PART 4 — THE MAN WHO WASN’T SUPPOSED TO RUN
“He wasn’t supposed to run.”
Daniel Mercer’s words hung in the room.
Nobody moved.
Nobody even seemed to breathe.
Detective Reid slowly turned toward him.
“What did you just say?”
Daniel’s face went blank.
“I said nothing.”
Connor actually laughed.
It was a short, disbelieving sound.
“You literally just said he wasn’t supposed to run.”
Daniel adjusted his grip on his briefcase.
“You misunderstood me.”
“I think everyone heard you perfectly,” Valerie said.
Detective Reid stepped closer.
“Mr. Mercer, I strongly suggest you stop talking unless you intend to explain that statement.”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“I’m an attorney. I’m aware of my rights.”
“Good. Then you’re also aware that leaving right now may not be an option.”
Daniel glanced toward the two officers.
One had already shifted slightly in front of the hallway.
The message was clear.
The front door was no longer simply an exit.
Daniel looked at me.
“This is exactly why I told Harrison not to involve family.”
My heart started pounding.
“You told Harrison what?”
He closed his mouth.
Detective Reid’s eyes sharpened.
“Mr. Mercer.”
Daniel said nothing.
I stepped forward.
“Was Harrison planning to leave?”
Daniel looked away.
“Clara, don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Turn this into something bigger than it is.”
I stared at him.
Then I laughed.
I couldn’t help it.
That sentence.
Again.
The same words.
The same manipulation.
First Harrison.
Now Daniel.
Don’t make it bigger.
Don’t overreact.
Don’t ask too many questions.
Accept the story you’re given.
Except the story was falling apart in front of everyone.
“My husband disappeared in a car with blood inside it, my identification on the passenger seat, and a note blaming me,” I said. “I think we’ve moved beyond something small.”
Daniel remained silent.
Detective Reid looked at one of the officers.
“Separate him from the others.”
The officer gestured.
“Mr. Mercer, come with me.”
Daniel didn’t move.
“I’m here as counsel for Harrison Bennett.”
“Harrison Bennett isn’t here.”
“I’m aware.”
“That’s exactly what concerns me.”
Daniel glanced at me one final time before following the officer into the dining room.
Reid turned toward us.
“I need everyone to stay exactly where they are.”
Maya’s voice trembled.
“Is my dad hurt?”
“We don’t know.”
“Was it a lot of blood?”
Connor immediately looked at her.
“Maya.”
“No. I want to know.”
Reid hesitated.
“Enough that we’re treating the vehicle as a possible crime scene.”
Maya covered her mouth.
I stepped toward her.
She let me wrap an arm around her shoulders.
It struck me then how cruel Harrison’s lies had really been.
He had spent months convincing these children I wanted distance from them.
Yet the moment something terrifying happened, Maya leaned into me automatically.
Family hadn’t disappeared.
Harrison had simply tried to edit me out of it.
“Can we see the car?” Connor asked.
“No.”
“Where was it found?”
“Near an access road south of downtown.”
“Was his phone inside?”
“No.”
“Wallet?”
“Yes.”
“Keys?”
Reid looked at him.
“No.”
Connor frowned.
“So somebody drove the car there and took the keys.”
“That is one possibility.”
“Or Dad walked away.”
“That is another.”
I stared at Reid.
“What does the blood tell you?”
“We don’t have a laboratory result yet.”
“Do you think it’s Harrison’s?”
“I’m not guessing.”
“Did you find anyone nearby?”
“No.”
My mind raced.
Harrison had left our house furious.
Then his car appeared abandoned.
My identification was placed inside.
A note blamed me.
And Daniel knew Harrison had apparently intended to leave.
None of this felt like an attack.
It felt staged.
“Detective.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t think Harrison is hurt.”
Everyone turned toward me.
Maya stiffened.
“Clara.”
“I’m not saying I know.”
Reid watched me carefully.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because everything Harrison has done recently involved preparation.”
The fake divorce story.
The altered accounts.
The trust documents.
The investor disclosures.
The financial transfers.
My exclusion from Christmas.
“He prepares explanations before he needs them,” I said.
Reid nodded slightly.
I continued.
“He told investors I disappeared before I knew they existed.”
“Yes.”
“He told his children I wanted distance before removing me from Christmas.”
“Yes.”
“He told Valerie we were divorcing before I had ever discussed divorce.”
“Yes.”
“And now his car contains my identification and a note saying I caused whatever happened.”
Connor’s expression changed.
“You think he planted everything.”
“I think Harrison has spent months creating stories where I become responsible for his decisions.”
Valerie whispered, “So this could be another story.”
I nodded.
Detective Reid said nothing.
Which somehow made me believe he was considering the same possibility.
My phone buzzed.
A bank alert.
Then another.
Then three more.
I looked down.
TRANSACTION DECLINED.
TRANSACTION DECLINED.
TRANSACTION DECLINED.
My pulse jumped.
Someone was trying to use one of the accounts I had frozen.
“Detective.”
Reid came closer.
I showed him the screen.
The attempted transactions were from a gas station.
Then a convenience store.
Then an ATM.
All within minutes of each other.
Connor leaned over.
“Where?”
The location displayed south of Tacoma.
Nearly forty miles from where Harrison’s car had supposedly been found.
Reid immediately pulled out his phone.
He walked away and made a call.
Maya looked at me.
“If that’s Dad…”
“He’s alive.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
The relief lasted three seconds.
Then she realized the second half.
“If that’s Dad, then he abandoned the car himself.”
“Yes.”
“And put your license inside.”
“Maybe.”
“And the blood?”
“We still don’t know.”
Valerie’s face hardened.
“If he staged this, he wanted police looking at Clara.”
I nodded slowly.
Maybe not arresting me.
Maybe just distracting them.
Or creating confusion while he ran.
Then I remembered Daniel’s words.
He wasn’t supposed to run.
I looked toward the dining room.
Daniel was seated at the table with an officer standing nearby.
He could see me staring.
I walked toward the doorway.
Detective Reid intercepted me.
“Don’t speak with him.”
“I have one question.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because he is currently a person of interest in a financial investigation.”
“Was he already under investigation before today?”
Reid hesitated.
That hesitation told me yes.
“How long?”
“I cannot discuss that.”
“Did you know about Evergreen Crest before Elaine contacted me?”
“Yes.”
My heart sank.
“How long have you known?”
“Several weeks.”
“Then why didn’t anyone contact me?”
“We were still determining your role.”
There it was.
Participant or victim.
I looked at the fake guarantee documents.
“You thought I might be involved.”
“We had documents bearing your name and signature.”
“And Harrison?”
“He claimed you managed portions of the project.”
My stomach twisted.
Of course he did.
“He was setting me up long before today.”
Reid didn’t disagree.
“How serious is this?”
“Very.”
“How many investors?”
“At least seven that we know of.”
“Elaine said four.”
“She may only know about her investment group.”
“How much money?”
Reid’s face remained neutral.
“Current estimates exceed four million dollars.”
Maya gasped.
Connor stared at the floor.
Four million.
Not two.
Not a failed development.
Not one desperate mistake.
A system.
“How much is missing?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“And BMC Holdings?”
His eyes sharpened.
“You know about BMC?”
“We found documents.”
“Do not touch anything else.”
“Who owns it?”
“We’re investigating.”
“Daniel’s wife is listed as manager.”
“Yes.”
“Did Daniel know?”
“I’m not going to speculate.”
“You already know more than you’re telling me.”
“That is usually how active investigations work.”
Under any other circumstances, I might have been offended.
Instead, I almost appreciated the first person that day who refused to lie politely.
Reid’s phone rang.
He answered.
His posture changed immediately.
“Yes.”
He listened.
“Confirm camera footage.”
Another pause.
“Send me the image.”
He ended the call.
Maya stepped forward.
“Was it my dad?”
Reid looked at me first.
Then her.
“Yes.”
Maya started crying.
Not loudly.
Just relief breaking through the fear.
“He’s alive?”
“A security camera at the gas station captured someone who appears to be Harrison Bennett.”
“What time?”
“Twelve minutes ago.”
Connor frowned.
“So Dad abandoned the car and ran.”
“We don’t yet know every detail.”
“Did he look injured?”
“No obvious injuries.”
Valerie folded her arms.
“Then what was the blood?”
“We’re working on that.”
I felt something inside me harden.
Harrison was alive.
Walking.
Using money.
Trying to flee.
While his daughter believed he might be dying somewhere.
Whatever sympathy remained inside me disappeared.
“Where is he going?”
Reid looked down at his phone.
“The declined ATM was close to a southbound highway entrance.”
“Toward Oregon.”
“Possibly.”
Connor rubbed his forehead.
“Dad has a friend in Portland.”
Reid looked up.
“Name?”
“Eric Landon.”
“What does he do?”
“Something in commercial construction.”
I stared at Connor.
“Construction?”
“Yes.”
My heartbeat quickened.
“Did Harrison ever mention Eric in connection with Evergreen Crest?”
“I never heard of Evergreen Crest until today.”
Valerie suddenly said, “I have.”
Everyone turned toward her.
“What?”
She frowned as if pulling at a distant memory.
“Harrison mentioned Evergreen once.”
“When?”
“Maybe last spring.”
“What did he say?”
“He asked whether I still knew anyone working in county planning.”
My stomach dropped.
Valerie continued.
“I thought he was asking because he wanted to renovate something.”
“Did you give him a name?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“He became weird when I asked what project.”
Reid wrote something down.
“What exactly did he say?”
“He said it was an investment opportunity and I wouldn’t understand the details.”
Valerie gave a bitter smile.
“He always liked saying women wouldn’t understand things right before asking them to help him with those same things.”
That sounded exactly like Harrison.
Reid looked at Connor.
“Contact information for Eric Landon.”
Connor gave it to him.
Then Reid walked into the hallway to make another call.
Maya sat down.
I sat beside her.
She looked at me.
“Do you hate him?”
The question caught me off guard.
“Your father?”
She nodded.
I thought carefully.
“No.”
“You should.”
“Hate takes energy.”
“That sounds like something people say when they actually do hate somebody.”
Despite everything, I smiled faintly.
“I’m too busy understanding what happened.”
She stared at her hands.
“I feel stupid.”
“Why?”
“I believed him.”
“Maya.”
“He told me you wanted space and I believed him.”
“You trusted your father.”
“That was stupid.”
“No. Trusting someone you love isn’t stupidity.”
The words left my mouth before I realized how much I needed to hear them myself.
I had trusted Harrison too.
With my home.
My passwords.
My money.
My future.
I wasn’t ashamed anymore.
The shame belonged to the person who weaponized that trust.
A few minutes later, Detective Reid returned.
“Mrs. Bennett.”
“Yes?”
“I need to ask you something unusual.”
“Go ahead.”
“Does Harrison have access to any property you own besides this house?”
“No.”
“Storage units?”
“No.”
“Vacation homes?”
“No.”
“Safe-deposit boxes?”
I paused.
“Yes.”
His eyes sharpened.
“Where?”
“My father kept a safe-deposit box downtown.”
“Who has access?”
“Me.”
“Only you?”
“I thought so.”
“What’s inside?”
“Family documents. Some jewelry. Old bonds. My father’s estate records.”
“Anything valuable enough to liquidate quickly?”
“Some jewelry.”
“How valuable?”
“Maybe seventy or eighty thousand altogether.”
“Could Harrison know about it?”
I thought back.
Years earlier, my father’s estate attorney had once mailed an annual inventory.
Harrison saw the envelope.
He asked about the box.
I told him it contained sentimental family items.
“Yes.”
Reid immediately made another call.
I felt sick.
Every detail of my life suddenly looked like something Harrison might have cataloged.
Twenty minutes later, Reid received an answer.
The box had been accessed two days earlier.
My blood turned cold.
“By who?”
Reid looked at me.
“You.”
My heart stopped.
“That’s impossible.”
“The access log records your identity.”
“I was home two days ago.”
“Do you have your safe-deposit key?”
I reached into my purse.
There was a small zippered compartment where I kept it.
Empty.
I stared at the space.
Gone.
Again.
Like my license.
Like my trust folder.
Maya whispered, “He stole it.”
“How would he access the box without Clara there?” Connor asked.
Reid looked at me.
“Did Harrison ever have access to your passport?”
“Yes.”
“Birth certificate?”
“Yes.”
“Copies of your signature?”
My laugh was hollow.
“Apparently plenty.”
“But bank staff should still have verified the person.”
“Unless…” Valerie began.
We all looked at her.
“Unless Clara wasn’t the person who went inside.”
My stomach tightened.
“What do you mean?”
She looked at Reid.
“Could someone have impersonated her?”
Reid didn’t answer immediately.
That was enough.
My heart began pounding.
“A woman?”
“We’re requesting surveillance.”
I stood.
“There is someone else.”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone connected to Harrison.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
Elaine said Harrison wasn’t working alone.
Daniel was involved.
Daniel’s wife was connected to BMC.
But something didn’t fit.
Why would a male lawyer impersonate me at a bank?
He wouldn’t.
“What does Bethany Mercer Cole look like?”
Valerie already had her phone out.
She searched.
Then she went still.
“Oh.”
She slowly turned the screen toward me.
The photograph showed Daniel’s wife at a charity event.
Blonde hair.
Elegant clothes.
Mid-forties.
The same woman from the photograph hidden in Harrison’s drawer.
The woman standing between Daniel and Harrison after some mysterious “closing.”
But that wasn’t what made my stomach twist.
Her face shape was similar to mine.
Not identical.
But close enough.
Same height, from what I could tell.
Similar build.
With dark hair, glasses, and the right clothing…
“Oh my God,” Maya whispered.
Connor stared at the photo.
“She could look like Clara from a distance.”
I looked toward Daniel in the dining room.
He had gone very still.
He knew exactly what we were discussing.
I walked toward him before Reid could stop me.
“Was your wife pretending to be me?”
Daniel stared at the table.
“Daniel.”
Nothing.
“Did Bethany access my safe-deposit box?”
He closed his eyes.
That reaction was all I needed.
Detective Reid stepped in.
“Mr. Mercer, do you wish to make a statement?”
Daniel’s shoulders sagged slightly.
“I want counsel.”
“You are counsel.”
“I want my own.”
Valerie muttered, “That’s comforting.”
The doorbell rang.
An officer answered.
Another detective entered carrying a tablet.
He approached Reid.
“We have the bank footage.”
My pulse exploded.
The tablet screen displayed grainy security video.
A woman entered the bank.
Dark hair.
Large sunglasses.
Long winter coat.
From behind, she could have been me.
She presented something at the counter.
Then disappeared toward the safe-deposit area.
Minutes later, she returned carrying a small leather case.
She removed her glasses briefly while speaking to the employee.
The image froze.
Bethany Mercer Cole.
Maya whispered, “That’s her.”
Reid looked at Daniel.
Daniel stared at the floor.
“What did she take?” I asked.
“We won’t know until you inspect the box.”
“I know what should be there.”
“Make a list.”
I sat at the kitchen island and wrote everything I could remember.
My grandmother’s diamond bracelet.
My mother’s pearl necklace.
My father’s watch.
Several old municipal bonds.
Original estate records.
An envelope containing emergency cash.
Then I remembered one more item.
A document my father had insisted I store there.
My stomach dropped.
“What is it?” Reid asked.
“My father’s original trust amendment.”
“What does it contain?”
“A list of successor beneficiaries.”
“Meaning?”
“If something happens to me, the trust assets go elsewhere.”
“Where?”
I looked at Connor and Maya.
They were both watching me.
I had never told them.
“Harrison doesn’t inherit the house.”
Silence.
Maya blinked.
“What?”
“My father insisted on keeping the property inside the family trust. If I die, Harrison cannot inherit it directly.”
Connor’s eyes narrowed.
“Who does?”
“My father originally named a charity.”
“Originally?”
“I changed it after marrying Harrison.”
Reid’s voice sharpened.
“To whom?”
I swallowed.
“Connor and Maya.”
Nobody moved.
Maya’s eyes filled immediately.
Connor looked stunned.
Valerie whispered my name.
I continued.
“I never told them because it wasn’t important. I never expected anything to happen to me.”
Detective Reid’s expression changed.
Not emotionally.
Professionally.
Every part of him became focused.
“Does Harrison know?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Could he have discovered it from the document in the box?”
“Yes.”
“Then we need to find Bethany immediately.”
Connor looked confused.
“Why?”
Reid turned toward him.
“Because if Harrison believed he would benefit financially from anything happening to Clara, this document proves the opposite.”
My skin went cold.
“And if he discovered that two days ago…”
Reid finished the thought.
“His plans may have changed.”
The Christmas exclusion.
The disappearing act.
The note.
My identification.
Maybe they weren’t only about framing me for financial fraud.
Maybe Harrison had learned he couldn’t inherit my house.
Maybe that was why everything suddenly accelerated.
I looked at Daniel.
“Did Harrison know Connor and Maya inherit the trust?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
I stood.
“Did he?”
“Clara, don’t.”
“Tell me.”
Detective Reid stepped closer.
“Mr. Mercer, I strongly advise you not to obstruct this investigation.”
Daniel looked exhausted.
Then finally he whispered:
“He found out two days ago.”
Maya gasped.
Connor took a step backward.
“How?”
“My wife saw the amendment.”
“You mean when she pretended to be Clara.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
The room erupted.
Valerie cursed.
Maya started crying again.
Connor demanded to know why.
Reid raised his voice.
“Everyone stop.”
Silence returned.
He looked directly at Daniel.
“Why did your wife access that box?”
Daniel said nothing.
“Why?”
“She was looking for something.”
“What?”
“The original trust instrument.”
“Why?”
“Harrison thought there might be a way to invalidate it.”
I felt physically ill.
“My husband sent your wife into a bank pretending to be me so she could steal documents that protected my house?”
Daniel whispered, “Yes.”
“And when he discovered his children would inherit instead of him?”
Daniel looked at Connor and Maya.
Then he said:
“He panicked.”
Connor’s voice shook with anger.
“Why would that make him panic?”
Daniel answered so softly I almost didn’t hear.
“Because he had already promised the house as collateral.”
My heart stopped.
“To whom?”
Daniel stared at Reid.
Then at me.
“People you do not want involved in your life.”
Reid immediately asked, “Who?”
Daniel shook his head.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it.”
“The investors weren’t the only source of money.”
Cold spread through me.
“What does that mean?”
“Harrison borrowed privately.”
“How much?”
Daniel swallowed.
“Almost two million.”
Connor whispered, “Another two million?”
“Yes.”
“From who?”
Daniel’s face was pale.
“A group that funds distressed businesses.”
Reid’s expression hardened.
“Name.”
Daniel said nothing.
The detective stepped closer.
“Name.”
Finally:
“Westridge Finance.”
Reid exchanged a look with the second detective.
That look terrified me more than any explanation could.
“You know them,” I said.
Reid did not answer.
Daniel did.
“They aren’t exactly a normal lender.”
“What are they?”
“They provide money to people banks won’t touch.”
“With what kind of security?”
“Whatever they can get.”
I looked down at the appraisal.
My house.
“He promised them my property.”
“Yes.”
“But he couldn’t give it to them.”
“No.”
“And now they know?”
Daniel looked toward the window.
“I think so.”
My mouth went dry.
“How?”
“Because Harrison missed a payment last week.”
“Then why didn’t he use investor money?”
“There isn’t enough left.”
“Where did it go?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Harrison lost most of it.”
“How?”
“Crypto. Options. leveraged trades. He kept trying to recover earlier losses.”
I stared at him.
The luxury townhomes had never been the real investment.
They were a story.
A machine for collecting money.
Harrison took investor funds.
Moved money into shell companies.
Gambled it.
Lost it.
Borrowed more to cover losses.
Then tried to access my trust to fill the hole.
A financial avalanche built one lie at a time.
Reid asked, “When was Westridge supposed to be paid?”
“Yesterday.”
Christmas Eve.
Suddenly everything made sense.
Harrison needed money before Christmas.
The trust attempt failed.
The accounts froze.
I appeared on television.
His family discovered the lies.
The investors began asking questions.
And his private lenders wanted payment.
Christmas hadn’t ruined his plan.
It had exposed that the plan was already collapsing.
Reid’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed almost immediately.
“Where?”
He listened.
“Is she there?”
Pause.
“Secure the location.”
Another pause.
“We’re coming.”
He ended the call.
“What happened?” I asked.
“They found Bethany Mercer Cole.”
Daniel stood so quickly his chair scraped the floor.
“Where?”
Reid ignored him.
“Mrs. Bennett, I need you and the family to remain here with officers.”
“No.”
“It isn’t optional advice.”
“Is Bethany hurt?”
“No.”
“Then why are you going?”
“Because she was found at a motel south of Tacoma.”
My heart pounded.
“Was Harrison there?”
Reid looked at Daniel.
Then at me.
“His belongings were.”
Maya stood.
“Where is my dad?”
“We don’t know.”
“What belongings?”
“Clothing. Phone chargers. Documents.”
“And Bethany?”
“She was alone when officers entered.”
Daniel’s face collapsed.
“What did she say?”
Reid looked at him.
“She asked for an attorney.”
Daniel grabbed his briefcase.
“I’m going.”
“No, you’re not.”
“She’s my wife.”
“And you are currently part of the same investigation.”
Daniel stared at him.
Then Reid turned toward me.
“There was something else in the room.”
“What?”
“A suitcase.”
“Whose?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“What was inside?”
Reid hesitated.
“Cash.”
“How much?”
“Approximately $430,000.”
Connor whispered, “Jesus.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes.”
“Passports.”
“How many?”
“Three.”
My pulse jumped.
“Harrison’s?”
“One appears to be his.”
“Bethany’s?”
“Yes.”
“And the third?”
Reid looked directly at me.
“Yours.”
I stopped breathing.
“My passport is upstairs.”
“No, Mrs. Bennett.”
He spoke carefully.
“The passport in the motel has your photograph.”
Every hair on my arms lifted.
“That’s impossible.”
“But a different name.”
“What name?”
He looked down at his notes.
“Claire Morrison.”
Silence.
Someone had created a fake passport using my face.
Connor whispered, “Why?”
I didn’t know.
Then Valerie said the thing nobody wanted to consider.
“Because someone intended to make it look like Clara left the country.”
My knees nearly gave out.
Reid’s expression told me she might be right.
Then his phone rang again.
This time he answered immediately.
He listened.
His eyes moved toward me.
“What?”
Nobody spoke.
Reid said:
“Repeat that.”
A long silence followed.
Then he hung up.
“What happened?” I asked.
He didn’t answer immediately.
“Detective.”
He looked at Maya and Connor.
Then at me.
“We found Harrison.”
Maya rushed forward.
“Where?”
“At a private airfield outside Tacoma.”
My stomach dropped.
“Was he trying to leave?”
“Yes.”
“Where was he going?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
Maya almost collapsed with relief.
Connor caught her.
Then Reid continued.
“But there’s a problem.”
Of course there was.
“What?”
“Harrison wasn’t alone.”
I looked at Daniel.
His face turned white.
“Who was with him?”
Reid paused.
“A man named Eric Landon.”
Connor whispered, “His friend from Portland.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
Reid looked directly at me.
“They were loading two large cases onto a charter plane.”
“Money?”
“We believe so.”
“How much?”
“We haven’t counted it.”
Then Reid said:
“We also recovered a folder from Harrison.”
My heartbeat accelerated.
“What folder?”
“Documents concerning you.”
“What kind?”
“Insurance.”
The room became completely silent.
I stared at him.
“Homeowners insurance?”
“No.”
He held my gaze.
“Life insurance.”
My mouth went dry.
“How much?”
Reid hesitated.
“Twelve million dollars.”
Maya gasped.
Connor stared at his father’s empty chair as if Harrison might somehow be sitting there.
“That’s impossible,” I whispered.
“I don’t have a twelve-million-dollar policy.”
Reid looked at Daniel.
Daniel closed his eyes.
And that was when I knew.
“It’s fake.”
Daniel whispered:
“No.”
I stared at him.
“What do you mean, no?”
“The policy is real.”
My legs nearly gave out.
“I never applied for it.”
“Harrison did.”
“He cannot take out twelve million dollars of life insurance on me without my knowledge.”
Daniel’s face was gray.
“He had help.”
“From who?”
He didn’t answer.
I stepped closer.
“From who?”
Finally Daniel whispered:
“My wife.”
Everything inside me turned cold.
Bethany had impersonated me at the bank.
She had my documents.
My signature.
My identification.
My face was now on a fake passport.
And apparently she had helped Harrison insure my life.
Reid asked:
“Who was listed as beneficiary?”
Daniel looked at Connor.
Then Maya.
Then me.
And whispered:
“Harrison.”
My pulse disappeared.
“But my trust goes to the children.”
“Yes.”
“So he couldn’t get the house.”
“No.”
“But he could get twelve million dollars.”
Daniel didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
Suddenly Harrison’s words from Christmas Eve returned to me.
It’ll just be easier if you aren’t around.
At the time, he had meant dinner.
At least I thought he had.
Now I wasn’t sure.
Detective Reid’s phone buzzed again.
He looked at the screen.
Then his expression changed.
“What?”
He didn’t answer.
“Detective, what is it?”
“They searched Harrison.”
“And?”
“He had a second phone.”
I waited.
“There are messages on it.”
“To who?”
“We’re still identifying numbers.”
“What do they say?”
Reid looked at me for several long seconds.
Then he read one aloud.
“Christmas night is the window. She’ll be away from the house.”
My blood froze.
Maya began sobbing.
Connor’s face twisted with rage.
Reid continued.
“There’s another.”
I almost didn’t want to hear it.
But I had to.
“What does it say?”
He read:
“Once it happens, everyone already thinks she walked out.”
I gripped the edge of the table.
“What happens?”
Reid looked at me.
“The reply says only one thing.”
“What?”
His voice was quiet.
MAKE SURE THEY NEVER FIND HER.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
And for the first time since Harrison told me to leave my own house on Christmas Eve, I understood the terrifying truth.
He hadn’t simply wanted Christmas without me.
He may have been planning a future without me.
Permanently.
Then Detective Reid’s phone rang one final time.
He answered.
Listened.
And slowly looked toward Daniel Mercer.
“Mr. Mercer.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“What?”
Reid stepped toward him.
“We just recovered deleted messages from Harrison’s second phone.”
Daniel backed away.
“What messages?”
The detective reached for his handcuffs.
“The ones between Harrison and you.”
Daniel’s mouth opened.
“No.”
Reid continued.
“And one of those messages says you were supposed to handle Clara personally.”
Daniel stared at me.
His face drained completely white.
I stepped backward.
“What does that mean?”
Reid looked at Daniel.
Then at me.
And said:
“That is exactly what we’re about to find out……………..
TO BE CONTINUED IN LATS PART…
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