Chapter 7 - THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF TOWN
Sarah called me forty minutes later.
“I found her,” she said. “She didn’t go out of town. She’s staying in a rental house. On the edge of town. Quiet place. Almost no neighbors.”
I wrote down the address. “You’re sure it’s her?”
“Positive. She paid cash. Used a fake name. But the license plate on her car matches. And Claire… she’s not alone.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Who is with her?”
“I don’t know. Man. Tall. Dark hair. Keeps to the shadows. I couldn’t get a clear look. But they’re working together. That much is obvious.”
Leo’s face flashed through my mind. Same description.
“Sarah… stay back. Do not let them see you.”
“I’m parked down the street. They won’t know I’m here. But Claire… what are you planning to do? You can’t just walk up there.”
“I’m not going to walk up there,” I said. “I’m going to watch. And I’m going to find out who that man is.”
I drove toward the address. My hands were steady now. The fear was gone, replaced by something cold and sharp and clear.
Vanessa was hiding in a rented house with a strange man. While telling Daniel she was alone with family miles away. While convincing Daniel that I was the liar and she was the victim.
And she had told Daniel she would not be there. She had promised.
I parked around the corner, down the street, exactly where Sarah had said. The house was small, set back from the road, surrounded by tall trees. Lights burned in two windows.
Sarah pulled up beside me a moment later. She rolled down her window.
“Claire… this is a bad idea. If there are two of them… and if they are dangerous… you need to call the police.”
“And tell them what?” I asked. “That Vanessa is staying somewhere else than she said? That she has a friend? That’s not a crime. Not yet. I need proof. I need to know who that man is. And I need to know what they are planning.”
“Or you could get yourself killed.”
“Someone sent me a threat. Someone knows about Leo. Someone wants to take Mia. If that man is connected to Leo… if he knows something… this might be my only chance to find out the truth.”
Sarah sighed, unhappy but resigned. “Fine. But we do this my way. Quietly. Carefully. And if anything looks wrong… we leave. Immediately.”
We walked along the tree line, keeping to the shadows, until we were close enough to see into the lit windows.
Vanessa was in the living room. She was pacing. She was angry. Her face was twisted with fury. She was shouting at the man standing across from her.
I strained to hear. The window was open a crack. Their voices drifted out.
“—was supposed to be simple!” Vanessa snapped. “Get close. Gain trust. Find out what he knows. Get the information. Instead, you lost your temper! You ruined everything!”
The man’s voice was low. Calm. Dangerous. “The girl was crying. She was annoying. And the mother saw everything. You were careless.”
“I was careless? You were the one who said to do it in public! You said it would look better! You said no one would believe a child!”
“And you said the video would never exist!” the man shot back. “You failed. And now she is suspicious. She is asking questions. She sent a message… and she did not run. She is digging.”
Vanessa stopped pacing. She stood very still. “Then we dig faster. We get what we came for. And we leave.”
“We don’t have what we came for.”
“Because she hid it! And Leo took the rest with him!”
My breath caught.
Leo.
They were talking about Leo.
“Leo left something for her,” the man said. “Before he died. Something important. Something that belongs to us. And until we find it… we cannot leave. Not until we have it.”
May you like
“And if she doesn’t know it exists?” Vanessa asked.
“Then we make her
