Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN WHO CHANGED HER MIND
Diane Mercer looked ten years older than Alejandro remembered.
They met in a police interview room that evening.
She wouldn’t look at him.
Alejandro sat across from her.
“You knew.”
Diane stared at the table.
“You knew what Valerie was doing to Sophie.”
“I didn’t know everything.”
“You knew enough.”
“I thought she was making Sophie look sick.”
Alejandro’s chair scraped backward.
Rachel immediately put a hand out.
“Alejandro.”
He stayed seated.
Barely.
Diane began crying.
“I thought it would help me get custody.”
“You poisoned my daughter to win a custody case?”
“I never touched her.”
“You helped the woman who did.”
Diane covered her face.
“I wanted Sophie back.”
“She was never yours.”
“She’s my granddaughter.”
“And she’s my daughter.”
Diane looked up.
“You had everything.”
Alejandro stared at her.
“What?”
“Money.”
“A house.”
“Lawyers.”
“Everyone thought you were the hero because you adopted her.”
Diane’s bitterness finally surfaced.
“And I got nothing.”
Alejandro leaned forward.
“This wasn’t a prize you lost.”
“She’s a child.”
Diane started crying harder.
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Then tell us where Valerie is.”
Diane wiped her face.
“She wanted money.”
“How much?”
“Two million.”
Alejandro blinked.
“For what?”
“She said if I helped her, she would make sure I got Sophie.”
“And you believed her?”
“At first.”
“What changed?”
Diane looked sick.
“She started talking differently.”
“About what?”
“Sophie.”
Diane swallowed.
“She stopped talking about custody.”
“What did she say?”
“She said children have accidents.”
Alejandro’s face became stone.
Diane continued quickly.
“That’s when I realized this wasn’t about taking Sophie away from you.”
“It was about removing her completely.”
Rachel leaned forward.
“Where was Valerie going?”
“I don’t know.”
“You were with her.”
“She changed plans when Marcus stopped answering.”
“Did she mention anyone?”
“No.”
“Any property?”
Diane hesitated.
“A cabin.”
Alejandro looked at her.
“What cabin?”
“She said you had a place near Lake Travis.”
“I don’t.”
Diane frowned.
“She said you did.”
Alejandro thought.
Then remembered.
Marissa.
Their parents had owned a small cabin outside Lago Vista when he and Marissa were children.
After their father died, Elena sold it.
Or so Alejandro believed.
He called her.
“Mom, what happened to Dad’s Lake Travis cabin?”
Elena went quiet.
“I never sold it.”
Alejandro stood.
“What?”
“I couldn’t.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It reminded me of your father.”
“Who has access?”
“Just me.”
A pause.
“And Marissa had a key.”
Alejandro’s blood went cold.
Marissa’s belongings had gone to Sophie.
Those belongings had been stored in Alejandro’s garage.
Valerie had access to all of them.
Rachel was already calling officers.
Diane looked terrified.
“What?”
Alejandro stared at her.
“Valerie has a place to hide.”
But Valerie wasn’t hiding.
At 7:42 that evening, a motion alert appeared on Elena’s phone.
The cabin had an old security system.
One camera.
Facing the front porch.
Elena opened the feed.
A woman in a baseball cap stood at the door.
Valerie.
She held Marissa’s old key.
And before entering, she looked directly into the camera.
May you like
Then smiled.
Like she knew they were watching.
