Chapter 5: The Night of the Fire
We didn't leave through the front door.
Maya found an old maintenance exit behind the filing cabinets, and we crawled through a tunnel that opened into the alley.
By midnight, we were in her office again.
The DNA report sat between us.
“I don't understand,” I said.
“You don't have to understand it tonight.””
“It's my daughter.””
Maya was quiet.
I looked at her.
“You believe it?””
“I believe someone wants you to believe it.””
“That isn't an answer.””
“No.””
She slid the report toward me.
“This sample came from a hospital.””
“What hospital?””
“St. Vincent's.””
Emily had been born there.
“What does that mean?””
“It means someone could have switched samples.””
I stared at the page.
“Why?””
Maya didn't answer immediately.
“Because your father had money.””
“He didn't have that much.””
“He had something better.””
“What?””
“Leverage.””
She opened a second file.
Blackwell Holdings.
Richard Hale.
A list of shell companies.
Payments.
Private investigators.
Then one name appeared repeatedly.
Sarah Carter.
My wife's name.
I closed my eyes.
“No.””
Maya tapped the page.
“Look at the dates.””
Payments started eleven months after our wedding.
Then again after Emily was born.
Then again before the garage fire.
I read each amount.
$10,000.
$25,000.
$50,000.
My hands curled into fists.
“Sarah was working for them.””
“Apparently.””
“For how long?””
Maya pointed to one final line.
A payment of $200,000.
Two weeks before my arrest.
I stood.
“I'm going to find her.””
“Daniel, no.””
“She lied to me.””
“She may be scared.””
“She helped put me in handcuffs.””
“And if Hale is controlling her?””
I stopped.
Maya's voice softened.
“Someone who is being threatened can still do terrible things.””
I looked away.
“She could have protected Emily.””
“Yes.””
“She chose not to.””
“Yes.””
A knock sounded at the office door.
Three soft taps.
Maya reached for her gun.
“Who is it?””
A woman's voice answered.
“Please. It's me.””
Sarah.
Maya opened the door just enough to see her.
Sarah stepped inside.
She looked thinner.
Exhausted.
Her makeup was gone.
One sleeve covered a bruise around her wrist.
I stared at it.
“Who did that?””
She looked at me.
“Daniel…”
“Who?””
She swallowed.
“Hale.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Now you remember him?””
Sarah flinched.
“I never forgot you.””
“You accused me of hurting Emily.””
“I was trying to protect her.””
“From me?””
“From them.””
“Who are they?””
She closed the door.
“Blackwell.””
Maya asked, “Why did you work for them?””
Sarah looked at the floor.
“Because your father made a deal before he died.””
“My father?””
“He owed them money.””
“That isn't true.””
“It is.””
Maya stepped closer.
“What deal?””
Sarah looked at me.
“He promised them access to something they wanted.””
“What?””
“Land.””
I shook my head.
“That doesn't explain Emily.””
Sarah's eyes filled.
“No.””
“What does?””
She whispered, “Emily wasn't supposed to be born.””
Silence.
“What?””
Sarah sat down.
“Before Emily was born, I was approached by Hale.””
“Why?””
“He said he knew about your father's secret accounts.””
“And?””
“He offered me money.””
“For what?””
Sarah began crying.
“He wanted me to leave you.””
“Did you?””
“No.””
“Then what?””
“He wanted me to give him information about your father's files.””
I stared at her.
“You did.””
“Yes.””
“For how long?””
“Three years.””
I stepped back.
“You betrayed me for three years.””
“I thought it would stop.””
“But it didn't.””
“No.””
Sarah wiped her face.
“When Emily was born, Hale told me the debt was gone.””
“What debt?””
She looked at Maya.
“My father had invested in one of Blackwell's illegal projects.””
Maya's expression hardened.
“What project?””
Sarah whispered the words.
“Human trafficking.””
The room seemed to tilt.
I stared at her.
“That can't be true.””
“I saw the records.””
“You saw them?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
“In the house.””
“Which house?””
“Our house.””
She looked at me.
“The basement.””
I thought of the hidden room.
Sarah continued.
“Your father discovered what they were doing. He copied everything. Names.
Transfers. Photographs.””
“That's why he marked everything.””
She nodded.
“Hale wanted those files.””
“And you helped him.””
“I tried to destroy them.””
“Did you?””
Sarah shook her head.
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because your father gave me a key.””
“To what?””
She reached inside her coat.
Pulled out a brass key.
And placed it in my hand.
“This opens the last room.””
“What room?””
She looked toward the window.
“The one Hale has never found.””
Before I could ask anything else, Sarah's phone rang.
She checked the screen.
Her face turned white.
“What?””
She whispered one word.
“Emily.””
Then she answered.
A man's voice came through the speaker.
“Bring Daniel to the courthouse tomorrow morning.””
Sarah's eyes met mine.
The voice continued.
May you like
“Or your daughter disappears forever.””
Then the call ended.
