Chapter 3
I did not sleep that night.
Maya stayed at the hospital until morning.
Camille sat beside her bed.
I stayed near the window.
None of us knew how to speak to one another anymore.
Just before sunrise, Detective Hale returned.
He asked Camille and me to step into the hallway.
Maya remained with a nurse.
Hale looked exhausted.
“Mr. Carter, we reviewed some preliminary financial records from the folder.”
My stomach tightened.
“Am I in trouble?”
“Possibly.”
Camille grabbed my arm.
Hale lifted one hand.
“Let me finish.”
I forced myself to breathe.
“Several companies connected to Vernon Whitmore transferred money through accounts associated with your contracting business.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Do you personally handle all bookkeeping?”
“No. Our accounting service does.”
“Who recommended them?”
I already knew the answer before I said it.
“Vernon.”
Camille closed her eyes.
Hale continued.
“Your signature appears on documents authorizing several transactions.”
“I never signed them.”
“We’ll have experts review that.”
I felt dizzy.
“How much money?”
He hesitated.
“More than two million dollars over several years.”
I actually laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because the number was absurd.
“My company has never even held that kind of money.”
“Not at once.”
Hale leaned closer.
“It appears funds moved in and out quickly.”
“Money laundering?”
Camille whispered.
Hale did not answer directly.
“We’re investigating.”
I looked at my wife.
“How long did you know?”
“I didn’t know about your company.”
“You just told me last night he threatened me with financial records.”
“I knew he had documents with your signature. I didn’t know what they were.”
I stepped away from her.
“You should have told me anyway.”
“Yes.”
Her answer was immediate.
No excuses.
That somehow made it worse.
For years, I had believed our marriage was stable.
Not perfect.
But honest.
Now I wondered how much of my life had been built on things Camille was too frightened to tell me.
Hale handed me a card.
“Do not access company accounts until we clear it.”
“My employees need payroll.”
“We’ll work with you.”
“That business supports twelve families.”
“I understand.”
“No, you don’t.”
My voice rose.
Then I saw a nurse glance toward Maya’s room.
I lowered it.
“I’m sorry.”
Hale nodded.
“I know this is a lot.”
That afternoon, we returned home.
The flowers Vernon had dropped were still on the foyer floor.
I threw them away.
Maya refused to sleep in her room.
I made a bed for her on the couch downstairs.
She asked me to leave every light on.
So I did.
That evening, someone knocked.
Maya jumped so violently she spilled her juice.
I was at the door in seconds.
A woman stood outside with a teenage girl.
The woman looked to be in her forties.
The girl was maybe sixteen.
“Daniel Carter?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Rebecca Lane.”
She glanced behind me.
“I heard what happened.”
My first instinct was suspicion.
“How?”
“Vernon was taken from his office this morning.”
I had not known that.
Rebecca swallowed.
“My daughter’s name is Sophie.”
Every hair on my arms stood up.
I opened the door wider.
Camille appeared behind me.
The moment she saw Rebecca, she started crying.
Rebecca did not.
Not immediately.
She simply looked at Camille.
“You found the folder.”
Camille nodded.
“I’m sorry it took me so long.”
Rebecca’s face hardened.
“Six years.”
“I know.”
“Six years, Camille.”
Sophie stood silently beside her mother.
Then Maya appeared at the end of the hallway.
Sophie looked at her.
Something passed between the two girls that I could not understand.
Recognition without knowing each other.
A shared fear.
Rebecca’s anger faded.
She lowered her voice.
“Is that Maya?”
I stepped slightly in front of my daughter.
“Yes.”
Rebecca nodded.
“We won’t stay.”
Camille moved closer.
“What happened with Sophie?”
Rebecca laughed bitterly.
“You really don’t know?”
“No.”
“Your father paid my husband.”
Camille’s face went blank.
“What?”
“After Sophie said Vernon hurt her, my husband wanted to go to the police.”
Rebecca’s voice shook.
“Then Vernon offered him money.”
I stared at Sophie.
She looked toward the floor.
Rebecca continued.
“My husband accepted it.”
“Oh God,” Camille whispered.
“He made me sign an agreement. He told me if I spoke publicly, we would lose everything.”
“Where is your husband now?” I asked.
“Gone.”
Rebecca’s expression became empty.
“He left us two years ago.”
I wanted to apologize.
But apologies felt useless.
Sophie finally spoke.
“Mom.”
Rebecca turned.
Sophie was looking at Maya.
“Can I tell her something?”
I looked at my daughter.
Maya nodded.
Sophie crouched several feet away.
She did not touch her.
She did not come too close.
“My mom believed me,” Sophie said softly. “But some people didn’t.”
Maya listened.
“For a long time, I thought that meant I should stop talking.”
Sophie swallowed.
“I was wrong.”
Maya’s eyes filled with tears.
“You’re not in trouble,” Sophie told her.
Maya whispered, “Okay.”
“You didn’t cause anything bad to happen.”
That sentence broke me.
Because I realized Maya had probably been carrying exactly that fear.
She started crying.
Camille dropped to her knees.
“Maya.”
Our daughter looked at her mother.
For a moment, I thought she might walk away.
Instead she asked, “Do you believe me now?”
Camille sobbed.
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Camille pressed both hands over her heart.
“I should have believed you the first time.”
Maya did not hug her.
Not yet.
But she did not leave.
That was something.
Rebecca gave Detective Hale’s number to Sophie.
“She’s ready to make another statement.”
Camille nodded.
“Thank you.”
Rebecca looked at her.
“I’m not doing this for you.”
“I know.”
“I’m doing it because your daughter deserves better than what mine got.”
After they left, I locked the door.
Then my phone rang.
It was my company manager, Luis.
His voice sounded strange.
“Daniel, someone broke into the office.”
My stomach dropped.
“What did they take?”
“That’s the weird part.”
“What?”
“Nothing valuable.”
I grabbed my keys.
“Then why call?”
Luis went silent.
“Because your filing cabinets are empty.”
I stopped breathing.
“All of them?”
“The financial files are gone.”
Behind me, Camille whispered my name.
And I knew instantly.
May you like
Vernon might be in police custody.
But someone was still working for him.
