Chapter 6 - The Night Kevin Disappeared
I called the police immediately.
Then I called Daniel.
Within minutes, I was driving toward Patricia's house with my security manager on the phone.
"Robert, don't confront anyone," Daniel warned.
"I'm not planning to."
"Good. Let investigators handle locating Kevin."
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.
Jasmine had sounded terrified.
Whatever had happened between us, I couldn't ignore the possibility that her brother was in danger.
Kevin was twenty-two.
A college student.
Quiet.
Intelligent.
He had always treated me with respect.
When he first enrolled in business school, he thanked me so sincerely that I almost felt embarrassed.
I liked him.
I still did.
And I refused to let his mother's choices put him at risk.
When I arrived, Jasmine was standing on the porch.
She ran toward me.
"Robert!"
I stepped out of the car.
She threw her arms around me.
For a moment, I held her.
Not because everything was forgiven.
Because she was frightened.
"Tell me what happened."
She pulled back.
"Anthony came around four."
"Was Kevin already there?"
She nodded.
"He was visiting Mom."
"What did Anthony say?"
"He accused Mom of talking to you."
I frowned.
"About the transfers?"
"I think so."
I took a breath.
"Then what?"
"Kevin told him to leave her alone."
Jasmine began crying.
"Anthony said Kevin needed to help fix the situation."
"Did he threaten him?"
She shook her head.
"Not openly."
I looked toward Patricia's front door.
"Where's your mother?"
"Inside."
We entered.
Patricia sat on the sofa holding a tissue.
Her face was pale.
For the first time since I had known her, she didn't look demanding.
She looked afraid.
"Robert."
I stopped.
"Patricia, I need the truth."
She nodded.
"Okay."
"Why did Anthony take Kevin?"
She looked down.
"Because Kevin knows about the investment accounts."
My stomach tightened.
"What accounts?"
Patricia began crying.
"The ones Anthony made me open."
I stared at her.
"You opened accounts for him?"
She nodded.
"He said they were temporary."
I closed my eyes.
That word again.
Temporary.
As if a dishonest act became harmless when someone promised to undo it later.
"How many accounts?"
"Three."
"How much money passed through them?"
She began shaking.
"I don't know exactly."
I looked at her.
"Patricia."
She whispered, "Maybe two hundred thousand."
Jasmine gasped.
"Mom!"
Patricia started sobbing.
"I didn't keep all of it!"
I stared at her.
"That doesn't make it acceptable."
She nodded frantically.
"I know."
"Where did the money go?"
"Anthony moved most of it."
"Why?"
"He said he needed to repay investors."
I felt sick.
Investors.
The supposed retirement community.
The fake consulting contracts.
The unauthorized loan.
It was all beginning to look like a scheme that used new money to cover older obligations.
I took a breath.
"Did Kevin know?"
Patricia wiped her face.
"He found the statements."
"When?"
"Last week."
My stomach tightened.
"What did he say?"
"He told me to tell you."
I looked at Jasmine.
She was staring at her mother.
Patricia continued.
"He said Anthony was using us."
I felt my chest tighten.
Kevin had discovered the truth.
And now he was missing.
I called the investigating officer again.
I gave him every detail.
The accounts.
Anthony's involvement.
Kevin's concerns.
Then I asked whether they could locate his phone.
The officer explained that they were working through appropriate procedures and asked us to preserve all messages and call records.
We waited.
An hour passed.
Then another.
Jasmine paced the living room.
Patricia cried quietly.
I sat near the window, trying to remain calm.
At eight-thirty, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Hello?"
A young man's voice whispered, "Robert?"
I stood.
"Kevin?"
"Yes."
Relief flooded through me.
"Where are you?"
He hesitated.
"I'm at a gas station outside Macon."
I gripped the phone.
"Are you safe?"
"I think so."
"What happened?"
His voice shook.
"Anthony wanted me to help access one of Mom's accounts."
I closed my eyes.
"Did you?"
"No."
"Good."
"He got angry."
I felt my pulse race.
"Did he hurt you?"
"No. But he took my phone for a while."
I looked at Jasmine.
She was watching me desperately.
"Kevin, where is Anthony now?"
"He left after we argued. I borrowed a phone from the clerk."
I exhaled.
"Stay inside the store. I'm contacting the police."
Kevin began crying.
"Robert, I'm sorry."
My heart tightened.
"Sorry for what?"
"For not telling you sooner."
I swallowed.
"Kevin, none of this is your responsibility."
He cried harder.
"I knew something was wrong."
"Then you did the right thing by refusing."
I took a breath.
"Stay where you are. Help is coming."
I ended the call.
Then turned toward Jasmine.
"He's safe."
She burst into tears.
Patricia covered her mouth.
I immediately gave the police the location.
They arranged for local officers to check on Kevin.
I didn't drive down there myself.
I wanted him protected by people who could handle the situation safely.
Later that night, Kevin was brought to a local police station, where he gave a statement.
Anthony had allegedly pressured him to help move money between accounts.
Kevin refused.
When they stopped at a gas station, he got away and called for help.
Investigators began searching for Anthony.
Meanwhile, Patricia finally agreed to provide full access to the records in her possession.
Not because I threatened her.
Because she had nearly lost her son to the consequences of her decisions.
At midnight, Jasmine and I sat on the porch.
For the first time in days, neither of us was arguing.
She looked exhausted.
"Thank you for helping Kevin."
I nodded.
"He's family."
She began crying.
"I've been a terrible wife."
I looked at her.
I wanted to disagree.
To comfort her.
But honesty mattered more now.
"You've made choices that hurt our marriage."
She nodded.
"I know."
I stared into the darkness.
"Why didn't you trust me enough to tell me about your father?"
Her voice shook.
"Because I spent my whole life trying to make Mom happy."
I turned toward her.
She continued.
"After Dad disappeared from our lives, Mom told me men couldn't be trusted."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"She said if I ever found a successful husband, I needed to make sure my family benefited."
I felt my chest tighten.
"Jasmine."
She wiped her face.
"I thought helping Mom proved I was a good daughter."
I remained silent.
She continued.
"Every time I said no, she told me I was forgetting where I came from."
I looked toward the house.
Patricia was inside speaking with investigators.
Jasmine lowered her head.
"I started believing that loving her meant giving her whatever she wanted."
I understood the pain in her voice.
But I couldn't ignore what she had done.
"Jasmine, your mother pressured you. But you still made decisions."
She nodded.
"I know."
"And you lied to me."
"I know."
"And you helped someone make false statements about my finances."
Her shoulders shook.
"I know."
I took a slow breath.
"Then what happens next depends on whether you're willing to take responsibility."
She looked at me.
"Are you leaving me?"
I stared at her.
For six years, I had loved this woman.
I remembered our wedding.
Her laughter.
The way she held me when my business nearly failed during its first year.
The dreams we shared.
But I also remembered the forged documents.
The secret accounts.
The betrayal.
"I don't know yet," I answered.
She began crying again.
I let her.
Not cruelly.
Not to punish her.
But because I couldn't make another promise before I understood whether our marriage could survive the truth.
Then my phone rang.
Daniel.
I answered.
"Robert, investigators located Anthony's vehicle."
My stomach tightened.
"Where?"
"At an airport parking facility."
I stood.
"Is he trying to leave?"
"Authorities are looking into it."
I glanced at Jasmine.
She had stopped crying.
Daniel continued.
"And there's something else."
"What?"
"They found documents in the vehicle connecting Anthony to a company in your father's old business records."
I felt cold.
Daniel paused.
"Robert, it looks like Anthony may have been using the same fraudulent network for more than twenty years."
I stared into the darkness.
My father's past.
My company's missing money.
My wife's family.
It was all connected.
And for the first time, I understood why Anthony had worked so hard to get close to me.
May you like
He wasn't simply looking for money.
He was trying to finish something that began with my father.
