Chapter 4 - COLLECTION DAY
Mom didn’t sleep that night.
Neither did I.
We stayed at Vincent Kane’s house.
Not because Mom wanted to.
Because Vincent insisted our apartment was no longer safe.
His house wasn’t what I expected.
I thought dangerous men lived in dark castles.
Vincent lived in a brick mansion near the lake with boring beige furniture and a kitchen that smelled like coffee.
His housekeeper gave me grilled cheese.
I ate two sandwiches.
Then a third.
Mom watched me eat.
Her eyes filled.
She turned away.
Vincent noticed.
He said nothing.
Later, Mom sat with him in the library.
I was supposed to be asleep on the couch.
I wasn’t.
“I can’t stay here,” she said.
Vincent poured coffee.
“You can tonight.”
“I don’t know you.”
“That’s fair.”
“You’re Vincent Kane.”
“That’s also fair.”
She looked at him.
“People say things about you.”
“I imagine they do.”
“Are they true?”
He sat across from her.
“Some.”
That answer bothered her.
It made me trust him more.
Liars usually said no.
Mom rubbed her forehead.
“Why are you helping us?”
Vincent looked toward the couch.
Toward me.
“I had a sister.”
Mom waited.
He continued.
“She worked for a man when she was nineteen.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“He kept her tips. Delayed her wages. Told her she should be grateful.”
Mom didn’t speak.
“He knew she needed the job.”
“What happened?”
Vincent stared into his coffee.
“I was seventeen.”
“That didn’t answer me.”
“No.”
He looked up.
“I didn’t help her soon enough.”
Something in his face told Mom not to ask more.
The next morning, Marco came in before sunrise.
“Sterling’s moving.”
Vincent stood.
“Where?”
“Restaurant.”
Mom frowned.
“It’s closed Mondays.”
Marco nodded.
“That’s why he picked today.”
Vincent looked at Eli.
“Cameras?”
“Already in.”
A laptop showed Sterling entering the restaurant through the rear door.
He carried a duffel bag.
Another man followed him.
Big.
Bald.
Leather jacket.
Mom whispered, “That’s Ron.”
Vincent looked at her.
“You know him?”
“He collects money for Sterling.”
The screen showed them entering the office.
Eli adjusted the audio.
Static.
Then Sterling’s voice.
“Burn anything with Carter’s name.”
Mom went rigid.
Ron asked, “What about the woman?”
Sterling paused.
Vincent’s expression changed.
Sterling said, “She signs the confession or she loses the kid.”
Mom stopped breathing.
I sat up.
“What confession?”
Nobody answered me.
On the screen, Ron opened a file.
Sterling continued.
“She admits she stole from the restaurant.”
Mom whispered, “What?”
“Thirty grand missing. She signs. We don’t report her.”
Ron laughed.
“And if she won’t?”
Sterling stared directly toward the office camera without knowing it was there.
“Call Family Services.”
Mom stood so fast her chair fell.
“He’s going to take Rory?”
Vincent looked at her.
“He’s going to try.”
“No.”
Mom grabbed her coat.
Vincent blocked the door.
“You’re not going there.”
“That’s my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“So move.”
“No.”
“Vincent.”
“If you walk into that restaurant angry and alone, Sterling wins.”
Her eyes burned.
“What do you suggest?”
Vincent turned to Eli.
“Did you record all of that?”
“Yes.”
“Send copies.”
“To who?”
Vincent named three people.
An attorney.
A labor investigator.
And a detective.
Mom stared at him.
“You trust the police?”
Vincent’s mouth twisted.
“I trust evidence.”
Then the doorbell rang.
Once.
Twice.
Marco checked the security monitor.
His face darkened.
“Boss.”
Vincent stepped closer.
Two uniformed officers stood outside.
Beside them was a woman holding a clipboard.
Mom’s face collapsed.
“No.”
The woman looked directly into the camera.
May you like
Child Protective Services.
And she was holding paperwork with my name on it.
