Chapter 8
Final week.
Those two words changed everything.
Police placed Lily and me under constant protection.
I couldn’t go home.
I couldn’t go to work.
I couldn’t even stand near a window without thinking someone might be watching.
But the worst part was knowing Thomas had been close enough to photograph me sleeping.
Ryan asked to speak with me again.
I almost refused.
Then detectives said he had offered to testify against Diane.
I agreed.
Ryan looked different this time.
Less arrogant.
More frightened.
“I heard about the pictures,” he said.
“How?”
“My lawyer.”
“Did you know Thomas watched me?”
“No.”
“Did you know he met Lily?”
Ryan’s face went blank.
“What?”
“Your mother brought Lily to him.”
He stared at me.
“No.”
“She called him Grandpa.”
Ryan lowered his head.
“I swear I didn’t know.”
I wanted to hate every word he said.
But I could see something breaking inside him.
His mother had deceived him too.
That didn’t erase what he had done.
It only made the family uglier.
“Why did you help frame me?”
Ryan rubbed his hands together.
“Rebecca said it was temporary.”
“What was temporary?”
“Taking custody.”
I laughed.
“You expected me to believe you’d give Lily back?”
“I thought once the trust transferred, we’d fix everything.”
“We?”
“You and me.”
“There stopped being a ‘we’ the moment you agreed to take my daughter.”
Ryan’s eyes filled.
“I know.”
“No. You don’t.”
He looked through the glass.
“Thomas called me.”
My heart stopped.
“When?”
“This morning.”
“What did he say?”
“He said if I wanted to save Lily, I had to stop talking.”
“Save her from who?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Give police the number.”
“I already did.”
I leaned closer.
“Ryan, what does he want?”
“The company.”
“Why?”
“He owes people money.”
“How much?”
Ryan swallowed.
“More than the company is worth.”
That didn’t make sense.
“If the company is worth eighty-one million—”
“He owes over a hundred million.”
“To whom?”
“I don’t know.”
Then Ryan said something that explained the desperation.
“Dad didn’t disappear because police were investigating him.”
“Why did he disappear?”
“He stole from dangerous investors.”
Thomas had spent twelve years hiding.
Now Lily’s money was his way out.
And my daughter had become collateral.
That evening, forensic technicians recovered part of the damaged flash drive.
Martinez called me immediately.
“What did you find?”
“Video files.”
“From my father?”
“Yes.”
One video had been recorded six days before Dad died.
They allowed me to watch.
My father appeared on screen.
Older.
Tired.
Afraid.
“If Emily is watching this, then Rebecca found a way back into our lives.”
I covered my mouth.
Dad continued.
“Thomas Mercer is alive.”
He had known.
“I made a mistake years ago. I thought transferring the company away from Thomas would stop him. It didn’t.”
Dad looked directly into the camera.
“The company belongs to Lily because I wanted something good to survive after all of us were gone.”
My eyes filled with tears.
Then his voice changed.
“But money makes people reveal themselves.”
He explained the birthday trigger.
When Lily turned three, ownership would become irrevocable.
Until then, a guardian could authorize restructuring.
Exactly what Thomas needed.
Then Dad gave one warning.
“If anything happens to Emily before Lily’s third birthday, do not give control to Ryan, Diane, Rebecca, Margaret, or Aaron.”
Aaron stood beside me.
“What?”
Dad continued.
“Trust none of them until the final file is opened.”
My brother stared at the screen.
“Why am I included?”
Then the video ended.
The recovered drive had one more encrypted file.
Technicians began working on it.
Aaron walked away.
I followed.
“Talk to me.”
“He thought I might betray you.”
“He said trust none of us until the file is opened.”
“That means he had doubts.”
“About everyone.”
Aaron looked hurt.
Then his phone buzzed.
He checked it.
His face changed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Aaron.”
He locked the screen.
I grabbed his wrist.
“What did you get?”
He hesitated.
Then showed me.
Unknown Number: Leave the building alone if you want Emily and Lily to survive.
I stared at him.
“When did they first contact you?”
Aaron didn’t answer.
My heart sank.
“Aaron.”
“Three weeks ago.”
I stepped backward.
“You’ve been talking to them?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“Show me everything.”
He looked toward the exit.
Then toward me.
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because if I do, they’ll know.”
“Who?”
May you like
Aaron whispered the name.
“Mom.”
