Chapter 8 - THE SECRET INSIDE SOPHIE’S NECKLACE
I stared at Rachel.
“What do you mean Sophie has it?”
“The necklace.”
I remembered.
A small silver heart Sophie wore almost every day.
Rachel had given it to her on her fifth birthday.
Before the “crash.”
“That necklace opens a bank account?”
“Not physically. There’s an encrypted storage chip inside.”
I felt anger rise so quickly I had to walk away.
“You put access to twenty-two million dollars around our daughter’s neck?”
“I needed somewhere nobody would search.”
“She was five!”
“I never thought anyone knew.”
“Luke knows.”
Rachel looked broken.
“I know.”
Detective Torres stepped in.
“What exactly is on the chip?”
“An encrypted private key and transaction records.”
“Evidence?”
“Yes.”
“Enough to connect Mercer, Lowell, and Luke?”
“Yes.”
Torres nodded once.
“Then Sophie isn’t just leverage.”
Rachel whispered, “She’s evidence.”
Vanessa muttered, “Which means Luke won’t let her go.”
I turned.
“Helpful.”
“I’m trying to be honest.”
“You’re three years late.”
She looked away.
A deputy approached Torres.
“We found the gas station from the reflection.”
“Where?”
“Pacific Coast Highway, northbound. Camera caught a black Range Rover leaving twelve minutes ago.”
Torres asked, “Plate?”
“Stolen.”
Rachel said, “Luke has a place near Point Mugu.”
Everyone looked at her.
“You know where?” I asked.
“I knew where. Years ago.”
Torres ordered units north.
I started toward my car.
She stopped me.
“You’re staying here.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“That’s my daughter.”
“And charging into a possible hostage situation makes you useful how?”
“I’m going.”
Torres stared at me.
Then at Rachel.
“You two ride with me.”
Vanessa stood.
“What about me?”
Torres looked at the deputy.
“Take her downtown.”
Vanessa panicked.
“No.”
I almost laughed.
“No?”
“She knows me.”
“Who?”
“Luke.”
Rachel frowned.
“You met him?”
“Twice.”
“When?”
“After you disappeared.”
Vanessa looked at me.
“He recruited me before Daniel did.”
That silenced everyone.
Torres said, “Explain in the car.”
Vanessa’s cuffs stayed on.
We drove north.
The ocean was black beside the highway.
Vanessa spoke from the back seat.
“Luke contacted me after Rachel vanished. He said Daniel had betrayed her.”
Rachel said, “He lied.”
“I know that now.”
“Didn’t stop you.”
“I wanted answers.”
“So you started sleeping with Daniel?”
Vanessa stared out the window.
“That came later.”
I looked at her through the mirror.
“Why did you get close to me?”
She didn’t answer.
“Vanessa.”
“Luke told me to.”
The words landed quietly.
That made them worse.
“He told you to date me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To monitor you.”
Rachel shut her eyes.
I asked, “Did you ever care about me?”
Vanessa’s face twisted.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s an answer.”
“At first, no.”
Rachel looked at her.
“And Sophie?”
Vanessa started crying.
“At first she was just part of it.”
I gripped the door handle.
“Careful.”
Vanessa nodded.
“Then I loved her.”
I turned around.
“You do not get to say that.”
“I know.”
“You don’t hurt a child you love.”
“I know.”
“Stop saying you know!”
Torres snapped, “Enough.”
The car went silent.
Ten minutes later, her radio cracked.
“Possible suspect vehicle located near an abandoned coastal property.”
My heart started pounding.
Torres accelerated.
We reached a dark road above the cliffs.
Police vehicles waited without lights.
An officer handed Torres binoculars.
“One structure. Vehicle outside. Thermal shows two people.”
Two.
Luke and Sophie.
I whispered, “She’s there.”
Torres ordered us to remain behind cover.
Then Rachel touched my arm.
“Look.”
Through the trees, a small second-story window opened.
A tiny hand appeared.
Sophie’s hand.
She dropped something.
It fell into the brush below.
Torres sent an officer.
He returned holding a silver necklace.
The heart pendant.
Rachel took one look.
“She got it away from him.”
I almost smiled.
Then a gunshot exploded from the house.
May you like
The upstairs window shattered.
And every officer around us raised a weapon.
