Chapter 12 - THE HOUSE OF LIES
Daniel wanted to go alone.
Elena refused.
Kim refused harder.
Charles gave them two hours.
The police built a plan.
Daniel hated every second of it.
His mother appeared terrified but conscious.
Elena watched him pace.
“You don’t have to pretend you’re okay.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“I’m not.”
Mateo colored at a table in a secure police room.
Elena glanced toward him.
“He still thinks you’re his dad.”
Daniel stared at the floor.
“I am.”
Elena looked at him.
Daniel met her eyes.
“I know I’m not his biological father.”
His voice shook.
“But I held him when he had pneumonia.”
Elena said nothing.
“I taught him how to ride that bicycle.”
Still nothing.
“I slept on his floor for three weeks because he was afraid of shadows.”
Elena’s throat tightened.
Daniel whispered:
“I didn’t steal those moments.”
Elena looked away.
“No.”
He exhaled.
“Vanessa did.”
Elena turned back.
“But you loved him.”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
She looked at Mateo.
“So did I.”
The sentence hurt both of them.
Kim entered.
“Time.”
They drove to Charles’s estate.
Elena wore a wire.
Daniel did too.
Mateo stayed with police.
Charles had demanded the child.
Kim sent a decoy vehicle.
Elena and Daniel approached the house alone.
Charles opened the front door.
Perfect suit.
Perfect hair.
No visible fear.
“Come in.”
Daniel stared at him.
“Where’s Mom?”
“Safe.”
“Show me.”
Charles sighed.
“Always impatient.”
Elena stepped inside.
The house smelled like old wood and expensive coffee.
Family photographs lined the walls.
Daniel as a boy.
Daniel graduating.
Daniel with Vanessa.
Mateo on Christmas morning.
Elena stared at that photograph.
Charles noticed.
“He made Daniel happy.”
Elena turned.
“He is not an object.”
Charles smiled faintly.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“He’s an asset.”
Daniel lunged.
Elena grabbed his arm.
Charles didn’t flinch.
“There he is.”
Daniel shook with rage.
“You’re sick.”
“I built systems.”
“You sold children.”
“I solved problems.”
“For rich people.”
“For people who could provide better lives.”
Elena’s voice sharpened.
“Better than their mothers?”
Charles looked at her.
“Sometimes.”
She nearly hit him.
Charles continued.
“Do you know how many biological parents are disasters?”
Elena stepped closer.
“You made me legally dead.”
“You were inconvenient.”
Daniel whispered:
“Dad.”
Charles ignored him.
“Matthew could have become very wealthy with us.”
Elena’s eyes burned.
“He already was wealthy.”
“He was sentimental.”
Charles smiled thinly.
“Sentimental men are dangerous.”
“So you killed him.”
“No.”
Charles glanced upstairs.
“Your sister did that.”
Elena looked toward the staircase.
A floorboard creaked.
Daniel heard it.
“Mom?”
Charles’s smile vanished.
Then everything happened at once.
Daniel’s mother ran from the hallway.
Her hands were free.
“RUN!”
Charles pulled a gun.
Daniel tackled him.
The weapon fired.
Elena ducked.
Police stormed the house.
Charles kicked Daniel away.
Ran toward the kitchen.
Elena chased him.
He reached a back door.
She grabbed his jacket.
He spun.
The gun pointed at her chest.
“You ruined everything.”
Elena stared down the barrel.
“No.”
She breathed hard.
“You did.”
Charles smiled.
Then a tiny voice came through Elena’s hidden earpiece.
“Mommy?”
Her blood froze.
Mateo.
Kim shouted over the comm:
“Who brought him here?”
Charles heard the voice too.
His smile returned.
A car door slammed outside.
Elena looked through the window.
The decoy car had arrived.
May you like
But Mateo was inside.
And sitting behind the wheel was Vanessa.
