Chapter 7 - THE CHASE
I pulled the curtains shut so fast I tore one hook out of the wall.
“Everybody away from the windows.”
Emma sat straight up.
“What happened?”
“Bathroom. Now.”
Maria grabbed Lily.
We moved into the bathroom and locked the door.
Another text arrived.
STOP TALKING TO POLICE.
Then another.
YOU HAVE TWO DAUGHTERS. REMEMBER THAT.
My hands started shaking.
Not fear.
Rage.
I had spent months thinking Vanessa loved my children.
She braided Emma’s hair.
She bought Lily stuffed animals.
She sat at our dinner table.
All while somebody studied us like targets.
Sirens sounded below.
Cole called.
“Officers are entering the floor.”
A minute later, someone shouted, “Police!”
I opened the bathroom door only when Cole confirmed it was safe.
The officers searched the hallway.
Stairwells.
Parking garage.
Nothing.
But one security camera had captured a man in a baseball cap.
Cole showed me the image.
Jason Mercer.
The same man from the photograph.
“He found us,” I said.
Cole nodded.
“How?”
“We don’t know.”
Maria spoke quietly.
“Vanessa.”
Cole looked at her.
“She knows Emma’s phone.”
I turned.
“What?”
Maria said, “Maybe she can track it.”
Emma’s eyes widened.
“My location sharing.”
She grabbed her phone.
Vanessa was still listed under Family Sharing.
I felt like an idiot.
We shut it off immediately.
But it was too late.
At 6:10 a.m., police moved us again.
This time to a secured apartment used for protected witnesses.
Cole stayed behind.
Before leaving, he looked at me.
“I need to ask something uncomfortable.”
“Go ahead.”
“Life insurance.”
I felt cold again.
“What about it?”
“Do you have a policy?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Three million.”
“Beneficiary?”
“My daughters.”
“Any recent changes?”
“No.”
“You sure?”
“I’d know.”
Cole gave me a look.
“You thought you’d know about your bank account too.”
I hated that he was right.
I logged into the insurer’s website.
Password failed.
Tried again.
Failed.
“Locked out.”
Cole called the company.
After twenty minutes, he turned to me.
“Someone submitted a beneficiary change eleven days ago.”
My stomach dropped.
“To who?”
He looked at me.
“Vanessa Hale.”
Emma shouted, “What?”
I stared at him.
“I never signed that.”
“The signature was electronic.”
“I didn’t do it.”
“We know.”
I sat down.
The room felt too small.
“She was preparing for me to die.”
Cole didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
Then his phone rang.
He listened.
His expression changed.
“Where?”
A pause.
“When?”
Another pause.
“We’re on our way.”
He hung up.
“What happened?” I asked.
“They found Jason Mercer.”
“Where?”
“Your house.”
My heart slammed.
“What was he doing there?”
Cole grabbed his jacket.
“He wasn’t alone.”
“Who was with him?”
May you like
He looked at me.
“Vanessa.”
