Chapter 5 - THE MAN AT THE DOOR
The boys’ maternal grandfather, Samuel Reed, lived in Vermont. He had visited two weeks earlier and was now at home recovering from knee surgery.
Richard called him immediately.
Samuel answered, groggy. “Richard? Are the boys okay?”
“They’re safe. Did you send someone to pick them up?”
“Of course not.”
Richard thanked him and hung up. He told building security not to admit anyone. Priya asked for a photo of the visitor from the front desk camera.
The image appeared on her phone a moment later.
Emily recognized him.
“I saw that man at the mansion yesterday,” she said. “Victoria introduced him as the school consultant.”
On the security feed, the man paced outside the lobby, speaking into his phone. He glanced up at the camera, then walked away.
Priya saved the footage.
Richard called the police and reported the forged consent, the boys’ account of being locked in the playroom, and the man attempting to collect them. An officer said a detective would contact them that night.
Richard then called his house manager and told her nobody was to enter the mansion until police had checked it. He and the boys would stay elsewhere.
Emily listened from the doorway. She had been dismissed, accused, and ordered never to return. She could leave now. She had every reason to.
Noah appeared beside her, holding a juice box with both hands.
“Are you going away again?” he asked.
Emily looked at Richard. He was still on the phone, trying to arrange a safe place for his sons. For the first time since she had met him, he seemed uncertain what to do next.
“I’ll stay tonight,” she told Noah.
His shoulders dropped with relief.
When Richard finished the call, he approached her.
“I owe you an apology.”
“You do,” Emily said.
“I should have listened. I should have asked you what happened.”
“Yes.”
He waited. She offered him nothing more.
“I’d like you to come with us,” he said. “The boys trust you.”
“They need someone they know tonight,” Emily replied. “That’s why I’m here.”
Richard nodded. He accepted the difference.
Elaine found them rooms at a small hotel near the police station. As they prepared to leave, Priya opened the last document on the flash drive.
It was a draft message from Victoria to Adrian.
Richard read the first line aloud.
“Grace’s original letter is still in the house.”
He frowned. “What letter?”
May you like
Priya scrolled down.
The next line read: “If Richard finds it before Monday, the whole plan falls apart.”
