Chapter 5 - SOMEONE HAD BEEN INSIDE
I stared at the picture until my vision blurred.
Noah was asleep under his dinosaur blanket.
The night-light glowed blue beside his bed.
The photo had been taken from inside the room.
Close enough to touch him.
“When was this?” Officer Ramirez asked.
“I don’t know.”
My fingers trembled as I zoomed in.
The blanket.
The pajamas.
The stuffed bear.
Then I saw the date stamp.
Three weeks earlier.
I had been in Chicago for work.
Vanessa had been home alone with Noah.
Or at least that was what she told me.
I looked toward the hallway where the officers were questioning her.
“She let him into my house.”
Ramirez held up a hand.
“We don’t know that.”
“I do.”
“Ethan.”
“I know.”
Noah hugged my leg.
“Daddy, are we going home?”
“No.”
The answer came out too quickly.
His eyes widened.
I crouched.
“We’re going somewhere safe tonight.”
“Why?”
I forced my voice to stay calm.
“Because I want to have a sleepover with you.”
“At Aunt Lauren’s?”
I looked at my sister.
She nodded immediately.
“Best sleepover ever.”
Noah gave a tiny smile.
It broke my heart.
At eleven that night, police escorted us to my house.
Vanessa was not allowed to come.
Not yet.
The officers wanted to inspect the property.
The moment I walked through the front door, everything felt different.
Our family photos.
The couch.
Noah’s toys.
The kitchen where Vanessa kissed me every morning.
All of it felt staged.
Like I had been living inside someone else’s lie.
An officer checked windows while Ramirez came with me upstairs.
Noah’s room looked normal.
Too normal.
Then Ramirez pointed.
“Is that supposed to be there?”
A tiny black object sat on the top shelf of Noah’s bookcase.
I stared at it.
“No.”
He put on gloves.
It was a camera.
A small wireless camera.
Pointed directly at Noah’s bed.
My knees nearly gave out.
“No.”
Ramirez removed it carefully.
“Do you recognize it?”
“No.”
We searched the room.
A second device was hidden behind a vent.
Audio recorder.
My stomach turned.
Someone had been monitoring my son.
Then Lauren screamed from downstairs.
“Ethan!”
I ran.
She was standing in the garage.
The cabinet beside Vanessa’s car was open.
Inside were stacks of cash.
Not hundreds.
Thousands.
Maybe tens of thousands.
Beside the money sat three phones.
A laptop.
And a folder.
I opened it.
Inside were copies of my bank statements.
My passport.
My Social Security card.
Noah’s birth certificate.
And a life insurance policy.
Mine.
Two million dollars.
Beneficiary: Vanessa Carter.
I looked at Ramirez.
“I never signed this.”
His expression hardened.
Before he could answer, one of the phones inside the cabinet started ringing.
Everyone froze.
The screen displayed one word.
MASON.
I looked at the officer.
He nodded.
I answered.
I didn’t speak.
A man’s voice said,
“Vanessa, we have a problem.”
I gripped the phone.
May you like
Then he continued.
“The kid saw my face.”
