Chapter 10 - Michael said nothing.His sister's breathing came through the phone.
“She's lying to you.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
“You said Rebecca was Emma's biological mother.”
“She is.”
“Then why shouldn't I trust her?”
“Because she was the person who set Sarah up.”
Michael stood.
“What?”
“She wanted Sarah to raise Emma so she could disappear.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“She was paid.”
“By Richard?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
His sister hesitated.
“Sarah.”
Michael stared at the wall.
“Why would Sarah pay her?”
“To keep Emma hidden.”
Michael was beginning to realize that every answer created three more questions.
His sister continued.
“Sarah wasn't your enemy.”
“I know.”
“She knew Richard was dangerous.”
“Then why did she die?”
“Because she made one mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“She trusted me.”
Michael's eyes narrowed.
“Where are you?”
“At home.”
“Stay there.”
“Michael...”
He ended the call.
Detective Brooks looked at him.
“What are you thinking?”
“I think everyone is telling me one part of the truth.”
Daniel nodded.
“That's how you control someone.”
Michael looked at Emma.
“What does your sister want?”
“To keep me from talking to Rebecca.”
Daniel replied:
“Or to keep Rebecca from talking to you.”
Michael turned.
“What do you mean?”
Daniel reached into his coat.
He removed a photograph.
A family photograph.
Michael looked at it.
Richard.
Ashley.
Daniel.
And Michael's sister.
All standing together at a fundraiser.
The date was printed at the bottom.
Three months before Michael met Ashley.
Michael's stomach tightened.
“They all knew each other.”
“Yes.”
“Except me.”
Daniel nodded.
The phone rang again.
This time Detective Brooks answered.
Her expression changed.
“We found your sister.”
“Where?”
“Hospital.”
Michael stood.
“What happened?”
“She was injured.”
“How badly?”
“She survived.”
Michael exhaled.
Then Detective Brooks added:
“She says Ashley attacked her.”
Michael frowned.
“That doesn't fit.”
“Why?”
“Because Ashley disappeared after escaping custody.”
Detective Brooks looked at him.
“We think she returned to the house.”
Michael suddenly remembered the hidden camera.
“The footage.”
“What about it?”
Ashley had known about the camera.
She had spoken directly to it.
Maybe that wasn't arrogance.
Maybe it was a message.
Michael reopened the footage.
He watched the moment Ashley entered the closet.
She knelt.
Removed the box.
Then she turned toward the camera.
“Sarah thought she could hide the evidence here.”
Michael paused the frame.
Ashley was looking straight into the lens.
Not at the wall.
Not around the room.
At the camera.
She knew.
But then why leave it?
Michael zoomed in.
A tiny detail appeared on the wall.
A reflection.
In the metal panel behind her.
Another person stood outside the closet.
Michael froze.
“Stop.”
Daniel leaned in.
The reflection was distorted.
But there was a face.
Michael enhanced the image.
The figure wore a dark jacket.
No silver ring.
A small scar above the eyebrow.
Michael recognized him.
Paul Grant.
The counselor.
The man who had supposedly helped Sarah.
The man who had recommended Ashley.
Michael felt sick.
“He was there.”
Detective Brooks stared.
“Who?”
“Paul Grant.”
Her expression sharpened.
“That's the counselor?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he now?”
“Arizona.”
Detective Brooks immediately contacted local authorities.
A few minutes later she got an answer.
Paul Grant had not been living in Arizona.
The address belonged to a vacant property.
No records.
No phone.
No trace.
He had vanished.
Daniel whispered:
“He never retired.”
Michael looked at him.
“What did he do?”
“He disappeared after Sarah died.”
Michael looked at the evidence again.
The final video.
Sarah saying the person beside him every day was dangerous.
His sister's betrayal.
Rebecca's secrets.
Ashley's disappearance.
Richard's involvement.
Paul's hidden identity.
Suddenly there was another possibility.
Michael looked at the trust documents.
A name appeared as emergency trustee.
Not Daniel.
Not Richard.
Paul Grant.
Michael's blood went cold.
The entire conspiracy had one person quietly positioned at every critical point.
Counseling.
Family court.
Psychological evaluations.
Legal access.
Trust control.
And Sarah had discovered him.
Michael whispered:
“He was never the counselor.”
Detective Brooks looked up.
“Then who was he?”
Michael answered:
“The architect.”
A message appeared on Michael's phone.
Unknown number.
A photograph.
Emma sleeping in the hotel room.
Michael looked up in horror.
The camera angle was from inside the room.
Someone had been there.
Under the photograph was a message.
You keep looking backward.
Then:
Look under Emma's bed.
Michael turned slowly.
Emma was still asleep.
May you like
He looked at the bed.
And beneath it, something metallic reflected the light.
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