Chapter 4 - THE NAME SHE BORROWED
The officer introduced herself as Elena Ruiz.
She stayed outside Caroline’s room until Daniel joined her in the hallway.
Victor stood several feet behind her with his hands folded, looking worried enough to earn sympathy from strangers.
“My brother has been through a great deal,” he said.
Ruiz didn’t turn around.
“I’m speaking to him.”
Daniel liked her immediately.
“Who reported Noah missing?”
“An anonymous caller said an adult male took a child from outside Mercer Children’s Hospital.”
“The child asked me for help.”
“His mother confirms that?”
“She’s right inside.”
Ruiz spoke to Caroline alone.
When she returned, Victor stepped forward.
“There’s a complication. The woman’s name isn’t Caroline Mercer.”
Daniel looked through the glass.
Caroline lay very still.
“She’s been using the name Claire Bennett,” Victor continued. “I’m afraid my brother is being manipulated.”
Ruiz watched him.
“How did you know the name she uses?”
Victor paused.
“Daniel mentioned it.”
“No,” Daniel said. “I didn’t.”
For the first time, Victor’s face lost its polish.
Ruiz asked him to wait near the elevators.
Inside the room, Caroline answered the questions without looking at Daniel.
After the crash, she had spent weeks in a private rehabilitation facility with a broken shoulder and a head injury.
Noah had been placed with a temporary caregiver.
Victor controlled the information that reached her.
“He said Daniel had signed away responsibility for us.”
“Why did you believe him?” Daniel asked.
Caroline’s eyes filled.
“He brought papers. There were messages from your phone.”
“My phone was destroyed in the crash.”
“I didn’t know that.”
Her breathing turned uneven.
“He said if I went to the police, they’d charge me with stealing foundation money. He had a statement ready saying I was unstable.”
Ruiz asked, “Did you ever try to contact your husband directly?”
“Twice. Letters. Then Victor came with pictures of Noah outside his daycare.”
Daniel sat down.
Not because he wanted to.
Because his legs stopped holding him.
“What happened after that?”
“I left the facility. Took Noah. Used my middle name and my mother’s maiden name. Cash jobs. Different apartments.”
“You lived like that for eleven years?”
Caroline looked at their son.
“I kept him.”
Ruiz’s expression hardened.
Then Daniel’s phone buzzed.
A message from Victor.
Ask her who was driving when the car went off the bridge.
May you like
Daniel looked up.
Caroline was already crying.
