Nobody moved after the call ended. My mother stood beside the filing cabinet with the phone still pressed to her ear, although the connection had already gone dead. Valeria was staring at the floor. I could hear Margaret breathing behind me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he mean?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Valeria didn't answer.<\/p>\n
I looked directly at her. \u201cWho is Chloe?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes lifted slowly. For the first time since we had found her alive, she looked less frightened than defeated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew her.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother made a small sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you didn't know her,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I didn't know what happened to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valeria rubbed her palms against her jeans. \u201cChloe worked at one of Dad's properties. She was there before I disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe cleaned the house. Sometimes she looked after things when Dad wasn't there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas she his employee?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOfficially, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd unofficially?\u201d<\/p>\n
Valeria looked toward the locked door.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew too much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret stepped closer. \u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
Valeria hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had seen documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat documents?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same kind I found. Property transfers. Payments. Companies that existed only on paper.\u201d<\/p>\n
My father had spent years telling us that every strange transaction had a reasonable explanation. I suddenly remembered how quickly he used to change the subject whenever Valeria asked questions about the family businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to Chloe?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wanted to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valeria's voice became quieter.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me she had found evidence that someone was moving money through properties connected to my grandfather. She was scared. She said she'd copied some records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she show you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA few.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you still have them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Dad found out.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother sat down hard in one of the chairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do to her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Valeria shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must know something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know she disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral months before I was taken.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret exchanged a look with me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did your father tell you nothing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me she had stolen from him and run away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valeria looked toward my mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cLater I realized that was the story he used whenever someone vanished.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words settled heavily in the room.<\/p>\n
I thought about the funeral.<\/p>\n
The flowers.<\/p>\n
The photographs.<\/p>\n
My mother's seven years of prayer.<\/p>\n
And suddenly the question that had haunted me since the television broadcast became much larger.<\/p>\n
If Chloe had disappeared before Valeria, why had her body later been used to prove Valeria was dead?<\/p>\n
Valeria seemed to understand what I was thinking.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause somebody needed a body.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret looked at her sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you saying Chloe was deliberately killed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know who killed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you believe she was killed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother covered her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you tell us this before?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I didn't know if you were involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother lowered her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cInvolved in what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Valeria's eyes filled with tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad told me you knew about the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat house?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one where they kept me.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe you now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words seemed to hurt my mother more than an accusation would have.<\/p>\n
Margaret moved to the window and looked through the blinds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Daniel Mercer is still inside the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the hallway.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think he followed us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he was already following someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret didn't answer.<\/p>\n
We slipped through the rear service door and reached the parking garage. Rain had begun falling again, turning the concrete ramps slick and reflecting the fluorescent lights.<\/p>\n
Valeria walked beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're still not telling me everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I don't know who to trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She gave me a sad smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's what I used to think about Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
We reached Margaret's car.<\/p>\n
Before she unlocked it, Valeria stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Across the street, a dark sedan sat with its headlights off.<\/p>\n
My mother whispered, \u201cIs that the same car?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret nodded.<\/p>\n
Nobody approached it.<\/p>\n
After several seconds, the sedan started and disappeared around the corner.<\/p>\n
Margaret unlocked the car.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need somewhere private.\u201d<\/p>\n
She drove us to an old house owned by a former colleague. It stood beyond a line of trees, far from the main road. The electricity worked, but the place had been empty for months.<\/p>\n
Inside, Margaret drew the curtains.<\/p>\n
Valeria placed the USB drive on the kitchen table.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are files here I couldn't open.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret connected it to an old laptop.<\/p>\n
Three folders appeared.<\/p>\n
FINANCIAL.<\/p>\n
PROPERTY.<\/p>\n
ARCHIVE.<\/p>\n
The first two opened normally.<\/p>\n
The third requested a password.<\/p>\n
\u201cTry Valeria,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
She did.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy birthday?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father's?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
My mother stared at the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cTry Chloe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valeria looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou remember her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why Chloe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret typed the name.<\/p>\n
The folder opened.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
Photographs filled the screen.<\/p>\n
The first showed Chloe standing outside a large house.<\/p>\n
The second showed her holding a young boy.<\/p>\n
The third showed my father beside the same child.<\/p>\n
My mother leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that boy.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face had drained of color.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause his face was in your grandfather's old photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valeria whispered, \u201cWho is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother answered without looking away.<\/p>\n
\u201cElias.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cElias who?\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour grandfather's family had a man named Elias.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valeria stared at the photograph.<\/p>\n
Then another file appeared.<\/p>\n
A scanned document.<\/p>\n
The child's name had been erased.<\/p>\n
Underneath the blacked-out section, someone had written one word by hand.<\/p>\n
ELLIS.<\/p>\n
Valeria stepped backward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the name I used.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause someone told me to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
She didn't answer.<\/p>\n
The laptop screen flickered.<\/p>\n
A new file appeared without anyone touching the keyboard.<\/p>\n
Today's date.<\/p>\n
Margaret opened it.<\/p>\n
There was only one sentence.<\/p>\n
You are looking in the wrong generation.<\/p>\n
The screen went black.<\/p>\n
My mother whispered, \u201cSomeone knows we're here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valeria stared at the dark screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey've known for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody moved after the call ended. My mother stood beside the filing cabinet with the phone still pressed to her ear, although the connection had already gone dead. Valeria was … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14825"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14851,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14825\/revisions\/14851"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}