Chapter 6 - MASON
I kept silent.
The officer motioned for me to stay calm.
On the phone, Mason sighed.
“Vanessa?”
I lowered my voice.
“She can’t talk.”
There was a pause.
“Who is this?”
I hung up.
Officer Ramirez immediately took the phone.
“We may be able to trace that.”
My heart was slamming.
“That’s him.”
“Probably.”
“He knows Noah saw him.”
“Yes.”
“And Vanessa knows him.”
“Yes.”
I stared at the cash.
“What the hell is happening?”
No one had an answer.
At one in the morning, the police confirmed something else.
The silver sedan was registered to Mason Price.
Thirty-six years old.
Prior arrests for fraud, burglary and extortion.
No conviction on the extortion case.
Then Ramirez showed me a photo.
Same beard.
Same tattoo.
Same man.
“Do you know him?”
“No.”
My sister spoke behind me.
“I do.”
I turned.
Lauren was pale.
“From where?”
She looked sick.
“He dated Vanessa.”
The room went silent.
“What?”
“Before you.”
“How do you know?”
“I saw them together years ago.”
“Why did you never tell me?”
“She said it was over.”
“When?”
“Before your wedding.”
I laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“So my sister knew. My mother knew. My wife knew. Apparently I was the only idiot in the house.”
“Ethan—”
“Don’t.”
Lauren started crying.
“I thought it was nothing.”
“Everybody thought everything was nothing.”
I walked outside.
Cold night air hit my face.
Officer Ramirez followed.
“You need to stay somewhere else.”
“I know.”
“You also need to stop confronting people alone.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
I turned.
He looked directly at me.
“If Mason Price is involved, this may not be domestic drama. It may be organized fraud.”
I rubbed my face.
“What does that mean?”
“It means Vanessa may have been doing more than cheating.”
The word cheating hit me strangely.
It should have hurt.
Instead, compared to Noah, I felt almost nothing.
“Do you think she planned to hurt me?”
“We don’t know.”
“You saw the insurance policy.”
“We’re verifying it.”
My phone rang.
Mom.
I almost ignored it.
Then answered.
“What?”
Her voice was weak.
“Ethan, Vanessa is gone.”
I straightened.
“What do you mean?”
“She left the station.”
“How?”
“They released her.”
My anger exploded.
“They released her?”
“She wasn’t under arrest for the car situation.”
I turned to Ramirez.
He was already calling someone.
Mom continued.
“She came here.”
“Where?”
“My house.”
“Is she there now?”
“No.”
My skin went cold.
“What did she want?”
Mom started crying.
“She wanted the envelope.”
“What envelope?”
Silence.
“Mom.”
“She gave me something two weeks ago.”
“What?”
“She said if anything happened, I should hide it.”
I closed my eyes.
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“I never opened it.”
“Where is it now?”
Another silence.
Then Mom whispered,
“She took it.”
I nearly crushed the phone.
“What was in it?”
“I don’t know.”
Then I heard a sound behind her.
A door.
Mom gasped.
“Someone’s here.”
“Mom?”
Her voice dropped.
“Oh God.”
“What?”
May you like
“It’s him.”
The line went dead.
