Chapter 5 - THE MAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
My father had been dead for eleven years.
At least that's what I had been told.
There had been a funeral.
An obituary.
A death certificate.
A closed casket.
I remembered standing beside my mother while people whispered condolences.
I remembered the flowers.
The church.
The rain.
Everything.
Yet my husband had just claimed my father was alive.
Detective Harris looked at Daniel.
“Explain.”
Daniel said nothing.
“Now.”
Daniel glanced at me.
“Your father changed his name.”
“Why?”
“I don't know everything.”
“Then tell me what you know.”
He hesitated.
“Your father had debts.”
“That isn't possible.”
“He owed people money.”
“My father was an accountant.”
“He was also involved in something much bigger.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
Daniel looked at me.
“You never knew him as well as you thought.”
The words hurt.
But I refused to believe them.
Detective Harris took Daniel away.
Before he disappeared through the door, he looked at me.
“Ask your mother.”
I froze.
My mother.
She had never mentioned anything.
Detective Harris immediately asked:
“Where is your mother?”
I swallowed.
“She lives three states away.”
“Call her.”
I didn't want to.
But I did.
She answered on the fourth ring.
“Sweetheart?”
“Mom.”
Something in my voice made her pause.
“What happened?”
“Is Dad alive?”
Silence.
My mother's breathing changed.
“Why would you ask me that?”
“Mom.”
Another silence.
Then she whispered:
“Where are you?”
“Answer me.”
“I don't know what you've been told.”
“Is he alive?”
She began crying.
That was my answer.
I sat down.
“My God.”
My mother whispered:
“He wasn't supposed to come back.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
“Mom!”
“He contacted me once.”
“When?”
“Last year.”
My heart hammered.
“What did he say?”
“He asked about you.”
“Why?”
“He wanted to know if you had children.”
I closed my eyes.
“Did you tell him?”
“I didn't know what to do.”
“You told him.”
“Yes.”
I felt betrayed all over again.
“Mom, why?”
“He said he wanted to make things right.”
“By disappearing for eleven years?”
“He said he was afraid.”
“Of what?”
My mother didn't answer.
Then she whispered:
“Of the people he worked for.”
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Detective Harris stood nearby.
“Your mother knows more.”
“Yes.”
“Then we'll talk to her.”
I looked toward the hospital.
“My children are the priority.”
“They are.”
Hours later, Lily's fever finally began to drop.
Dr. Hayes told me the toxicology results were still incomplete, but her condition was improving.
I cried for the first time.
Not because I was afraid.
Because she was going to live.
My son sat beside her crib.
He held the stuffed rabbit.
“She's better.”
“Yes.”
“Is Dad coming home?”
I didn't know what to say.
“No.”
He nodded.
“Good.”
That single word broke my heart.
“Why?”
He stared at Lily.
“Because he scared me.”
I pulled him into my arms.
“You don't have to protect me anymore.”
He whispered:
“I know.”
Then he looked up.
“But I think Grandma is still going to try.”
My body went cold.
“What?”
“She told me something before we left the house.”
“What?”
“She said if Dad got caught, I should remember where the second key was.”
“What second key?”
He pointed toward the rabbit.
“The key inside.”
I stared at the stuffed animal.
We opened the rabbit's backpack.
Nothing.
Then my son touched one of the seams.
“There.”
A tiny metal key was sewn inside.
Detective Harris examined it.
“Any idea what it opens?”
I shook my head.
Then I remembered.
My father had once given me a small wooden box.
After his supposed death, my mother told me it had been lost.
But I had never forgotten it.
A box with a brass lock.
I called my mother.
“Where is Dad's wooden box?”
She started crying again.
“I gave it to your husband.”
My blood went cold.
“Why?”
“He said he wanted to help you.”
I looked at Detective Harris.
“Find Daniel.”
But Daniel was already gone from the interrogation room.
Not escaped.
Transferred.
The detective checked his phone.
His expression changed.
“He made a call.”
“To whom?”
“Your mother-in-law.”
My stomach dropped.
“Where is she?”
“We don't know.”
Then Detective Harris received another message.
He read it.
His face hardened.
“Mrs. Carter.”
“What?”
“The police just found your mother-in-law's car.”
“Where?”
“Outside your mother's house.”
I couldn't breathe.
My mother was alone.
May you like
And the woman who had helped destroy my family had just found her.
:::
