer had been raised by Linda’s parents.
His surname had been changed after an adoption at age six.
New name:
Marcus Hale.
I looked at Ethan.
“No.”
Daniel kept reading.
Marcus Hale later began using his middle name professionally.
Victor Marcus Hale Jr.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
Maya read the birth date.
Victor himself wasn’t Caroline’s son.
But his son was named Victor Jr.
Then Daniel found the adoption record.
The man who adopted Marcus was Victor Hale Sr.
The police officer’s father.
Which made Marcus—
Victor’s adopted younger brother.
Ethan sat down.
Victor had grown up in the same house as the child Linda had taken from Caroline.
That wasn’t a coincidence.
Before anyone could speak, Daniel’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed immediately.
“What address?”
He wrote it down.
“We’re coming.”
“What happened?” Ethan asked.
Daniel looked at us.
“Caroline’s house was broken into twenty minutes ago.”
My heart stopped.
“Is she okay?”
“She wasn’t home.”
“Where was she?”
“On her way to meet federal agents.”
I exhaled.
May you like
Then Daniel continued.
“But the boxes she said contained evidence against Linda are gone.”
