Daniel called Rebecca before the doorbell recording had finished.
She did not answer.
He called again.
Voicemail.
A third time.
Nothing.
Lena enlarged the image on her phone. Rebecca's face was clear enough to identify, though her eyes were turned toward the porch floor. The white envelope in her hand looked thick. The lighter was visible between her fingers.
"She hasn't burned it yet," Mara said.
Daniel looked at her.
"How do you know?"
"The video is timestamped sixteen minutes ago. If she wanted to destroy it immediately, she could have done it there."
Robert shook his head.
"You don't know Rebecca."
Daniel turned.
"Apparently neither do you."
Mara looked at Lena.
"Scroll forward."
Lena did.
Rebecca stood on the porch for nearly two minutes. Then she placed the lighter in her pocket, tucked the envelope beneath her arm, and walked away.
Daniel exhaled.
"Where?"
Lena checked the next camera clip.
"Sidewalk. Then nothing."
Robert reached for his phone.
"I'll call her."
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"Maybe she'll answer the father who lied to her less."
Robert ignored him.
His call went unanswered.
Mara looked toward the baby, then toward the clock. She had been awake only a few hours, but it felt like several days had passed.
"Call security."
Daniel frowned.
"Why?"
"Rebecca was in this hospital this morning."
Robert looked alarmed.
"You think she's still here?"
"I think she came here for a reason."
Lena called the nurses' station while Daniel paced.
Mara watched him.
"Sit down."
"I can't."
"You haven't eaten."
"I don't care."
"You will when you fall over."
Daniel stopped.
For a moment he looked like the husband Mara had known before the name, before Evelyn, before the box.
"I don't know what to do with any of this."
Mara's anger softened but did not disappear.
"Start with not making decisions alone."
He nodded.
Then his phone rang.
Rebecca.
Daniel answered immediately and placed it on speaker.
"Where are you?"
Rebecca's voice was calm.
"Hospital cafeteria."
Robert stood.
Daniel stared toward the door.
"Why?"
"Because I knew you'd bring the box there."
"Do you have the envelope?"
"Yes."
"Bring it upstairs."
"No."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Rebecca."
"Come down."
"Mara can't."
"I know."
The way she said it unsettled Mara.
"You know?" Mara asked.
Rebecca went quiet.
Then: "Hi, Mara."
"Why were you at the hospital this morning?"
A pause.
"Come downstairs, Daniel."
Mara looked at him.
"No."
Daniel nodded.
"Mara says no."
Rebecca sighed.
"Of course she does."
Mara's irritation sharpened.
"Whatever game you're playing, stop."
"It's not a game."
"Then bring the envelope here."
Rebecca remained silent long enough that everyone in the room seemed to lean toward the phone.
Finally she said, "Fine."
The line disconnected.
Twelve minutes later, Rebecca appeared.
She looked very little like the person Daniel had described from childhood stories. Mara had always known her as composed, sharp, professionally immaculate. Tonight her hair was pulled into a loose knot, her face bare of makeup, and exhaustion hollowed the skin beneath her eyes.
She carried the envelope.
Daniel looked at it.
"Give it to me."
Rebecca closed the door.
"No."
Daniel laughed.
"You came all the way up here to say no?"
"I came to stop Dad from telling another version first."
Robert stepped forward.
"Rebecca."
She looked at him.
"Sit down."
Something in her voice made him obey.
Daniel stared.
"What is happening?"
Rebecca looked toward the baby.
"Is that Elliot?"
Mara's expression hardened.
"No."
Rebecca nodded slowly.
"Good."
Daniel moved between them.
"Explain."
Rebecca looked at her brother.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For letting you believe the box came directly from Thomas."
"You mailed it."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because he asked me to."
"Why wait until Mara was pregnant?"
"Those were his instructions."
"Why?"
"Because he believed you'd only confront the family once you had something of your own to protect."
Daniel glanced at Mara.
"He manipulated me."
Rebecca nodded.
"Yes."
"You helped."
"Yes."
Daniel looked at the envelope.
"What's inside?"
"His final statement."
"About the brake line?"
"Among other things."
"Then give it to me."
Rebecca held it tighter.
"Not until I tell you what happened that night."
Robert rose.
"No."
Rebecca turned.
"You've had seventeen years."
"You're remembering trauma through the mind of a child."
"I was twelve, not two."
"Rebecca—"
"I was in the car."
Robert became still.
Daniel stared at his sister.
"So Thomas was right."
"About that."
"How?"
Rebecca looked toward the floor.
"Elliot came upstairs while everyone was fighting."
Daniel frowned.
"I don't remember that."
"You were in your room."
"What did he want?"
"His backpack."
"Why was it upstairs?"
"He'd hidden copies of the documents there earlier."
Robert whispered, "What?"
Rebecca looked at him.
"You thought the folder was everything."
Robert stared.
"There were more copies?"
"Yes."
Daniel asked, "Why did Elliot trust you?"
Rebecca's expression softened with grief.
"He was my favorite cousin."
Daniel blinked.
"You knew him?"
"Very well."
"No one ever told me."
"After he died, Mom removed everything connected to him."
Daniel looked injured by that more than surprised.
Rebecca continued.
"Elliot used to take me for ice cream. He helped me with math. He taught me how to ride a bike after Dad got frustrated and gave up."
Robert looked down.
"The night he died, he came upstairs and told me he was leaving."
"Leaving town?" Mara asked.
Rebecca nodded.
"He said he would go to police first, then stay with a friend."
"Why did you get in the car?"
Rebecca smiled faintly.
"Because I was twelve."
No one spoke.
"I thought it was an adventure. I thought he was running away and I could make him come back if I went too."
Daniel whispered, "So you hid."
"In the back."
"Did Elliot know?"
"Not until we were moving."
"What did he do?"
"He yelled at me."
Rebecca's voice trembled for the first time.
"He said words I'd never heard him use before. He tried to turn around, but Thomas's truck appeared behind us."
Robert leaned forward.
"You saw Thomas?"
"Yes."
"And me?"
"Later."
Daniel asked, "What happened to the brakes?"
Rebecca closed her eyes.
"Elliot noticed them before the bridge."
"What did he say?"
"He pumped the pedal and swore."
"Did he say someone cut them?"
"No. He said something was wrong."
"Then?"
"He tried the handbrake. The road was wet. We started sliding."
Mara felt her stomach tighten.
Rebecca's hands were shaking now.
"Elliot told me to get down."
Daniel stared.
"The car went through the guardrail?"
"Not immediately."
Robert looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
Rebecca looked at him.
"We stopped first."
Silence.
Robert stood.
"No."
Rebecca nodded.
"On the shoulder, maybe half a mile before the curve."
"How?"
"Elliot used the handbrake and gears."
"Then why did he keep driving?" Daniel asked.
"He didn't."
Rebecca looked directly at Robert.
"Someone made him."
Robert's face turned white.
"Who?"
"Thomas reached us first."
Robert whispered, "No."
"He pulled behind us. Elliot got out."
Mara listened.
"They argued."
"Could you hear?"
"Some."
"What did Thomas say?"
"Give me the copies."
"And Elliot?"
"He refused."
"Then?"
"Thomas opened the passenger door and searched the front."
"Did he see you?"
"No. I was on the floor behind the driver's seat."
Daniel asked, "Did Thomas damage the car?"
"I don't know."
"Did he force Elliot to drive?"
Rebecca hesitated.
"He told Elliot that if he didn't, he'd tell police Elliot caused the fires."
Robert shook his head.
"That makes no sense."
"To an eighteen-year-old who thought adults could make anything true, it did."
"What happened when I arrived?" Robert asked.
Rebecca looked at him.
"You stopped behind Thomas."
Robert's face tightened.
"You could see me?"
"Through the rear window."
"What did I do?"
"You and Thomas argued."
Robert closed his eyes.
"What else?"
"You hit him."
Daniel looked at his father.
Robert nodded.
"That part is true."
Rebecca continued.
"Thomas fell against the truck. Dad came to Elliot's door."
Robert stared.
"What did I say?"
Rebecca's mouth trembled.
"You told him to give you everything and go home."
Robert's eyes filled.
"I was trying to protect him."
Rebecca laughed once.
"Everyone keeps calling control protection."
Mara felt the sentence land in the room.
Rebecca continued.
"Elliot said he couldn't go home because Thomas would follow him."
"Then what?"
"Dad took the folder."
Robert nodded.
"Yes."
"But Elliot still had the backpack."
Robert stared.
Rebecca said, "You didn't know."
"No."
"Elliot told me to stay hidden."
Daniel asked, "Then why did the car move?"
Rebecca looked toward her brother.
"Because Mom arrived."
Robert stood.
"Patricia?"
Rebecca nodded.
Mara felt the entire story shift again.
"She followed from home?" Daniel asked.
"Yes."
Robert stared at Rebecca.
"I never saw her."
"She parked around the bend."
"How do you know?"
"I saw her headlights."
"What did she do?"
Rebecca looked down.
"She walked up to Elliot."
Daniel stepped closer.
"And?"
"She told him to leave."
"Why?"
"She said if he stayed, he'd destroy us."
Robert whispered, "God."
Rebecca wiped her eyes.
"Elliot said she should blame Dad, not him."
Daniel looked at Robert.
Rebecca continued.
"Mom said she blamed everyone."
"What happened next?"
"Elliot got back into the car."
"Why?"
"He wanted to get away from them."
"With broken brakes?"
"He thought he could drive slowly."
Mara whispered, "In a storm."
Rebecca nodded.
"He told me we'd stop at the next house and call police."
"But you crashed."
"Yes."
"What happened?"
Rebecca closed her eyes.
"Someone's vehicle came close behind us."
"Thomas?"
"I couldn't see."
"Your father?"
"I couldn't see."
"Patricia?"
"I don't know."
"The headlights filled the mirror. Elliot sped up."
Rebecca's breathing became uneven.
"Then the road curved."
Daniel's voice softened.
"You went over."
"Yes."
Mara waited.
"How did you survive?"
"The back seat crumpled less than the front. My arm broke. My head hit something."
"Why didn't the police find you?"
Rebecca looked at Robert.
"They never got the chance."
Robert stared.
"What?"
"Someone pulled me out."
"Who?"
Rebecca's voice dropped.
"Mom."
Robert stopped breathing.
Daniel looked between them.
"Patricia found you first?"
Rebecca nodded.
"Before Dad. Before Thomas."
"How?"
"She had followed us."
Robert stumbled back into the chair.
Rebecca's tears came harder.
"Mom dragged me up the embankment. She told me not to speak. She said if anyone knew I'd been there, I could be taken away."
Daniel whispered, "Where did she take you?"
"Her car."
"And Elliot?"
Rebecca covered her mouth.
"He was alive."
Robert stared at her.
"When I reached him—"
"Later."
Robert's face collapsed.
Rebecca looked at her father.
"You weren't the first person to hear Elliot's last words."
Daniel slowly turned toward her.
"Mom was."
Rebecca nodded.
"What did he say?"
She looked at the envelope in her hands.
Then she whispered, "He told her he knew who cut the brake line."
Click here to continue reading: PART 8: The Missing Envelope Named the Person Elliot Blamed, Yet Its Final Evidence Suggested His Last Words Had Been Misunderstood for Seventeen Years
I Woke After the Delivery to Discover My Husband Had Made One Permanent Decision While I Was Still Unconscious
Part 7 of 20
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