Chapter 6
My father died five years earlier.
A car accident.
That was what I had always been told.
He had been driving home from a business dinner when his SUV left the road.
No other vehicle was found.
No witnesses came forward.
The police called it an accident.
Now my mother stood outside the NICU telling me that might have been a lie.
“What do you know?”
“Not enough.”
“That is not an answer.”
Mom looked exhausted for the first time since she arrived.
“Your father called me thirty minutes before the crash.”
“What did he say?”
“He was scared.”
My father had never been scared.
Not in front of me.
Not ever.
“He said Mark had been stealing from the family business.”
“Uncle Mark?”
“Yes.”
“He planned to confront him the next morning.”
“But he never made it home.”
Mom nodded.
My heart pounded.
“And you never told me?”
“There was no proof.”
“You had five years!”
“I spent five years trying to find proof.”
I stepped back.
“And Ryan knows?”
“I don’t know how much.”
Detective Torres joined us.
Mom showed her the messages.
Torres immediately called her department.
Then she looked at me.
“Ryan’s attorney says Ryan denies sending these.”
“But they came from his number.”
“His phone is in evidence.”
My skin crawled.
“Then who sent them?”
“Someone with access to his account.”
Mark.
Diane.
Laura.
Someone else.
Suddenly every shadow felt dangerous.
Torres requested additional protection around the NICU.
Two officers were stationed at the elevators.
Another stood near my room.
That night, I tried to sleep.
I couldn’t.
At 2:13 a.m., my door slowly opened.
I sat upright.
“Mom?”
No answer.
A figure entered.
My heart stopped.
Then the hallway light revealed Laura.
“What are you doing here?”
She closed the door.
“I remembered something.”
“Tell the police.”
“I tried. They were downstairs.”
“Then wait.”
“No, Emily. You need to hear this.”
Her fear looked real.
She reached into her purse.
I hit the nurse-call button.
“Don’t come closer.”
Laura immediately raised both hands.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
She placed a small USB drive on the table.
“Ryan gave me this three months ago.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know. He told me if anything happened to him, I should give it to his lawyer.”
“Why give it to me?”
“Because after today, I don’t trust him.”
The door opened.
An officer entered.
Mom followed seconds later.
“What happened?”
Laura pointed toward the drive.
Rebecca did not touch it.
Neither did I.
The officer secured it as evidence.
By morning, investigators had reviewed the files.
Captain Harris came to my room.
His face was grim.
“There are recordings.”
“Of what?”
“Conversations between Ryan and Mark.”
My mother closed the door.
Harris played a short section.
Ryan’s voice filled the room.
“You told me the trust would be easy.”
Then Mark.
“It was until Emily got pregnant.”
Ryan again.
“Why does that change anything?”
“Because the child becomes a contingent beneficiary.”
I covered my mouth.
The recording continued.
Then Mark said something that made my mother grip the bedrail.
“We handled her father. We can handle paperwork.”
Silence.
Ryan’s voice came next.
“What does that mean?”
“You don’t need to know.”
The recording ended.
I looked at Mom.
Her eyes were filled with rage.
Torres entered moments later.
“We’ve issued a warrant for Mark Bennett.”
“Bennett?” I whispered.
My mother’s maiden name.
My uncle.
My father’s killer, possibly.
Then Torres received a call.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
She listened.
Then turned toward us.
“Mark’s house is empty.”
My mother stood.
“When did he leave?”
“We don’t know.”
Torres paused.
“But his vehicle was captured by a traffic camera forty minutes ago.”
“Where?”
She looked at me.
“Three blocks from this hospital.”
Before anyone could react, an alarm sounded from the hallway.
May you like
A nurse screamed.
And through the glass panel in my door, I saw smoke.
