Chapter 13 - The Hour Emily Disappeared
Dr. Voss finally talked.
His attorney had spent two days negotiating.
The moment prosecutors added conspiracy charges connected to the forged military routing order, Voss changed strategy.
He wanted a deal.
I sat behind the observation glass while Reed interviewed him.
“At one o’clock, was Emily alive?”
“Yes.”
“Conscious?”
“Intermittently.”
“What happened?”
Voss rubbed both hands together.
“Margaret wanted the documents.”
“Caleb wanted to move Emily.”
“Move her where?”
“To the warehouse.”
My chest tightened.
“Why?”
“They thought she had hidden copies there.”
Reed leaned forward.
“Did they transport her?”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
The missing twelve hours suddenly made sense.
The vehicle.
The warehouse.
The boxes.
Emily had not remained in the house.
They had moved her.
“Was she capable of consenting?”
“No.”
“Did you object?”
“Yes.”
“Did you stop them?”
Voss looked down.
“No.”
My jaw clenched.
“What happened at the warehouse?”
Voss swallowed.
“Emily woke up.”
“She was confused.”
“Then she understood where she was.”
“She started screaming.”
I could hear her in my mind.
Not an imagined scream.
Emily’s voice.
The same voice from the recordings.
“Caleb panicked.”
“What did he do?”
“He covered her mouth.”
My hands tightened against the edge of the table.
Reed continued.
“For how long?”
“I don’t know.”
“Seconds.”
“Maybe longer.”
“When he released her?”
“She was unresponsive.”
I stood.
Elena grabbed my arm.
“Daniel.”
I shook her off.
Not angrily.
I simply couldn’t sit anymore.
Voss continued.
“I started CPR.”
“Did she recover?”
“For a short time.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Reed leaned in.
“She regained consciousness?”
“Yes.”
“For several minutes.”
“Did she speak?”
Voss closed his eyes.
“She asked for Daniel.”
I turned away.
Elena covered her mouth.
“She asked me to tell him she was sorry.”
Sorry.
Emily had been dying because my family betrayed her.
And she had apologized to me.
Voss continued.
“She said something else.”
Reed waited.
“She said Noah was safe as long as Daniel came home.”
I looked back through the glass.
“What did that mean?”
Reed asked.
Voss shook his head.
“I didn’t know then.”
“Do you know now?”
“Yes.”
He looked toward the observation window.
Even though he couldn’t see me, it felt as if he was looking directly at me.
“Emily knew Margaret planned to petition for custody.”
“She knew the trust would transfer to Noah once Daniel legally acknowledged paternity.”
My chest tightened.
“So she hid proof.”
“Yes.”
“She recorded everything.”
“Yes.”
“And the letter?”
Voss nodded.
“She made Nora promise to protect it.”
Reed leaned forward.
“When did Emily die?”
Voss’s face collapsed.
“2:06 p.m.”
“Cause?”
“I can’t give a formal cause.”
“You’re a physician.”
“Then say what you believe.”
Voss swallowed.
“Head trauma.”
“Sedatives.”
“Respiratory compromise.”
“And delayed treatment.”
Reed stared at him.
“If you had taken her to a hospital when you first examined her?”
Voss’s eyes filled with tears.
“She probably would have lived.”
I walked out.
Not because I couldn’t hear more.
Because there was nothing left to hear.
Emily had not died from one blow.
She had died from a chain of choices.
Caleb’s violence.
Voss’s cowardice.
My mother’s control.
Hours of people deciding that saving themselves mattered more than saving her.
Elena found me outside.
Noah was asleep in my arms.
I looked down at him.
“She fought for him.”
Elena nodded.
“And for you.”
May you like
I kissed the top of his head.
“They’re not taking anything else from us.”
