Chapter 7 - THE THIRD PERSON
For the next twelve hours, police searched for Vanessa and Daniel.
Nothing.
Their phones were off.
Daniel’s SUV was found abandoned behind a strip mall thirty miles away.
Inside were two empty gas cans, clothing, and a child booster seat.
Lily’s size.
That seat nearly broke me.
Someone had expected my daughter to be in that car.
Detectives traced the prepaid phone.
Most messages had been deleted.
But one number appeared repeatedly.
“M.”
The number belonged to a woman named Melissa Grant.
I knew the name.
I just didn’t know why.
Then Officer Ramirez showed me her photo.
I felt my stomach drop.
“Her?”
“You know her?”
“She worked at Lily’s preschool.”
Melissa had been a classroom assistant for maybe six months.
Quiet.
Friendly.
Forgettable.
Vanessa had liked her.
They had coffee together twice.
Maybe more.
“What’s her connection to Daniel?”
“We’re figuring that out.”
Police searched Melissa’s apartment.
Gone.
Neighbors said she had left two days earlier carrying boxes.
This wasn’t spontaneous.
It wasn’t Vanessa snapping because motherhood was hard.
It wasn’t Daniel making bad decisions.
This was organized.
Planned.
The worst part was realizing how blind I had been.
Lily spent the next night sleeping beside me.
At 3:00 a.m., she woke screaming.
“No! I’ll be good!”
I sat up.
“Lily. Hey. Daddy’s here.”
She opened her eyes.
She saw me.
Then she climbed into my lap.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I woke you.”
“You never have to apologize for being scared.”
She stared at my face.
“Mommy said you get mad when people bother you.”
My chest tightened.
“Did I ever say that?”
She shook her head.
“Then Mommy was wrong.”
She leaned against me.
After a minute, she whispered, “Daddy?”
“Yeah?”
“Is Mommy bad?”
That question hurt more than I expected.
Children want the world to be simple.
Good people.
Bad people.
Heroes.
Monsters.
Adults know monsters can also make birthday cakes.
They can kiss you goodbye.
They can sleep beside you.
“I think Mommy did bad things,” I said carefully.
“Is she coming back?”
“I don’t know.”
Lily’s fingers tightened around mine.
“I don’t want her to.”
I kissed her forehead.
“You’re safe.”
My phone rang.
3:17 a.m.
Ramirez.
“Ryan.”
His voice was urgent.
“We found Vanessa.”
I stood.
“Where?”
“County General Hospital.”
“What happened?”
“She walked into the emergency room twenty minutes ago.”
“Is she hurt?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s Daniel?”
“We don’t know.”
“What did she say?”
Ramirez was silent.
“Ramirez.”
“She says Daniel tried to kill her.”
I looked at Lily sleeping against my shoulder.
May you like
Then Ramirez added,
“And she says he’s coming for you next.”
