Chapter 4 - THE BLACK SUV
I ran.
Emily’s hand was in mine.
Mark and Melissa followed us out the side doors.
Rebecca shouted behind us.
“Daniel!”
I didn’t stop.
A black SUV was moving across the church parking lot.
“There!”
Melissa pointed.
The vehicle turned toward the exit.
My pulse exploded.
“Who’s driving?”
“I don’t know.”
I sprinted toward my truck.
Emily stumbled.
I caught her.
“Daddy, am I going with them?”
“No.”
I opened the passenger door.
“You stay with Melissa.”
Emily grabbed my jacket.
“No!”
I looked at Melissa.
She nodded.
“I’ll stay right here.”
Emily’s face was white.
“I don’t want you to leave.”
I held her cheeks.
“I’m not leaving you.”
Behind us, Rebecca came running across the pavement in her wedding dress.
Her heels clicked hard against the asphalt.
“Daniel, stop!”
I turned.
“You packed my daughter’s clothes?”
“Yes.”
“You arranged transportation?”
“Yes.”
“You forged my signature?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Her eyes moved toward Mark.
Mark went still.
I looked between them.
Rebecca laughed.
“Oh, you still think Mark is innocent?”
Mark’s face drained.
“Shut up.”
“No.”
She smiled.
“He deserves to know.”
“Know what?”
Rebecca looked at me.
“The first signature wasn’t forged.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“You signed it.”
“No.”
“You were drunk.”
My stomach tightened.
Six weeks earlier, Rebecca had thrown me a surprise birthday dinner.
Wine.
Whiskey.
Friends.
I remembered signing something before bed.
Insurance paperwork, she said.
“Jesus Christ.”
Mark rubbed his face.
“She told me you had approved it.”
“You knew?”
“Not the school.”
“But the trust?”
Silence.
I moved toward him.
“You knew.”
He put both hands up.
“I thought you wanted Rebecca included.”
“You never asked me?”
“She had documents with your signature.”
“You’ve known me eleven years.”
“I made a mistake.”
Rebecca laughed.
“A very expensive mistake.”
I nearly hit him.
Instead I turned away.
The black SUV disappeared onto the road.
Melissa said:
“Mr. Carter, Emily’s bags aren’t the only thing inside.”
I looked at her.
“What else?”
She glanced at Rebecca.
“A folder.”
Rebecca’s face changed.
“What folder?”
“The one from your bedroom safe.”
I stared at Rebecca.
Our bedroom safe contained Sarah’s original will.
Emily’s birth certificate.
Property records.
Passports.
Rebecca lunged toward Melissa.
“You stupid little—”
I stepped between them.
“Back up.”
Rebecca’s breathing was heavy.
Her bridal veil had come loose.
For the first time, she looked nothing like the woman from the wedding photos.
“What was in the folder?” I asked Melissa.
“I don’t know. Diane gave it to the driver.”
I looked toward the church.
Diane was gone.
Mark checked his phone.
“She just left.”
“Call the police.”
Rebecca suddenly laughed.
I turned.
“What’s funny?”
“You really want police here?”
“Yes.”
“You might want to ask your lawyer what happens when they see the medical report.”
I looked at Mark.
“What medical report?”
He closed his eyes.
“Daniel…”
Rebecca stepped closer.
“She has paperwork saying you’re unstable.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
“Alcohol abuse.”
“False.”
“Anger issues.”
“False.”
“Unresolved grief.”
That one hurt because it was true.
Rebecca continued.
“Threatening behavior.”
Emily whispered:
“Daddy never hurts me.”
Rebecca looked down at her.
“You don’t understand adult things.”
I stepped forward.
“Stop talking to her.”
Rebecca’s smile returned.
“You’re angry right now.”
“Yes.”
“In public.”
“Yes.”
“Raised voice.”
“Yes.”
“Threatening posture.”
I understood.
She wanted a scene.
She wanted witnesses.
I took two steps backward.
Then I pulled out my phone and called 911.
Rebecca’s smile faded.
I gave the dispatcher my name.
My location.
Then I said:
“My fiancée attempted to remove my seven-year-old daughter using falsified documents and transferred money from a minor’s trust.”
Rebecca stared at me.
“And,” I added, “I believe she has stolen legal records and is attempting to flee.”
That was when tires squealed.
A second black car shot from behind the chapel.
Mark pointed.
“Diane.”
I recognized her behind the wheel.
And sitting beside her was the man I had trusted to manage Emily’s trust for three years.
My father-in-law.
Sarah’s father.
Robert.
Emily saw him too.
“Grandpa?”
My blood went cold.
May you like
Robert looked straight at us.
Then Diane hit the gas.
