Chapter 7: What Was Under the Table
I read the message three times before I could make sense of it.
*ASK YOUR DAUGHTER WHAT SHE SAW UNDER THE KITCHEN TABLE.*
My eyes moved from the phone to Lena's empty chair in the counselor's office.
Then to Vanessa.
She looked terrified.
Officer Grant noticed.
“You know what that means?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“No.””
“Then why do you look like that?””
“I don't.””
“You do.””
She wiped her hands against her jeans.
I stepped toward her.
“Why does Marissa want me to ask Lena about the table?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
“Was something hidden there?””
“No.””
“Was someone under it?””
Her eyes flicked up.
That was enough.
I turned toward Officer Grant.
“Someone was under the table.””
Vanessa whispered, “Naomi…”
I ignored her.
“Who?””
She shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“You were there.””
“I didn't see everything.””
“Then tell me what you did see.””
She swallowed.
“Lena was under the table.””
My chest tightened.
“My daughter?””
“After you fell, she crawled underneath it.””
I stared at her.
“Why?””
“Because she was scared.””
“What did she see?””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“I don't know.””
“That's a lie.””
“I swear.””
I stepped closer.
“You know exactly what she saw.””
Officer Grant put a hand up.
“Naomi, let her answer.””
Vanessa breathed slowly.
“There was a bag.””
“What bag?””
“A black bag.””
“Whose?””
“I don't know.””
“What's inside?””
“I never opened it.””
“Then how do you know it mattered?””
“Because Ethan was looking for it.””
The words hit me.
“What was he looking for?””
“I don't know.””
“You keep saying that.””
“Because it's true!””
Vanessa's voice cracked.
Then she lowered it.
“After you hit your head, Ethan went to the kitchen.””
I listened.
“He was searching through drawers.””
“Why?””
“He kept asking where something was.””
“What?””
“I don't remember.””
“You do.””
She looked at me.
“Your daughter saw him.””
I felt my stomach drop.
“Lena saw Ethan searching?””
Vanessa nodded.
“She crawled under the table because she was frightened. Ethan dropped the bag beside her.””
“What happened next?””
“He didn't notice her.””
“Then?””
Vanessa's face went pale.
“She saw inside.””
I swallowed.
“What was in it?””
Vanessa looked at Officer Grant.
He nodded once.
“You need to tell her.””
Vanessa whispered,
“Your passport.””
I frowned.
“My passport?””
“And Lena's.””
I stared at her.
“Why would Ethan have our passports?””
“I don't know.””
“You're lying again.””
“He was planning something.””
“What?””
“I don't know.””
“You do.””
“I heard him talking.””
“To whom?””
“Marissa.””
I looked at Officer Grant.
“On the night of the incident?””
Vanessa nodded.
“She came into the house later.””
My pulse raced.
“Why?””
“To get the bag.””
“Did she take it?””
“Yes.””
“So Marissa had our passports.””
Vanessa looked down.
“Not just passports.””
“What else?””
“Birth certificates.””
My knees almost gave out.
“Why?””
“I don't know.””
“Did they plan to take Lena?””
“No.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“I don't know what they planned.””
“Then how could you help them?””
“I didn't.””
“You erased my name from the pickup list.””
“I did that later.””
“Because of the threat?””
“Because Ethan convinced me you were going to disappear.””
“But you knew he had our documents.””
“Yes.””
“And you still believed him?””
“I was scared.””
My voice rose.
“You keep saying that.””
“Because that's all I was!””
Her voice broke.
“I was twenty-four years old. I was terrified. Ethan told me that if I spoke, you'd lose Lena anyway.
He said the police would believe him. He said Marissa knew people who could make the whole thing disappear.””
Officer Grant interrupted.
“Who?””
Vanessa stared at the floor.
“I don't know.””
“Names.””
“I don't know.””
“Then what exactly did Marissa do?””
Vanessa hesitated.
“She changed the report.””
“How?””
“She had access.””
“To what?””
“Records.””
I stared at her.
“School records?””
“School. Hospital. Police.””
Officer Grant's expression hardened.
“That is a serious accusation.””
“I know.””
“Can you prove it?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“I can show you.””
The room went silent.
My heart started pounding.
“What can you show me?””
Vanessa reached into her handbag.
She pulled out a small key.
“There's a storage locker.””
My eyes narrowed.
“Where?””
“Across town.””
“What’s inside?””
“The rest of the evidence.””
Officer Grant stepped forward.
“What evidence?””
“The things I kept because I was too afraid to destroy them.””
I looked at her.
“You kept them all this time?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Her eyes met mine.
“Because I knew one day you'd find out.””
A long silence followed.
Then Officer Grant asked,
“What's the locker number?””
Vanessa told him.
He wrote it down.
“Do you have the key?””
She held it out.
“I just gave it to you.””
He took it carefully.
“We'll go there.””
I looked toward the counselor's office.
“And Lena?””
“We'll keep her with the counselor,” Principal Harris said.
“She's safe here.””
I nodded.
But one thought wouldn't leave me.
The message.
Ask your daughter.
I walked into the counselor's room.
Lena looked up immediately.
“Mommy.””
I knelt beside her.
“Baby, can I ask you something?””
She nodded.
“Do you remember the night I got hurt?””
Her face changed.
“A little.””
“That's okay.””
I held her hand.
“Do you remember hiding under the kitchen table?””
She looked at me.
Slowly, she nodded.
“Why did you hide?””
“Daddy was yelling.””
“What did you see?””
Her eyes shifted toward the floor.
“Daddy had a bag.””
I swallowed.
“Do you remember what was inside?””
She shook her head.
Then stopped.
“I saw papers.””
“What kind of papers?””
“Pictures.””
“Pictures of what?””
“Us.””
I frowned.
“What kind of pictures?””
She thought carefully.
“Pictures of Mommy.””
My stomach tightened.
“Was I in the pictures?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
She lowered her voice.
“In our house.””
“Only our house?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“Where else?””
She looked frightened.
“Mommy…”
“It's okay.””
“I wasn't supposed to look.””
“You can tell me.””
“He had pictures of you sleeping.””
The room went silent.
I felt every hair on my arms rise.
“Sleeping?””
She nodded.
“And there were pictures of you with me.””
I struggled to keep my voice steady.
“Who took them?””
“I don't know.””
“Did Daddy take them?””
She shook her head.
“Then who?””
“The lady.””
My heart stopped.
“What lady?””
“The lady who came to our house.””
“Marissa?””
Lena frowned.
“I don't know her name.””
“What did she look like?””
“She had long dark hair.””
I glanced toward the hallway.
“Was she the woman in the video?””
Lena nodded.
“Yes.””
“What did she do?””
“She took the bag.””
My breathing grew shallow.
“Did she say anything?””
Lena nodded.
“She told Daddy, ‘She can't know yet.’”
My hands went cold.
“What did Daddy say?””
“He said, ‘She will once the school changes the record.’”
I froze.
The school.
They had planned it.
Before I even knew anything was wrong.
Lena's little fingers squeezed mine.
“Mommy?””
I looked at her.
“What?””
“There was something else.””
“What?””
She leaned closer.
“Under the table.””
My heart pounded.
“What was there?””
“A phone.””
“Whose phone?””
“I don't know.””
“Did you touch it?””
She nodded.
“I picked it up.””
“Why?””
“It was ringing.””
I swallowed.
“What happened when you picked it up?””
She stared at me.
“There was a man talking.””
“Daddy?””
“No.””
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
“What did he say?””
Lena's eyes filled with tears.
“He said…”
She stopped.
I gently squeezed her hand.
“It's okay.””
She whispered,
“He said, ‘Don't let Ethan know I'm calling.’”
My blood turned cold.
“What happened next?””
“He asked where Mommy was.””
My stomach dropped.
“What did you tell him?””
“I told him you were on the floor.””
“Then?””
“He told me to hide the phone.””
“Where?””
Lena pointed toward my purse.
I looked down.
My purse.
The one I had carried into the school.
I opened it.
Under my wallet was something I had never seen before.
A small black phone.
Old.
Cracked.
Dead.
I stared at it.
Vanessa appeared in the doorway.
The moment she saw the phone, she stopped breathing.
“That's it.””
Officer Grant turned.
“What?””
Vanessa pointed.
“That phone.””
I lifted it slowly.
“What is this?””
Vanessa's voice trembled.
“The phone Ethan thought was gone.””
Officer Grant stepped toward me.
“Did you know it was there?””
“No.””
Vanessa stared at it.
“I thought Marissa took it.””
I looked at the cracked screen.
“What's on it?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Then the phone suddenly vibrated.
Everyone froze.
It shouldn't have had power.
The screen lit up.
One notification appeared.
*1 NEW VOICEMAIL*
I looked at Officer Grant.
He nodded.
“Play it.””
I pressed the screen.
Static filled the room.
Then a man's voice whispered:
“Naomi, if you're hearing this, don't trust Vanessa.””
Vanessa's face drained of color.
The voice continued.
“Your daughter was never the target.””
I stared at Lena.
“Because the person they wanted…”
The message crackled.
“…was you.””
Then the voicemail ended.
May you like
And underneath the recording was a timestamp from six months ago.
Three minutes after I supposedly became unconscious.
