Chapter 9 - SHE RAN
Vivian had left the mansion sometime before sunrise.
Police had allowed her to remain overnight in a separated guest wing while the investigation was still developing.
By 5:30 a.m., she was gone.
Her car was found abandoned six miles away.
Ethan stared at Detective Chen.
“How did she get out?”
“Service gate.”
“There are cameras.”
“We checked them.”
“And?”
“She knew where the blind spot was.”
Of course she did.
Ethan’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
Chen immediately said, “Put it on speaker.”
Ethan answered.
“Hello?”
Vivian’s voice came through.
“You’ve made a mistake.”
Ethan felt his entire body tighten.
“Where are you?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“The police are listening.”
“I assumed they would be.”
Chen signaled for Ethan to keep her talking.
Vivian continued.
“You turned one bad afternoon into a criminal investigation.”
“One bad afternoon?”
“You know Lily exaggerates.”
Ethan’s face went cold.
“She’s four.”
“And you are weak with her.”
“No.”
He looked through the hospital window at his sleeping daughter.
“I was weak with you.”
Silence.
Vivian’s voice sharpened.
“Careful.”
“No. You be careful.”
“You think you’ve won?”
“This isn’t a game.”
“It always is.”
Ethan suddenly understood something.
Vivian didn’t sound frightened.
She sounded angry about losing control.
He asked, “Where’s the money?”
She laughed.
“Still thinking like a businessman.”
“Where is it?”
“You’ll never get all of it back.”
Detective Chen wrote something on a notepad.
KEEP HER TALKING.
Ethan asked, “What did Lily ever do to you?”
Silence.
Then Vivian said, “She looked at me like I didn’t belong.”
Ethan stared at the phone.
“She was a baby when you met her.”
“She never accepted me.”
“She was two years old.”
“She wanted you all to herself.”
Ethan felt disgust rise in his chest.
“You were jealous of a toddler.”
“Don’t twist it.”
“I don’t have to.”
Vivian’s breathing changed.
For the first time, she sounded unstable.
“You have no idea what I gave up for you.”
“What?”
“My career. My life. My freedom.”
“You didn’t give those things up.”
“I raised your child.”
“You terrorized my child.”
“She needed rules.”
“She needed safety.”
“You spoiled her.”
“You locked her in a dark room.”
“She learned.”
Ethan’s voice dropped.
“What exactly did she learn, Vivian?”
Vivian went quiet.
Ethan answered his own question.
“She learned to be afraid inside her own home.”
No answer.
He continued.
“And now she’s going to learn something else.”
“What?”
“That you’re gone.”
Vivian inhaled sharply.
Then the line disconnected.
Chen immediately contacted her team.
“We got a partial tower location.”
“Where?”
“North side of the county.”
Ethan grabbed his jacket.
“You’re not coming.”
“I’m not sitting here.”
“You are Lily’s father. Stay with her.”
Ethan stopped.
Chen was right.
That was the old Ethan.
Always running toward the crisis somewhere else.
Leaving someone else to protect Lily.
He took off his jacket.
“Find her.”
“We will.”
Two hours passed.
Then three.
At 11:17 a.m., Detective Chen called.
“We found the rental car.”
“Where?”
“Near a private airfield.”
Ethan stood.
“Did you find Vivian?”
“No.”
His heart sank.
Then Chen added, “But we found something in the trunk.”
“What?”
“A suitcase.”
“So?”
“There were two passports inside.”
Ethan frowned.
“Two?”
“One belongs to Vivian.”
“And the other?”
May you like
Chen paused.
“It belongs to Lily.”
