Chapter 5 - EVAN’S PART
I hadn’t spoken to Evan in eight months.
Not because I stopped him from seeing Grace.
Because he stopped showing up.
Birthday weekends.
School plays.
Christmas morning.
He always had an excuse.
Work.
Traffic.
A stomach bug.
A new girlfriend.
Grace eventually stopped asking when Daddy was coming.
Now his face was reflected in a photograph designed to take her away from me.
I called him.
He answered after four rings.
“Rachel?”
“Where are you?”
Silence.
“Why?”
“Where are you?”
“At home.”
“I’m coming over.”
“No, you’re not.”
That answer told me everything.
“Evan.”
“What?”
“Police have videos.”
Another silence.
Longer this time.
“What videos?”
“Grace.”
I heard him breathe.
Then he whispered.
“Jesus.”
“You knew.”
“Rachel—”
“You knew.”
“It wasn’t supposed to go this far.”
I almost dropped the phone.
Connor looked at me.
I walked into the hallway.
“What exactly was supposed to happen?”
“Your mom said you were exhausted.”
“My mother lies.”
“She said you needed help.”
“So you helped her fabricate evidence?”
“I didn’t fabricate anything.”
“I have a photograph of you inside my apartment.”
Nothing.
“Evan?”
“She had a key.”
“How?”
He said nothing.
I realized.
“You gave her one.”
“I still had my old copy.”
My throat tightened.
“You gave my mother a key to my home?”
“She said she wanted to check on Grace.”
“She wanted to steal her.”
“Rachel, listen.”
“No. You listen.”
People in the hallway turned toward me.
I lowered my voice.
“You disappeared from your daughter’s life, then helped my mother build a fake case against me?”
“It wasn’t fake at first.”
“What does that mean?”
“Diane told me you’d started drinking.”
“I don’t drink.”
“I know that now.”
“You know that now?”
“She showed me photos.”
“Photos she staged.”
“I didn’t know.”
“And when did you know?”
Silence again.
My skin prickled.
“Evan.”
“A few weeks ago.”
“And you did nothing.”
“I was scared.”
“Of what?”
He gave a bitter laugh.
“You still don’t understand who your mother knows.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She has someone inside family court.”
I stopped.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I’m telling you what I know.”
“Then tell me everything.”
He exhaled.
“Your mother said once the temporary guardianship went through, Sabrina would become Grace’s primary caregiver.”
“Why Sabrina?”
“Because your mother can’t qualify alone.”
“Why not?”
Evan hesitated.
Then he said something completely unexpected.
“Because Diane has a sealed domestic violence report from years ago.”
I leaned against the wall.
“What?”
“She attacked your father.”
My chest tightened.
My father had died when I was fourteen.
My mother always told us it had been a heart attack.
“Evan, my father died.”
“I know.”
“So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying your mother lied about more than you think.”
Footsteps approached.
Officer Martinez appeared.
“Rachel.”
I held up a finger.
“Evan, don’t go anywhere.”
Martinez’s expression was grim.
“We ran the name on the guardianship affidavit.”
“Dr. Peter Lang?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“He’s not a psychiatrist.”
My stomach sank.
“What is he?”
Martinez looked me directly in the eyes.
“He’s a veterinarian.”
For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.
Then my phone clicked.
Evan had hung up.
I stared at the dark screen.
Officer Martinez continued.
“And there’s something else.”
“What?”
“The notary stamp on those guardianship documents belongs to someone who died eleven months ago.”
I slowly looked toward the hospital room where Grace slept.
The papers weren’t just dishonest.
They were criminal.
And whoever was helping my mother clearly knew how to manufacture a convincing legal case.
Then my phone buzzed.
A text from Evan.
ONE MESSAGE.
DON’T TRUST CONNOR’S FATHER.
I read it twice.
Connor’s father.
My former brother-in-law.
Michael.
The man who had supposedly moved to Texas three years earlier.
Before I could respond, Connor appeared in the doorway.
He looked terrified.
“Aunt Rachel?”
“What?”
“My dad just texted me.”
My stomach dropped.
“What did he say?”
Connor held up his phone.
May you like
Three words filled the screen.
DELETE THE VIDEOS.
