Chapter 7 - The Therapist’s Bargain
Agent Bennett refused to let me speak to Caroline.
“She is desperate.”
“She wants the evidence.”
“She says she has proof about Emily.”
“She may be lying.”
“She may also be telling the truth.”
Bennett looked toward Sophie.
“You cannot keep risking yourself for every piece of information.”
I lowered my voice.
“My daughter will grow up one day.”
“She will ask why her mother died.”
“I need an answer.”
Bennett studied me for several seconds.
Then she handed me a phone.
The call was routed through a police negotiator.
Caroline answered immediately.
“Daniel.”
Her voice was shaking.
“What do you want?”
“You have the drive.”
“The police have it.”
“Do not lie to me.”
“I am not.”
Caroline began breathing faster.
Mrs. Lane cried somewhere in the background.
“You ruined everything,” Caroline said.
“You hurt my daughter.”
“I did not touch her.”
“You helped plan it.”
“I was supposed to ask questions.”
“Your mother changed the plan.”
“You watched Bethany plant evidence.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice.”
Caroline laughed bitterly.
“You think your family gives people choices?”
“You took their money.”
“They paid my debts.”
“That was your decision.”
“They threatened my son.”
I stopped.
“What son?”
“My son lives in Boston.”
“Your father knew where.”
“He knew his school.”
“He knew everything.”
Agent Bennett wrote quickly on a notepad.
We will secure him.
I continued.
“What proof do you have about Emily?”
Caroline became silent.
Then she said,
“I recorded your father after the crash.”
“What did he say?”
“He said Carl had failed.”
“Failed how?”
“He said Emily was supposed to survive.”
The room went still.
I stared at the phone.
“Why would he want her alive?”
“To frighten her.”
“To recover the ledger.”
“But Carl panicked.”
“The truck hit too hard.”
My knees weakened.
“Where is the recording?”
“With me.”
“Release Mrs. Lane.”
“Bring the flash drive.”
“I cannot.”
“Then she dies.”
Mrs. Lane screamed.
The negotiator motioned for me to keep Caroline talking.
“Caroline, listen to me.”
“You said my father threatened your son.”
“Yes.”
“Then help us stop him.”
“You cannot stop him.”
“He owns everyone.”
“He does not own the state police.”
“He owned Pierce.”
“Pierce is running.”
“He will be caught.”
“You do not understand.”
“What do I not understand?”
Caroline lowered her voice.
“Pierce is not running from the police.”
“He is running from your father.”
A loud crash came through the phone.
Caroline shouted.
Then the call disconnected.
Bennett ordered the tactical team inside.
Officers entered the hangar seconds later.
Mrs. Lane was found tied to a chair.
Caroline was gone.
A rear maintenance door stood open.
Outside, tire tracks led toward the highway.
Mrs. Lane was taken into an ambulance.
She told officers Caroline had received a text during the call.
The message contained only two words.
COME ALONE.
Caroline left immediately.
Police searched her abandoned vehicle.
They found a voice recorder beneath the driver’s seat.
The device contained the recording she promised.
My father’s voice was clear.
“Carl was supposed to scare her.”
“Now we have a dead woman and a missing ledger.”
Chief Pierce answered.
“I can control the report.”
“What about Daniel?”
“He believes it was an accident.”
“And the child?”
“Too young to understand.”
My hands went numb.
The truth was no longer a suspicion.
My father had helped cover up Emily’s death.
Even if he had not intended to kill her, he had caused the chase.
He had sent the driver.
He had hidden her phone.
He had lied while I buried my wife.
Agent Bennett requested new charges.
Conspiracy.
Evidence tampering.
Witness intimidation.
Obstruction.
Possible felony murder.
But when officers reached the detention center, my father was gone.
His cell was empty.
The guard assigned to his floor was unconscious.
My mother remained inside her cell.
Bethany remained in custody.
Only my father had escaped.
Security footage showed a maintenance worker entering the detention area.
He wore a cap and medical mask.
He left fifteen minutes later.
Detective Hale froze the image.
The worker’s sleeve had lifted.
A police tattoo was visible on his wrist.
Chief Pierce had returned.
He had not fled the state.
He had broken my father out of custody.
Then my phone rang.
It was my father.
His voice sounded calm.
“Daniel, you have something that belongs to me.”
“The ledger does not belong to you.”
“I am not talking about the ledger.”
“What do you want?”
He paused.
May you like
Then said the one name that made the room disappear around me.
“Sophie.”
