Chapter 5 - WILLOW CREEK
I called the police.
Then I called someone Daniel hated.
My cousin Mark.
Mark was a detective in the county north of ours, and Daniel had spent years calling him “a glorified traffic cop.”
Mark arrived before local officers finished photographing the room.
He took one look at Lily’s hair and his face changed.
“What happened?”
“Vanessa.”
His jaw tightened.
I handed him the tablet.
“Watch.”
He watched the entire video without speaking.
When Daniel’s voice came through at the end, Mark looked at me.
“You staying here tonight?”
“No.”
“Good.”
He walked around Mom’s office.
“What’s Willow Creek?”
“I was hoping you knew.”
He searched his phone.
“Willow Creek Holdings?”
“Maybe.”
“It’s an LLC.”
“Owned by?”
He stared at the screen.
“That’s weird.”
“What?”
“It’s registered to a trust.”
“Whose trust?”
“Your daughter’s.”
I thought I had misheard him.
“What?”
Mark turned the phone around.
WILLOW CREEK FAMILY TRUST — BENEFICIARY: LILY CROSS
My knees went weak.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“She’s five.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“I never signed anything.”
“Maybe Daniel did.”
I felt sick.
Mark kept searching.
“Willow Creek owns property.”
“What property?”
He paused.
“A lot.”
“How much is a lot?”
“Two apartment complexes. A warehouse. Three commercial parcels.”
I stared at him.
“That’s millions of dollars.”
“At least.”
“Why would any of that belong to Lily?”
Mark looked at Mom’s letter.
“Maybe it doesn’t.”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe someone used her name.”
A local officer stepped into the room.
“Mrs. Cross?”
“Yes?”
“We found something outside.”
He held up a small evidence bag.
Inside was a black button.
Mark took one look.
“Security uniform.”
The officer nodded.
“Neighbor across the street saw a black SUV parked here around four.”
I knew that SUV.
Robert Cross used black Escalades for his personal security team.
My phone rang.
Daniel.
I rejected it.
It rang again.
Then again.
Finally, a voicemail appeared.
I played it.
“Emma, listen carefully. Dad knows you went to your mother’s house. He knows about the letter. You need to leave town tonight.”
A pause.
Then Daniel’s voice cracked.
“And do not take Lily to the police.”
Mark looked at me.
“Why not?”
The voicemail continued.
“Because someone inside the department is working for him.”
Then came a loud noise.
Daniel cursed.
And another man spoke in the background.
“Give me the phone.”
Robert.
Daniel whispered one final sentence before the call ended.
May you like
“Emma, Willow Creek isn’t money.”
“It’s where they buried her.”
