Chapter 4 - VancouverI stared at the photograph until the edges blurred.
“My mother is alive?”
Detective Reed nodded.
“She disappeared after a warehouse fire in Seattle ten years ago.”
“I was told her body was recovered.”
“Who told you?”
I opened my mouth.
No answer came.
Then I realized.
Grant.
He had been the one who handled everything after my mother’s death.
The funeral.
The paperwork.
The estate.
Even the newspaper notice.
He had told me my mother was gone.
He had been there when I shattered.
He had held me while I cried.
Or so I thought.
Noah stood behind the detective.
He said nothing.
I looked at him.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I needed proof.”
“And now?”
“I have it.”
Detective Reed turned a page.
“Your mother appears to have been connected to the same financial investigation as Evan.”
I felt dizzy.
“Then why did she disappear?”
“That’s the question.”
“No.”
My voice hardened.
“The question is why Grant lied to me.”
The room went silent.
Then my newborn daughter began crying.
The nurse rushed in.
I held her against my chest.
Tiny fingers curled around mine.
“I’m going to protect you,” I whispered.
Noah watched us.
Something in his expression changed.
“You already started.”
“What do you mean?”
He looked toward the window.
“Grant called three people after you went into surgery.”
“Who?”
“One was his lawyer.”
“The second?”
“His bank.”
“And the third?”
Noah looked at me.
“Someone in Vancouver.”
My blood ran cold.
“Who?”
“Your mother.”
I stared at him.
My mother had vanished for ten years.
Now, within an hour of my husband being exposed, she had received a call from him.
That was no coincidence.
Then Noah’s phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
His entire posture changed.
“What?”
He answered.
“Say that again.”
Silence.
Then:
“Where?”
Another pause.
“Don’t touch anything.”
He hung up.
I knew immediately something was wrong.
“What happened?”
He looked at me.
“They found Evan.”
My heart skipped.
“Where?”
“At an abandoned warehouse in South Seattle.”
“Is he alive?”
Noah’s jaw tightened.
“Barely.”
Detective Reed stood up.
“I’m coming with you.”
Noah nodded.
Before leaving, he turned back to me.
“Emma, lock your door.”
“Why?”
His expression was deadly serious.
“Because whoever kept Evan hidden for ten years has just realized he’s been found.”
The lights in my room flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then went out.
Someone screamed in the hallway.
And from somewhere beyond my door, I heard footsteps stop.
Right outside my room.
Then three slow knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
My daughter began crying.
A man's voice whispered through the darkness.
“Emma…”
May you like
I knew that voice.
It was Grant.
