Michael read the message three times before handing my phone back.<\/p>\n
STOP LOOKING FOR THE GIRL WHILE YOU CAN.<\/p>\n
The kitchen clock showed 1:17 a.m. Outside, the street had gone quiet again. The dark sedan was gone, but its absence did nothing to ease the pressure gathering behind my ribs.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall the police,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Michael did not move.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why are you standing there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause we need to think about what we tell them.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone threatened me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is nothing to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael walked toward the desk and closed the folder containing Lily\u2019s birth record.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat message by itself is vague.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt mentions the girl.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe police will ask what girl.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we tell them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then they investigate.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression told me he did not believe that.<\/p>\n
I folded my arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already tried to involve the police once.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c2016.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey asked for evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a dead doctor\u2019s letter, inconsistent medical files, and a trust agreement that did not prove a crime.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the break-in?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo forced entry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone stole my father\u2019s documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t prove what was missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I moved toward the window again, though I resisted looking outside.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo your solution was silence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy solution was keeping Jake alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words stopped me.<\/p>\n
Michael\u2019s voice had not risen. If anything, he sounded tired.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t say that unless you mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He opened the lowest desk drawer and removed a flat black case.<\/p>\n
I had never seen it before.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason I stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n
He placed the case on the desk.<\/p>\n
Inside were photographs.<\/p>\n
Not the picture of Ethan and me.<\/p>\n
Different photographs.<\/p>\n
Jake walking across his college campus.<\/p>\n
Jake entering a grocery store.<\/p>\n
Jake sitting in the driver\u2019s seat of his first car.<\/p>\n
One picture had been taken through a windshield.<\/p>\n
Another from across a street.<\/p>\n
I picked up the oldest.<\/p>\n
On the back, someone had written a date.<\/p>\n
April 2009.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt arrived in the mail.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo note?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael handed me a small card.<\/p>\n
My hands went cold before I finished reading.<\/p>\n
Some questions cost more than answers are worth.<\/p>\n
There was no signature.<\/p>\n
I looked at Michael.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou received this and said nothing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was I supposed to tell you? That someone was photographing our son because I asked questions about a doctor who treated you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were barely functioning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was not your decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou keep saying that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I spent years realizing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I returned the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many times did they contact you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDirectly? Three.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first was after I contacted Dr. Harris.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was alive then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor several years after your hospitalization.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou spoke to him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me I was putting you in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy asking what happened to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you accepted that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I accused him of participating.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I didn\u2019t understand what he had prevented.\u201d<\/p>\n
The wording bothered me.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrevented.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the word he used.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPrevented what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wouldn\u2019t say.\u201d<\/p>\n
I reached for another photograph.<\/p>\n
Jake walking beside two students.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Harris threatening you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who was?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never found out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI suspected him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he had approached me under a false name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you find him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
Michael opened the black case again and removed a photograph that had been placed beneath the others.<\/p>\n
The man in it was older than the Ethan I remembered.<\/p>\n
His hair was shorter. His face had become leaner, harder.<\/p>\n
But I recognized him.<\/p>\n
My breath left me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere was this taken?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBoston. Seven years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA private investigator did.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Michael.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hired someone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis name was Leonard Price.\u201d<\/p>\n
Was.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael\u2019s face became still.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCar accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo weeks after he sent that photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laid the picture down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas it an accident?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe police said it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t believe them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what I believe anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Ethan\u2019s older face.<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
The man I had trusted.<\/p>\n
The man who had listened to me describe my marriage.<\/p>\n
The man who had convinced me our connection had happened naturally.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Price learn?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot much. Daniel had changed names more than once. He worked for several organizations connected to estate management and medical research.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMedical research?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t establish that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas he married?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo record Price could find.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNone listed.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward Lily\u2019s birth certificate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what is Lily to him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another answer without an answer.<\/p>\n
But this time, I believed Michael truly did not know.<\/p>\n
My phone remained on the desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall the police,\u201d I said again.<\/p>\n
Michael nodded.<\/p>\n
This time he did not argue.<\/p>\n
The officer arrived twenty-eight minutes later.<\/p>\n
His name was Officer Ramirez.<\/p>\n
He listened while I described the sedan and showed him the message.<\/p>\n
I did not tell him everything.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
I told him there was a young woman connected to old family financial documents and that I had recently begun asking questions about her.<\/p>\n
Ramirez read the text.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny reason someone would want you to stop?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat reason?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Michael.<\/p>\n
Then I said, \u201cPossibly money.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer changed the officer\u2019s posture.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of money?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAn inheritance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael shifted behind me.<\/p>\n
Ramirez noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou two disagree?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said. \u201cWe\u2019re still learning what we\u2019re dealing with.\u201d<\/p>\n
He asked for copies of the message, Daniel\u2019s photograph, and any information about the vehicle.<\/p>\n
Neither Michael nor I had seen the plate.<\/p>\n
Ramirez said he would request patrol passes for the neighborhood and advised us not to contact the sender.<\/p>\n
Before he left, he said something that stayed with me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you believe a young person may be in danger, don\u2019t wait until you have the whole story.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the front door closed, I turned to Michael.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe find Lily tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still think you can tell me no?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou heard Ramirez. We don\u2019t know what danger she\u2019s in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is precisely why we find her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd bring whoever is watching you straight to her?\u201d<\/p>\n
The argument stopped forming in my mouth.<\/p>\n
Michael continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to know where she is without approaching her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already know where she is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe left school.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJake would know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael\u2019s expression tightened.<\/p>\n
I picked up my phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo more secrets involving our son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSusan.\u201d<\/p>\n
I dialed.<\/p>\n
Jake answered on the fourth ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice was thick with sleep.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you all right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s after one in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to ask you something.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you remember Lily Harris?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Not confusion.<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
My grip on the phone tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cJake?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you last speak to her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you asking?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Michael.<\/p>\n
His eyes had closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I found something tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMedical records.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cJake, when did you last speak to Lily?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout six weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice became sharper.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re asking me for the truth?\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence hit harder than he could have intended.<\/p>\n
I deserved it.<\/p>\n
But I could not let it end the conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause someone threatened me tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
The line went completely still.<\/p>\n
Then Jake said, \u201cWhat did they say?\u201d<\/p>\n
I repeated the message.<\/p>\n
He swore quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cJake.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to call you back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not hang up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to check something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cJake, does Lily know me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another silence.<\/p>\n
My heartbeat quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes she know who I am?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael opened his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat down slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you were her mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a moment, the entire house seemed to disappear around me.<\/p>\n
Michael stepped forward.<\/p>\n
I held up a hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would she ask that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake\u2019s breathing came unevenly through the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she had a DNA test.\u201d<\/p>\n
My fingers tightened around the device.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t know at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe used one of those genealogy services. She was looking for relatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe matched with someone on our side.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow close?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClose enough that the site identified us as siblings.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could hear the refrigerator humming.<\/p>\n
Nothing else.<\/p>\n
\u201cJake,\u201d I said carefully, \u201care you telling me Lily\u2019s DNA says she is your sister?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael gripped the edge of the desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you kept that from us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked me to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must know something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said someone had been lying to her since she was a child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Harris?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes opened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe woman who raised her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarris\u2019s wife?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s her name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret Harris.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael swore under his breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere does she live?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJake.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m telling you the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did Lily disappear?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, she didn\u2019t disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen where is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe contacted me tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe an hour ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked if I still had the key.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat key?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJake.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI really don\u2019t. She mailed it to me months ago and told me never to use it unless she called.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt my apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it open?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heartbeat accelerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m already looking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something sounded behind him.<\/p>\n
A drawer.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
\u201cJake?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLock your door.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is locked.\u201d<\/p>\n
I heard him moving.<\/p>\n
Then he stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice had changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe box is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat box?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one with the key.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael took the phone from my hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cJake, listen to me carefully. Do not leave your apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCall the police. Right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it.\u201d<\/p>\n
A loud sound came through the phone.<\/p>\n
Three knocks.<\/p>\n
Jake went silent.<\/p>\n
Michael and I looked at each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cJake?\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
Another three knocks.<\/p>\n
Then a woman\u2019s voice came faintly through the speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cJake?\u201d<\/p>\n
He sucked in a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cLily?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael grabbed his keys.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t open the door.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Jake had already moved.<\/p>\n
We heard the lock turn.<\/p>\n
A second later, Lily\u2019s voice came through clearly.<\/p>\n
\u201cJake, we have to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they found Susan.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
Jake said, \u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily answered with four words that turned every secret in our house inside out.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Daniel called me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael read the message three times before handing my phone back. STOP LOOKING FOR THE GIRL WHILE YOU CAN. The kitchen clock showed 1:17 a.m. Outside, the street had gone … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feel-one-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9494"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9537,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9494\/revisions\/9537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}