Chapter 9
I pushed the photograph away.
“That was taken inside my property.”
The detective nodded.
“Harris claims Ryan instructed him to document your behavior.”
“While I was sleeping?”
“He says he never entered the house.”
“That doesn’t make it better.”
“No.”
The detective’s name was Elena Ruiz.
She had been careful from the beginning not to promise outcomes.
I trusted her because of that.
She placed another photograph in front of me.
This one showed my car in a parking lot.
A tiny black object was visible beneath the rear bumper.
“What is that?”
“A GPS tracker.”
I stared.
“We found the same model attached to your vehicle this morning.”
My skin went cold.
Even after I left Ryan, he could have known where I went.
“Is it still there?”
“No.”
“Could he see where I am now?”
“Not through that device.”
I looked at Dad.
His face was white with anger.
Detective Ruiz continued.
“Harris says Ryan hired him to build a record showing you were inattentive, unstable, or secretly meeting people.”
“Meeting who?”
“Anyone he could photograph you with.”
I remembered one particular argument.
Ryan had accused me of lying about having lunch with Dad.
He knew exactly which restaurant.
I had wondered how.
Now I knew.
Nora asked about the attempted school pickup.
“Harris claims Ryan called him yesterday morning.”
“Do you have the call?”
“We’re seeking records.”
“What exactly did Ryan say?”
The detective checked her notes.
“He told Harris there was a family emergency and said he was legally entitled to have Lily collected.”
I stood.
“He knew he wasn’t.”
“Yes.”
“He knew the judge had suspended visits.”
“Yes.”
That was enough for Nora.
She filed an emergency motion.
Prosecutors were also notified of the potential protective-order violation and forged authorization.
By evening, Ryan had been ordered to appear in court.
His attorney suddenly became much less aggressive.
Then the police searched our house under a warrant related to the suspected financial offenses and forged documents.
I was permitted to retrieve personal belongings afterward.
Nora advised me not to go alone.
Dad offered Thomas.
I chose both Thomas and a police escort.
The house looked exactly as I had left it.
That was somehow unsettling.
Lily’s crayons remained on the kitchen table.
A mug sat beside the sink.
One of my sweaters hung over a chair.
Normal objects from a life that had not been normal.
I packed clothes.
Photographs.
Lily’s school projects.
Her favorite books.
Then I went into Ryan’s office.
The desk drawers had been emptied by investigators.
A square outline on the carpet showed where a file box had been removed.
I looked around.
For years, that room had been his territory.
“Don’t touch my files.”
“Don’t move anything.”
“I’m working.”
I had obeyed without thinking.
Now I noticed a small framed photograph near the bookshelf.
Ryan and Andrew.
Behind them stood a woman I did not recognize.
I picked it up.
Thomas looked at me.
“Who is she?”
“I don’t know.”
The picture appeared to have been taken at a conference.
A name badge hung from the woman’s neck.
JENNA COLE.
I photographed it and sent the image to Nora.
Then I opened the hall closet.
Lily’s backpack was inside.
I almost left it.
Something made me check.
In the front pocket, I found an envelope.
Inside were photocopies of Lily’s birth certificate.
Her Social Security card.
And a passport application.
My name appeared on the parental consent line.
The signature was fake.
I stared at it.
Thomas called the officer.
The documents were photographed and secured.
My hands shook.
“Was he trying to take her somewhere?”
Nobody answered.
We did not know.
That was almost worse.
I finished packing.
As we walked outside, our neighbor Grace came down her driveway.
She had lived beside us for six years.
“Emily?”
I stopped.
“I heard something happened.”
I did not know what to say.
Grace looked at Thomas, the police car, then me.
“I should have told you something months ago.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“There were people coming to your house when you weren’t home.”
“What people?”
“Mostly one man.”
“Harris?”
I showed her the school photograph.
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
She hesitated.
“Your cousin.”
“Andrew?”
“Yes.”
I felt disappointed but not surprised.
Then Grace continued.
“And a woman.”
“What woman?”
“Dark hair. Maybe mid-thirties.”
I showed her Jenna’s photograph.
Her eyes widened.
“That’s her.”
“When did she come here?”
“Several times.”
“Was Ryan home?”
“Yes.”
“Were they…”
I stopped.
I had no idea why I cared whether Ryan had been having an affair.
After everything else, infidelity almost seemed small.
Grace understood my unfinished question.
“I don’t know.”
“Did you see anything?”
“Once they argued in the driveway.”
“What about?”
“I couldn’t hear most of it.”
“Anything?”
Grace thought.
“She said, ‘I’m not signing another one.’”
My heart began pounding.
“Another what?”
“I don’t know.”
I called Nora immediately.
She searched the name.
Jenna Cole had worked as executive assistant to Ryan at his investment firm until five months earlier.
Then she had vanished from the employee directory.
Martin found a termination record.
The reason listed was misconduct.
Two hours later, Nora located a phone number.
Jenna answered.
The moment Nora mentioned Ryan’s name, she tried to hang up.
I took the phone.
“Jenna, please.”
Silence.
“My name is Emily.”
“I know who you are.”
“Did Ryan ask you to sign documents?”
Silence again.
Then she whispered, “I told him I wouldn’t do it anymore.”
My pulse raced.
“What did he make you sign?”
“He didn’t make me.”
“What happened?”
“I made a mistake.”
“Jenna.”
Her breathing became shaky.
“He told me you knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That he was moving money.”
“I didn’t.”
“I know that now.”
I closed my eyes.
“Can you help us?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Her voice dropped.
“Because Ryan threatened me.”
“With what?”
“He knows where my sister lives.”
A chill went through me.
May you like
Then Jenna said something even worse.
“And because the last time I tried to tell someone what he was doing, that person ended up in the hospital.”
