Chapter 4 - THE MONEY DANIEL NEVER MENTIONED
Claire stared at Daniel like she had never seen him before.
“You were blackmailed?”
“Yes.”
“And in twelve years together, that never came up?”
“I thought it was over.”
“You seem to think a lot of things are over.”
Daniel flinched.
Good, Claire thought.
She wanted him to.
Detective Ramirez pulled out a notebook.
“Start from the beginning.”
Daniel sat down.
“About a year after Megan told me she’d miscarried, I got an email.”
“From Travis?”
“I didn’t know who it was from.”
“What did it say?”
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“It said they had pictures of me and Megan. They threatened to send them to Claire and my employer.”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“You mean expose what you actually did?”
Daniel met her eyes.
“Yes.”
“Continue.”
“They wanted twenty thousand dollars.”
“And you paid?”
“Ten.”
Claire stared.
“Ten thousand dollars?”
“I negotiated.”
“You negotiated your affair?”
“I panicked.”
“What happened after that?”
“Nothing. They disappeared.”
Ramirez tapped her pen.
“How did you send the money?”
“Cash.”
“Of course.”
“A guy picked it up from a locker.”
“Did you report it?”
“No.”
Claire shook her head.
“You paid a stranger ten thousand dollars to keep me stupid.”
“I was terrified I’d lose you.”
“You should’ve thought about that before sleeping with somebody else.”
Daniel’s voice rose.
“We were broken up!”
“For seventeen days!”
“I know!”
A nurse opened the door.
“Please keep your voices down.”
Claire covered her face.
“I’m sorry.”
When the nurse left, nobody spoke for several seconds.
Then Ramirez said, “Do you still have the email?”
“Maybe. It was an old account.”
“Find it.”
Daniel pulled out his phone.
While he searched, Claire returned to Lily.
Her daughter was awake.
“Mommy?”
Claire sat beside her.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
“Is Daddy mad at me?”
Claire’s stomach twisted.
“No. Why would Daddy be mad at you?”
“Because that boy said I stole him.”
Claire froze.
“What?”
Lily stared at the blanket.
“Before he hit me.”
Claire leaned closer.
“What exactly did Ryan say?”
Lily’s little face scrunched as she tried to remember.
“He said… ‘You got everything.’”
Claire’s heart sped up.
“Anything else?”
“He said Daddy was supposed to be his.”
Claire felt cold all over.
“Did Ryan come inside by himself?”
Lily hesitated.
“What is it, baby?”
“There was a man outside.”
Claire stopped breathing.
“What man?”
“He brought Ryan.”
Claire stood immediately.
“Did you see him?”
Lily nodded.
“He stayed by the car.”
Claire hurried into the hall.
“Detective.”
Ramirez turned.
“There was someone with Ryan.”
Daniel looked up.
“What?”
“Lily saw a man outside.”
Ramirez moved quickly.
“What did she say?”
“He brought Ryan. Stayed by a car.”
The detective grabbed her phone.
Minutes later, officers were checking neighbors’ security cameras.
They found the vehicle on a camera across the street.
A gray Ford Explorer.
It pulled up six minutes before the attack.
Ryan got out.
The driver stayed inside.
Then, twenty seconds after Lily fell, the SUV drove away.
Daniel stared at the blurry screen.
Ramirez paused the footage.
“You recognize it?”
“No.”
Claire did.
Not the car.
The sticker.
A faded red-and-white decal on the rear window.
She had seen it that morning.
At the gas station.
The same SUV had been parked three pumps away.
The driver had been watching her.
Claire felt her skin crawl.
“He followed me home.”
Ramirez looked at her.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Can we enhance the driver?”
The officer zoomed in.
The image blurred badly.
But they could make out a man.
Baseball cap.
Heavy beard.
Large build.
Daniel leaned toward the screen.
May you like
Then he whispered:
“Travis.”
