Chapter 6 - The Family Gabriel Underestimated
Sebastian had spent half his life using power like a weapon.
That night, for the first time, he used all of it for protection.
“Martin.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Send a team to Maya’s apartment.”
“Already moving.”
“Police too.”
Detective Ruiz was dialing.
Maya stood in the center of the room shaking.
“My sister is fourteen.”
“We’re getting her.”
“My mother can barely walk down stairs without help.”
Sebastian stepped closer.
“Maya.”
She looked at him.
“I will get them out.”
She wanted to believe him.
But Eli had believed adults too.
That thought terrified her.
The security team reached Berwyn twelve minutes later.
The black car was gone.
Maya’s mother and sister were unharmed.
Someone had placed a phone inside the building lobby and used it to frighten them.
Nothing more.
That did not make Maya feel better.
It made the threat more deliberate.
Gabriel wanted them to understand he could reach them.
Sebastian arranged for Maya’s mother and sister to be moved to a secure hotel property under police protection.
Maya resisted.
“You don’t owe us this.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No.”
Her voice surprised both of them.
“You owe Eli.”
Sebastian stared.
Maya swallowed.
“I’m grateful. But don’t turn helping my family into another way to punish yourself.”
Nobody spoke to Sebastian Blackwood that way.
Maya seemed to realize it after the words were already out.
“Sorry.”
“No.”
He looked toward Eli.
“You’re right.”
That answer changed something between them.
Not romance.
Not yet.
Trust.
A small beginning.
By sunrise, police had arrest warrants for Dr. Mercer relating to evidence tampering, unlawful medication practices and conspiracy allegations.
Gabriel remained technically wanted for questioning while financial investigators began examining Madeline’s records.
Sebastian had not slept.
He sat in his office surrounded by documents.
Ruiz entered carrying coffee.
“Your wife was thorough.”
“She was afraid.”
“Fear makes some people freeze.”
Ruiz placed a folder on his desk.
“Apparently it made Madeline organize spreadsheets.”
Sebastian almost smiled.
Almost.
The folder contained records from the night of the crash.
The original investigating officer photographed the SUV.
Those photographs showed something the final insurance report dismissed.
Damage to a rear brake line.
Not enough to prove deliberate sabotage.
Enough to matter.
Ruiz continued.
“There was also a roadside camera two miles before the crash.”
Sebastian looked up.
“Footage?”
“Missing.”
“Of course.”
“But the maintenance log survived.”
She placed another sheet down.
“The system recorded two vehicles passing within twenty seconds of each other.”
Madeline’s SUV.
Then a black Range Rover.
Sebastian closed his eyes.
Gabriel.
“Can we prove it was his?”
“Not yet.”
Martin entered.
“Maybe we can.”
He carried a corporate fleet maintenance report.
The Range Rover Gabriel used that night had been repaired three days after the crash.
Front bumper.
Passenger headlight.
Sebastian looked toward Ruiz.
“What did the police report say about Madeline’s vehicle?”
“Paint transfer on the rear driver’s side.”
“What color?”
“Black.”
The silence became heavy.
Gabriel had not merely followed her.
His vehicle may have contacted hers.
Ruiz cautioned him.
“That is still not proof of murder.”
“It’s enough.”
“For you emotionally, yes. For a courtroom, no.”
Sebastian hated her answer because it was correct.
Evidence mattered.
Madeline had understood that better than anyone.
So they kept looking.
At noon, Maya entered with Eli.
The boy held a sheet of paper.
“I’m sorry,” Maya said. “He kept asking for you.”
Sebastian stood.
Eli approached the desk.
He handed over the drawing.
Three cars.
A road.
Snow.
A red circle near the bottom.
“What’s this?”
“Light.”
“The red light?”
Eli nodded.
Maya explained.
“He keeps drawing the same thing.”
Ruiz crouched.
“Eli, can I look?”
He hesitated.
Maya remained beside him.
Eli nodded.
Ruiz studied the drawing.
“The red light may not be a tail light.”
Sebastian frowned.
“What else?”
She pointed.
“He drew it low.”
Martin leaned closer.
“Dash camera?”
Ruiz looked at him.
“Or roadside marker.”
Maya asked Eli, “Did Mommy see the red light?”
“No.”
“Did Uncle Gabe?”
Eli’s face tightened.
Then he said:
“Camera blink.”
Sebastian looked at Ruiz.
The Range Rover had contained a fleet dash camera.
All executive vehicles did.
Martin was already typing.
“Those recordings automatically uploaded to a corporate server.”
“Where?”
“Archive system.”
“Do we still have it?”
Martin hesitated.
“Gabriel ordered fleet video retention reduced to thirty days after the crash.”
Sebastian’s expression darkened.
“Convenient.”
“But there may be backups.”
They searched for four hours.
At 4:26 p.m., an IT technician found an abandoned disaster-recovery server in an off-site data center.
Old.
Partially corrupted.
But intact.
One file was dated the night of Madeline’s crash.
Ruiz insisted they stop and create a forensic copy before opening it.
Sebastian paced while technicians worked.
Maya sat with Eli near the office fireplace.
The boy had fallen asleep with his head against her arm.
At 6:03 p.m., they played the video.
The dashboard camera showed falling snow.
Madeline’s SUV appeared ahead.
Gabriel’s voice came through the audio system.
He was speaking on the phone.
“I’m behind her.”
A muffled voice answered.
Sebastian leaned toward the screen.
Mercer.
Dr. Mercer.
Gabriel said, “If she reaches Ruiz, we lose control.”
Mercer replied, “Then stop her.”
Maya covered her mouth.
The Range Rover accelerated.
Madeline’s SUV grew larger in the windshield.
Gabriel honked.
Her vehicle swerved.
Then Gabriel said something that froze every person in the office.
“The boy is with her.”
Mercer replied:
“Then pray he remembers nothing.”
The video jolted.
Gabriel’s vehicle moved close to Madeline’s rear bumper.
Once.
Twice.
The picture shook violently.
Then Madeline’s SUV disappeared beyond the guardrail.
Gabriel stopped.
For seven seconds he sat motionless.
Then he whispered:
“Oh God.”
He exited the vehicle.
The camera continued recording the empty road.
Three minutes later he returned.
Breathing hard.
He picked up his phone.
“She’s alive.”
Mercer replied, “And the boy?”
“So is he.”
Silence.
Then Mercer said:
“You know what has to happen now.”
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
Sebastian’s hands were shaking.
Ruiz immediately called the state’s attorney.
This was no longer suspicion.
This was conspiracy.
Potential attempted murder.
Evidence concealment.
And depending on what happened after the crash, possibly more.
Maya looked toward Eli.
The little boy everyone had treated like a monster had been right.
Every scream.
Every thrown object.
Every refusal to be touched.
He had been trying to survive adults determined to erase his memory.
Sebastian knelt beside him.
Eli woke.
His father whispered:
“I believe you.”
The boy stared.
Sebastian’s eyes filled.
“I should have believed you sooner.”
Eli touched his face.
May you like
Then, quietly, he said the sentence Sebastian would remember for the rest of his life.
“Mommy tried to tell you too.”
