Chapter 8 - THE WOMAN WITH TWO FACESI yanked Sophie toward me.
The attacker released her and disappeared into the darkness.
Thomas switched on a flashlight.
Nothing.
Only the empty tunnel.
Amanda was shaking.
“Who was that?”
I stared at her.
“She sounded like you.”
Helen whispered, “A recording.”
“What?”
“A speaker.”
She pointed at the ceiling.
Tiny black devices were mounted between the pipes.
“They're using directional speakers.”
Thomas swore.
“This entire place is wired.”
“For us?” I asked.
“For everyone.”
We reached the old chapel fifteen minutes later.
Nobody spoke.
The building had been abandoned for years.
Dust covered the pews.
Moonlight entered through broken stained glass.
Thomas closed the door.
“We're safe here.”
Helen laughed bitterly.
“There isn't anywhere safe.”
I looked at her.
“You know more than you're telling me.”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then start talking.”
She looked at Amanda.
“Amanda's father wasn't her father.”
Amanda stared.
“What?”
Helen continued.
“Her mother had an affair with someone inside the network.”
Thomas looked at her.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Helen hesitated.
Then said:
“Gregory Voss.”
Amanda gasped.
“No.”
I felt like the entire world had tilted.
“My CFO?”
“He was younger then.”
Thomas said, “He recruited her mother.”
Amanda shook her head.
“My mother was married.”
“She was trapped.”
“To whom?”
Helen looked at Amanda.
“Your legal father.”
Amanda sat down.
“This can't be real.”
I knelt beside Sophie.
She was playing quietly with the rabbit.
Then she looked up.
“Daddy.”
“What?”
“Uncle Greg came to our house.”
“When?”
“Before Amanda came.”
I looked at Amanda.
“What did he do?”
Sophie frowned, trying to remember.
“He gave me candy.”
“Did he say anything?”
“He said I would have a new home.”
Amanda's face collapsed.
I stood.
Gregory.
My trusted CFO.
The man who had been inside my home.
The man who had access to financial information.
The man who had introduced Amanda.
The man connected to her mother.
Everything suddenly made sense.
But there was still something I couldn't understand.
Why Sophie?
Helen answered before I asked.
“Because the trust releases control when Sophie turns eighteen.”
“That's seven years from now.”
“Yes.”
“So why now?”
“Because someone discovered a second clause.”
“What clause?”
Helen opened her handbag.
Inside was a thin envelope.
She handed it to me.
“Your late wife found a contingency provision.”
I opened it.
The provision stated that if Sophie were declared legally endangered before adulthood, an independent trustee could assume control.
My stomach tightened.
“But who appoints the trustee?”
Helen looked at Thomas.
“My father did.”
“And who is the trustee?”
She didn't answer.
Thomas did.
“Gregory.”
Silence.
I stared at the document.
Gregory didn't just want the house.
He wanted control of the trust.
And if Sophie were declared unsafe in my custody, he could obtain it.
I suddenly understood the wedding.
The argument.
The staged evidence.
The forged documents.
The cameras.
They weren't simply stealing from me.
They were constructing a legal case against me.
Amanda whispered:
“And I was supposed to be the witness.”
I looked at her.
“Yes.”
She began crying.
“I was supposed to tell them you were unstable.”
“You were.”
“I know.”
“Why did you change your mind?”
She looked at Sophie.
“Because I met her.”
I said nothing.
She continued.
“They told me she'd be treated well.”
A bitter laugh escaped her.
“Then I heard them discussing where they would take her.”
She wiped her tears.
“They were never planning to let her come back.”
Thomas approached the chapel window.
“We have to leave.”
“Why?”
He looked outside.
“Because someone just arrived.”
I stepped closer.
Across the cemetery stood a man in a black coat.
Gregory Voss.
He wasn't alone.
Beside him stood a police officer.
The officer raised a megaphone.
“Daniel Reed!”
I froze.
“Step outside and surrender the child!”
Gregory smiled.
Then he held up a document.
“Your daughter has been legally reported missing.”
I stared at him.
“You kidnapped your own case against me.”
He raised the document higher.
“No.”
May you like
He smiled.
“I made the law think you did.”
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