Chapter 5
Alexander stopped feeling fear.
Something colder replaced it.
He picked up the note and called Detective Brooks.
Marcus searched the grounds while June sobbed in the hallway.
“I only left her for a minute,” June said. “The lights went out, and I went to find a flashlight.”
“This isn’t your fault.”
“The window was locked.”
“Someone opened it before the power failed.”
Marcus returned carrying a muddy scarf.
“Two people came through the woods. A vehicle was waiting on the service road.”
“Veronica?”
“One set of footprints looks like a woman’s.”
Alexander removed the memory card from the computer.
Marcus caught his wrist.
“You are not going alone.”
“They have my daughter.”
“They expect you to panic.”
“I am not panicking.”
“You are holding that card so tightly you’re cutting your hand.”
Alexander looked down.
The edge of the plastic had pressed into his palm.
Detective Brooks arrived with a tactical team.
She studied maps of the Vaughn lake property.
The house had belonged to Alexander’s grandfather. It had been empty for eight years, but Veronica had attended several family holidays there before Evelyn died.
“There’s one main road and a boat dock,” Brooks said. “We cover both.”
“The note says alone.”
“The note is designed to isolate you.”
“If they see police, they could hurt Sofia.”
“We won’t be seen.”
Alexander copied the memory card.
He placed the original inside a small envelope and the copy inside his coat.
Marcus noticed.
“Which one are you giving them?”
“The original.”
“That is evidence.”
“My daughter is not evidence.”
They drove to the lake after midnight.
Rain struck the windshield.
Alexander remembered another rainy night.
A phone call.
A twisted barrier.
Evelyn’s car at the bottom of a ravine.
He forced the memory away.
Sofia needed him in the present.
The lake house appeared beyond the trees.
One light burned upstairs.
Alexander stopped at the gate.
He removed the tracking device Marcus had placed beneath his collar.
“If they search me, they will find it.”
Marcus looked furious.
“Keep the audio transmitter.”
“No.”
“Alexander.”
“If I arrive wired, they may punish Sofia.”
Marcus grabbed his shoulder.
“Then how do we know when to move?”
“You’ll know.”
“That is not a plan.”
“It is the only one I have.”
Alexander walked through the rain alone.
The front door opened before he knocked.
Eleanor stood inside.
His mother looked ten years older than she had that morning.
“Where is Sofia?”
“She’s safe.”
“You took her?”
“I was trying to protect her.”
“Where is she?”
Eleanor stepped aside.
Veronica stood in the living room.
Sofia sat on the sofa beside her.
The child’s wrists were not tied, but Veronica held a hand against her shoulder.
A man Alexander did not recognize guarded the back door.
Sofia saw her father.
“Daddy!”
She tried to rise.
Veronica forced her down.
“Stay.”
Alexander’s body tensed.
“Take your hand off her.”
“Give me the card.”
“Let her walk to me first.”
“No.”
“You said this was an exchange.”
“I said bring the card.”
Eleanor looked at Veronica.
“You promised me Sofia would not be frightened.”
Veronica snapped, “This would have ended peacefully if you had followed instructions.”
Alexander stared at his mother.
“What did she tell you?”
“That Julian was trying to blame her. She said the memory card would prove your brother killed Evelyn.”
“So you kidnapped your granddaughter?”
“I brought Sofia somewhere safe.”
“Through a window during a blackout?”
“I didn’t know that man would cut the power.”
The guard looked away.
Eleanor’s voice broke.
“Veronica said the police would take Sofia into custody if they found the card with her.”
“And you believed her.”
“I was afraid.”
“You were afraid of scandal.”
His mother flinched because the accusation was true.
Veronica held out her free hand.
“The card.”
Alexander reached into his coat.
Sofia shook her head.
“No, Daddy.”
Veronica squeezed her shoulder.
Sofia cried out.
Alexander’s control nearly shattered.
He placed the envelope on a table.
“Let her go.”
Veronica nodded to the guard.
He took the envelope and checked the card with a laptop.
“It’s real.”
Veronica released Sofia.
The child ran.
Alexander caught her and lifted her against his chest.
“I’ve got you.”
“I knew you’d come.”
“Always.”
He moved toward the door.
Veronica stepped in front of him.
“Not yet.”
“We had a deal.”
“You still have a copy.”
Alexander said nothing.
Veronica smiled without humor.
“You always make backups.”
The guard searched Alexander’s pockets.
He found nothing.
Veronica’s smile vanished.
“Where is it?”
“Somewhere you’ll never reach.”
She slapped the envelope from the guard’s hand.
“You think this is a game?”
“No. You made my daughter part of it. That ended the game.”
Eleanor moved between them.
“He gave you what you wanted. Let him leave.”
Veronica pushed her aside.
Eleanor stumbled against a chair.
Sofia screamed.
Alexander turned his body to shield her.
At that moment, the guard’s laptop beeped.
A file had opened automatically.
Evelyn appeared on the screen.
The camera angle showed her sitting inside a parked car.
“If this card has been accessed,” she said, “a copy of every file is being sent to three separate accounts.”
Veronica stared at the screen.
“No.”
Evelyn continued.
“One belongs to my attorney. One belongs to Marcus Hale. The third belongs to a journalist whose name I will not record.”
The guard slammed the laptop shut.
Veronica grabbed it.
“Stop the upload!”
“I can’t. It already started.”
Alexander realized the memory card had been designed to protect itself.
Evelyn had anticipated this.
Even after death, she was fighting for Sofia.
Veronica turned on Alexander.
“You knew.”
“I didn’t.”
“You’re lying!”
The guard ran for the back door.
Police lights appeared through the rain.
Detective Brooks’s voice came from outside.
“Everyone inside, remain where you are!”
Veronica’s eyes widened.
“You brought them.”
Alexander held Sofia closer.
“No. Evelyn did.”
The guard surrendered immediately.
Eleanor sank onto the sofa.
Veronica ran upstairs.
Marcus entered through the kitchen while officers surrounded the house.
A window shattered above them.
Veronica climbed onto the porch roof and jumped to the wet grass.
She reached the dock.
A motorboat waited with its engine running.
“Stop!” Marcus shouted.
Veronica leaped aboard.
The boat accelerated into the darkness before the police could reach the water.
Detective Brooks cursed under her breath.
Alexander did not chase.
He carried Sofia into the kitchen and wrapped her in a blanket.
A paramedic checked her shoulder.
There was a red mark, but no serious injury.
Sofia would not release Alexander’s hand.
Eleanor stood in the doorway.
“I am so sorry.”
Alexander looked at her.
“You brought my child to the woman who abused her.”
“I thought Veronica was protecting us from Julian.”
“You chose Veronica over Sofia.”
“No. I made a mistake.”
“A mistake is forgetting a birthday. This was a choice.”
Eleanor began to cry.
“Please don’t take her away from me.”
“You took her away from me tonight.”
His mother covered her mouth.
Detective Brooks approached with the laptop.
“The upload completed before they closed it.”
“Where did the files go?”
“One address belongs to an attorney named Claire Bennett.”
Alexander recognized the name.
Evelyn’s older sister.
Claire had disappeared from their lives after the funeral. She had accused Alexander of ignoring Evelyn’s fears, and he had been too consumed by grief to listen.
“The journalist received them too,” Brooks continued. “The third address is unknown.”
“What was in the protected folder?”
“We’re still opening it.”
Sofia tugged Alexander’s sleeve.
“Mommy’s password is bluebird.”
Everyone looked at her.
“How do you know?” Alexander asked.
“She used to sing it.”
Marcus typed the word.
The folder opened.
Inside was a video dated the morning of Evelyn’s death.
Evelyn faced the camera.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
“Alex, if you see this, please understand that Veronica is dangerous, but she is not the one in control.”
Alexander’s breath caught.
Evelyn leaned closer.
“The person moving the foundation money is Julian. But someone else is protecting him.”
She looked toward the office door.
“I believe that person is Eleanor.”
Alexander heard his mother gasp behind him.
On the video, Evelyn lifted a blue ledger.
“I have recorded every transfer. The original ledger is hidden where Sofia took her first steps.”
The video stopped.
Everyone turned toward Eleanor.
Her face had gone completely white.
“I never helped Julian steal money,” she whispered.
Alexander’s voice shook.
“Then tell me why Evelyn believed you did.”
May you like
Eleanor stared at Sofia.
“Because I knew about the first attempt on Evelyn’s life.”
