Chapter 9 - PHASE TWO
Phase Two contained seventy-three files.
Most were financial.
Some were photographs.
Others were recordings.
One file was a draft petition accusing Alejandro of neglect.
Another contained edited photographs designed to make Sophie’s room appear unsanitary.
Another contained fabricated messages supposedly sent by Alejandro.
The plan was bigger than anyone realized.
Valerie intended to destroy Alejandro publicly.
If Sophie was removed from his care, she would leak allegations to local media.
Rivers Logistics would lose clients.
Investors would panic.
Banks would reconsider credit.
Then Valerie intended to push Alejandro into selling part of the company.
To whom?
A holding company.
Registered six months earlier.
Its director was Marcus Dale.
Its silent investor was Valerie.
Rachel placed the documents in front of Alejandro.
“She wanted your daughter.”
“Your reputation.”
“And your company.”
Alejandro stared at the pages.
“All because of her father?”
“Partly.”
Rachel slid another file forward.
Thomas Blake’s old company records.
Alejandro recognized them.
Then he saw a signature.
His own.
The contract termination letter.
Valerie had highlighted one sentence.
RIVERS LOGISTICS WILL NOT PARTNER WITH COMPANIES THAT PUT CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AT RISK THROUGH UNSAFE PRACTICES.
Alejandro almost laughed at the cruelty of it.
Nine years earlier, he had written that sentence after one of Blake’s drivers crashed a truck carrying defective brakes.
Now Blake’s daughter had used a child to punish him.
Rachel leaned back.
“She built her entire adult life around revenge.”
Alejandro looked toward Sophie’s room.
“And I invited her in.”
Rachel didn’t correct him.
Maybe because there was nothing useful to say.
The following morning, Sophie’s oxygen levels improved.
Her fever dropped below one hundred.
She ate half a pancake.
Alejandro considered that a victory.
“Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I ask something?”
“Anything.”
“Are you going to jail?”
Alejandro stared at her.
“What?”
“Valerie said the police would take you away because you didn’t take care of me.”
He sat beside her.
“No.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“She said people would think you were bad.”
Alejandro took her hand.
“Do you think I’m bad?”
Sophie shook her head immediately.
“Then start there.”
She thought about it.
“What if other people do?”
Alejandro smiled sadly.
“We tell the truth.”
“And if they don’t believe us?”
“We keep telling it.”
Sophie nodded.
Then she reached for another bite of pancake.
Outside the room, Elena stood with Claudia.
“She’s going to need therapy again.”
Claudia nodded.
“Probably.”
Elena looked through the glass.
“She already lost her mother.”
“And now this.”
Claudia touched Elena’s arm.
“She also has something she didn’t have two years ago.”
“What?”
“A father who stayed.”
Elena looked at her son.
Alejandro was pretending Sophie’s stuffed rabbit wanted pancakes.
Sophie laughed.
A real laugh.
Small.
Weak.
But real.
Elena smiled.
Then Detective Monroe approached.
Her expression was serious.
“Alejandro.”
He stepped into the hallway.
“What now?”
“We found one more recording.”
“From Valerie?”
“No.”
Rachel looked toward Elena.
“This one is from Marissa.”
Alejandro froze.
“My sister?”
Rachel nodded.
“It was stored on an old memory card Valerie copied.”
Alejandro’s face changed.
“What’s on it?”
Rachel held out her phone.
May you like
“Something about Thomas Blake.”
“And I think it explains why Valerie hated your family even more than we realized.”
