Chapter 9 - THE TESTIMONYThe school counselor's office had pale walls and too many books.
Lily sat beside me.
She held my hand tightly.
Across from us sat the counselor and a child services investigator.
The investigator smiled gently.
“Lily, we're going to ask a few questions.”
She nodded.
I squeezed her hand.
“You don't have to be scared.”
The counselor opened a folder.
Inside were statements.
False statements.
According to the documents, I had screamed at Lily.
Threatened Claire.
Thrown objects.
Broken furniture.
None of it was true.
The investigator asked:
“Does Daddy ever make you scared?”
Lily looked at me.
Then at the folder.
“No.”
The counselor turned a page.
“Has Daddy ever yelled at Mommy?”
“Yes.”
My heart stopped.
But Lily continued.
“Sometimes.”
The investigator asked:
“What happens when he gets angry?”
“Mommy leaves.”
“Does Daddy hit Mommy?”
“No.”
“Does Daddy hit you?”
“No.”
“Does Daddy ever threaten to hurt anyone?”
“No.”
The counselor leaned forward.
“Lily, you can tell us anything.”
Lily frowned.
“Why do you keep asking me the same question?”
Nobody answered.
She looked at me.
“Daddy doesn't hurt people.”
The investigator closed the folder.
The lie collapsed.
But then she asked one final question.
“Who told you to watch your brother that night?”
Lily's expression changed.
“Grandma.”
“Did she tell you not to call your father?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Lily hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Because Mommy said Daddy would take us away.”
My attorney looked at me.
The investigator wrote it down.
That sentence mattered.
Because it showed the psychological manipulation started long before the night I found her in the kitchen.
When the interview ended, Lily hugged me.
Then she whispered:
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Why is Mommy doing this?”
I didn't know how to answer.
So I told her the truth she needed.
“Because grown-ups sometimes make terrible choices.”
She nodded.
“Is she going to come back?”
I looked at my daughter.
“I don't know.”
She hugged me tighter.
Then whispered:
“I miss the Mommy who used to sing.”
That nearly broke me.
The woman I loved had existed once.
Maybe.
Or maybe I'd imagined her.
That afternoon, prosecutors contacted me.
They had enough evidence for several charges.
Financial fraud.
Identity theft.
Child neglect.
Conspiracy.
Evidence tampering.
But they wanted more.
They wanted Marcus.
And Marcus wasn't talking.
Claire was still missing.
Diane was missing.
Vanessa was missing.
And Samuel Voss had vanished again.
We located one financial connection.
A private airfield.
A charter plane had been booked under a corporate identity tied to Vale Strategic Holdings.
Departure time:
7:30 p.m.
Destination:
Unknown.
Police moved quickly.
They intercepted the plane before departure.
Marcus wasn't on it.
Neither was Claire.
But there was one passenger.
Diane.
She was arrested carrying three passports.
One of them belonged to Claire.
The second belonged to Vanessa.
The third belonged to a woman I didn't recognize.
Diane refused to speak.
Until she saw me.
Then she laughed.
“You think you've won?”
I stared at her.
“You abandoned my children.”
“You think this is about the children?”
“Isn't it?”
“No.”
She leaned toward the glass.
“This was always about your father.”
My stomach tightened.
“What did he do?”
“You don't know.”
“Tell me.”
She smiled.
“He stole something from Voss.”
“What?”
“Something worth more than money.”
“What?”
She shook her head.
“You'll find it.”
I leaned forward.
“Where?”
She smiled again.
“In your own house.”
My blood ran cold.
The police ended the conversation.
I returned home that evening with an officer.
We searched everything.
Every cabinet.
Every floorboard.
Every hidden compartment.
Then Lily remembered something.
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Grandpa had a red box.”
“What red box?”
“In your old closet.”
I froze.
My father's old closet had remained untouched since his death.
We opened it.
Behind a row of coats was a small red box.
Locked.
We forced it open.
Inside was a USB drive.
One sentence was written on the label:
FOR DANIEL ONLY.
I plugged it into an isolated computer.
A video opened.
My father's face appeared.
He looked older than I remembered.
Tired.
Afraid.
“Daniel,” he said.
“If you're watching this, then Voss has returned.”
I leaned closer.
My father's voice trembled.
“And Claire is probably already inside the plan.”
Then he said something that made my blood turn to ice.
“You were never the target.”
He paused.
“The children were.”
The screen went black.
Then one final line appeared.
THEY KNOW ABOUT THE INHERITANCE.
I stared at the words.
What inheritance?
My father had left me money.
Companies.
Property.
But I'd never heard about anything that could justify this.
Then the computer displayed a countdown.
03:00:00
Three hours.
Until what?
I had no idea.
And then the phone rang.
It was Claire.
Her voice was barely audible.
“Daniel…”
“Where are you?”
“地下...”
The call cut out.
May you like
But before it ended, I heard one word clearly.
“Basement.”
