Chapter 4: The Man Behind the Glass
The baby kicked again.
I pressed both hands over my stomach, staring at the photograph Daniel had given me.
The man on the far right stood half in shadow.
Dark suit.
Silver tie.
One hand resting on the hood of a black sedan.
His face was turned toward my father, but his eyes were fixed on the camera.
And somehow, even in a twenty-year-old photograph, there was something about him that made my skin crawl.
Jack took the photograph from me.
His fingers tightened around its edges.
"Where have I seen him?""
Daniel looked at him.
"At your office.""
Jack's eyes snapped up.
"You know him?""
"Not personally.""
"Then how do you know he's been there?""
Daniel opened his briefcase and removed a thick folder.
"Because your company's security department sent me copies of the visitor logs.""
Jack's expression changed.
"Why would security send you anything?""
"Because I asked them.""
"On whose authority?""
Daniel looked at me.
"Your father's.""
The room went silent.
I frowned.
"My father died twelve years ago.""
"I know.""
"Then how could he authorize anything?""
Daniel placed a document on the table.
At the bottom was my father's signature.
Beneath it was a date.
Three weeks before his death.
I stared at the page.
"This says he created a private investigation.""
"Yes.""
"About what?""
Daniel hesitated.
"About Pearl.""
Pearl suddenly spoke.
"That's enough.""
Her voice shook.
Daniel turned toward her.
"No, Pearl. It's twenty years too late for enough.""
She stepped closer.
"You promised.""
"I promised your sister I'd protect you.""
Pearl laughed bitterly.
"And look how well that worked.""
Jack turned sharply.
"You two have been working together?""
"No," Pearl said.
"Yes," Daniel said at the same time.
They looked at each other.
I felt dizzy.
"Which is it?""
Daniel answered first.
"We were.""
Pearl shook her head.
"Not anymore.""
Jack moved between us.
"Everybody sits down.""
Nobody argued.
We gathered around the dining table.
The same table I had been chained to less than an hour earlier.
I couldn't look at the leg where the chain had been attached.
Daniel opened the folder.
"Twenty years ago, your mother discovered that your father was moving money out of several family accounts.""
I stared at him.
"My father?""
"Millions.""
Jack frowned.
"Where?""
"Shell companies. Offshore accounts. Fake charities.""
Pearl folded her arms.
"He wasn't stealing from strangers.""
Daniel looked at her.
"He was stealing from his own daughter.""
My breath caught.
Daniel continued.
"Your father had discovered that the property trust was legally protected from his creditors. He couldn't touch the principal without Pamela's signature.""
"But I was a child.""
"Exactly.""
Jack leaned forward.
"So what did he do?""
Daniel looked at me.
"He created a plan to have Pamela declared legally incapable of managing the trust.""
I felt cold.
"He wanted to take my inheritance.""
"Yes.""
Pearl's hands trembled.
"And your mother found out.""
I looked at her.
"You helped her?""
Pearl nodded.
"For a while.""
"What happened?""
Pearl stared at the photograph.
"Your mother was going to take Pamela and disappear.""
I swallowed.
"Why didn't she?""
Pearl's eyes filled.
"Because your father found out.""
Nobody spoke.
Then Jack asked quietly, "What happened the night she died?""
Daniel closed the folder.
"Your mother was driving to meet me.""
"Why?""
"She had evidence.""
"What evidence?""
"Bank records. Audio recordings. A signed confession.""
"Where are they?""
Daniel's eyes shifted toward Pearl.
"That's the problem.""
Pearl looked away.
I stood.
"Where are they?""
She didn't answer.
I stepped toward her.
"Pearl.""
She looked at me.
"I destroyed them.""
Jack's face hardened.
"You destroyed evidence?""
"I had no choice.""
"You always have a choice.""
Pearl's voice cracked.
"Not when a man has a gun against your daughter's head.""
I stopped.
"My daughter?""
Pearl stared at me.
"I had a little girl.""
I had never heard this before.
Jack lowered his voice.
"What happened to her?""
Pearl wiped her cheek.
"She disappeared.""
Daniel corrected her.
"She was taken.""
Pearl closed her eyes.
"By the same man in that photograph.""
The room seemed to shrink.
I looked at the photograph again.
The man.
The black sedan.
My mother.
My father.
Pearl.
All four connected by a night I couldn't remember.
Daniel pulled out another document.
"His name is Victor Hale.""
Jack's jaw tightened.
"The consultant?""
Daniel nodded.
"Victor Hale has worked as an outside consultant for your company for almost seven years.""
Jack stood abruptly.
"That's impossible.""
"Check the records.""
Jack grabbed his phone.
His thumb moved quickly.
Then he stopped.
I watched his face.
"What?""
He didn't answer.
"Jack?""
He turned the screen toward me.
There was an email.
A security report.
Victor Hale had entered Jack's office every Friday evening for six months.
Authorized by Jack's executive assistant.
But Jack had never authorized him.
Someone else had.
Jack's voice was barely audible.
"My assistant quit three months ago.""
Daniel nodded.
"She didn't quit.""
Jack looked at him.
"What?""
"She was found dead in her apartment.""
I covered my mouth.
Jack's face drained of color.
"You knew?""
"I suspected.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I didn't know who inside your company was working for Victor.""
Pearl suddenly stood.
"He's coming.""
Jack looked at her.
"Who?""
"Victor.""
She pointed toward the window.
A black sedan sat across the street.
Engine running.
I stepped backward.
Daniel closed his folder.
"He's here.""
Jack moved toward the curtains.
"How long?""
"Long enough.""
A phone began ringing.
Not Jack's.
Not Daniel's.
Mine.
I looked down.
The phone was on the table.
Pearl had placed it there.
The screen showed an unknown number.
Jack said, "Don't answer.""
The phone kept ringing.
I stared at it.
Then a message appeared.
*ANSWER, PAMELA.*
Another followed.
*OR ASK PEARL WHAT HAPPENED TO HER DAUGHTER.*
Pearl went completely still.
I looked at her.
"How does he know?""
She whispered, "Because he's inside this house.""
The lights went out.
Mrs. Ellis screamed from the hallway.
Jack grabbed my hand.
Daniel reached into his coat.
And from somewhere upstairs came the slow sound of a bedroom door opening.
Then footsteps.
One.
Two.
Three.
Coming down the stairs.
Jack whispered, "Stay behind me.""
But Pearl suddenly pushed past him.
She looked straight at me.
"Pamela, whatever happens next, don't trust—"
May you like
A gunshot exploded upstairs.
Pearl's sentence died in her throat.
