Carla stopped screaming only after the nurse threatened to remove the phone.<\/p>\n
Detective Harris waited until her breathing slowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarla, tell me exactly what Nicole believes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla\u2019s voice came through thin and ragged.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Travis is her father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer came instantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla hesitated.<\/p>\n
Amber looked at me.<\/p>\n
I already knew the answer would not be simple.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
Bentley stared at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber stood so fast her chair struck the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla began crying again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber crossed the kitchen as though distance from the phone might make the words untrue.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel Mercer is Nicole\u2019s father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The denial was not argument.<\/p>\n
It was injury.<\/p>\n
Bentley looked from his mother to Harris.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered him quickly enough.<\/p>\n
He understood anyway.<\/p>\n
Amber closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla whispered, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long before?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were nineteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber laughed once.<\/p>\n
Not from humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAmber\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla went quiet.<\/p>\n
Harris took over.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Nicole know Daniel was her biological father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy does she think Travis is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I told her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla\u2019s voice cracked.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Daniel died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat does not explain Travis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was again.<\/p>\n
The word that had become a trapdoor beneath almost every bad choice.<\/p>\n
Carla explained slowly.<\/p>\n
She had become pregnant at nineteen after a short relationship with Daniel.<\/p>\n
They were young.<\/p>\n
Daniel wanted involvement.<\/p>\n
Carla\u2019s parents did not.<\/p>\n
Then Daniel took work with Nolan Recovery and became close with Travis.<\/p>\n
At first Travis seemed generous.<\/p>\n
Helpful.<\/p>\n
Protective.<\/p>\n
When Daniel began pulling away from him, everything changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened between them?\u201d Harris asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel saw what Travis did to his mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber looked toward me.<\/p>\n
Elaine.<\/p>\n
The overdose.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Daniel know Travis caused it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you stayed around Travis?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou keep asking questions like people know they're inside the worst part of their lives while it's happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris did not respond.<\/p>\n
Carla continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel wanted to go to police. Frank talked him out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgain,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Nobody contradicted me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere was Nicole during all this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Daniel see her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Amber know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber looked sick.<\/p>\n
Carla added quickly, \u201cHe wasn't cheating on you.\u201d<\/p>\n
That seemed an absurd mercy after everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe and I were over years before you met him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber turned toward the window.<\/p>\n
Bentley asked quietly, \u201cDid Dad know Nicole was his?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen she was little.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Daniel died, I panicked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of Travis?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla said Travis came to her after the funeral.<\/p>\n
He knew Daniel had left copies of records.<\/p>\n
He believed Carla had them.<\/p>\n
She denied it.<\/p>\n
Then Travis threatened Nicole.<\/p>\n
Not directly.<\/p>\n
He simply drove past Nicole\u2019s preschool and told Carla what color coat the little girl wore.<\/p>\n
Amber covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Bentley went very still.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you told Nicole Travis was her dad?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Carla cried.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would that protect her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Travis liked the idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer was so disturbing nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe liked people thinking she belonged to him,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stopped threatening her when I told him she thought he was her father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you allowed contact?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot much.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBirthdays sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas he kind to her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla sobbed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was worse in its own way.<\/p>\n
Travis had apparently learned that control did not always require fear.<\/p>\n
Sometimes affection worked better.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave her money,\u201d Carla continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHelped with tuition. Bought her first car. She thinks he stayed away because he and I had a bad relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber spoke without turning around.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old is Nicole?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-two.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley did the math before I did.<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n
His half sister.<\/p>\n
He lowered himself into a chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes she know about me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout Daniel dying?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knows Daniel as someone Travis used to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley stared at his hands.<\/p>\n
The story of his father had expanded again.<\/p>\n
Daniel was no longer only a dead man hidden behind Amber\u2019s lie.<\/p>\n
He had another child.<\/p>\n
Another relationship.<\/p>\n
Another history.<\/p>\n
Amber sat beside him.<\/p>\n
She did not touch him.<\/p>\n
Not until he leaned slightly toward her.<\/p>\n
Then she put one hand over his.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Travis want with Nicole now?\u201d Keene asked.<\/p>\n
Carla\u2019s breathing steadied.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGuess.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows police have Daniel\u2019s recordings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may think Nicole can get something from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris\u2019s impatience sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have spent twenty-two years keeping insurance against Travis. You had Daniel\u2019s crash video. You hid evidence. What else do you have?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla became quiet.<\/p>\n
There.<\/p>\n
Something.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d Harris repeated.<\/p>\n
\u201cA letter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNicole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never opened it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt my house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris swore softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Travis know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Nicole?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone reacted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you tell her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I thought I might die.\u201d<\/p>\n
The diner.<\/p>\n
The shooting.<\/p>\n
Before meeting Amber, Carla had apparently called her daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her there was something from her real father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat the man she thought was her father wasn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley\u2019s eyes widened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told her Travis wasn't her dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then she left with him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla began crying again.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn't believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Twenty-two years against one frightened phone call.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe thinks I'm lying to protect myself,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe thinks police are blaming him because of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keene asked, \u201cDid you tell Nicole Daniel Mercer was her father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said Daniel was dead and Travis was the only father who ever showed up.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was the trap.<\/p>\n
Travis had built it slowly.<\/p>\n
Birthday by birthday.<\/p>\n
Favor by favor.<\/p>\n
He had manufactured loyalty strong enough to survive truth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is the letter?\u201d Harris asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cBedroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExact location.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInside the bottom drawer of my dresser. Under the liner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris dispatched officers immediately.<\/p>\n
Then he turned to Bentley.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy does everyone keep asking me that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause a lot just changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything keeps changing.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one had an answer.<\/p>\n
At the bus terminal, federal agents were already reviewing footage.<\/p>\n
Travis and Nicole had not boarded a bus.<\/p>\n
They purchased tickets to Chicago.<\/p>\n
Then exited through a side door before departure.<\/p>\n
Another misdirection.<\/p>\n
Camera footage showed Nicole walking beside Travis voluntarily.<\/p>\n
No visible restraint.<\/p>\n
No struggle.<\/p>\n
She carried a backpack.<\/p>\n
He carried nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat matters,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d Amber asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe planned for mobility.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMeaning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo luggage to slow him down.\u201d<\/p>\n
They traced the pair to a parking garage.<\/p>\n
There, Travis entered a silver sedan registered to a shell company.<\/p>\n
Nicole got into the passenger seat.<\/p>\n
They drove north.<\/p>\n
\u201cChicago?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody liked maybe.<\/p>\n
Police reached Carla\u2019s house at 5:40.<\/p>\n
The letter was gone.<\/p>\n
The drawer liner had been peeled back.<\/p>\n
No forced entry.<\/p>\n
A neighbor had seen Nicole there shortly before noon.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe took it,\u201d Carla whispered when Harris told her.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat would Daniel have written?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Travis may now have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla sounded as though she had aged ten years in one conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should've told her sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody contradicted that either.<\/p>\n
By evening, investigators had a better picture.<\/p>\n
Nicole had visited Carla\u2019s house after leaving the hospital.<\/p>\n
She retrieved Daniel\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n
Then she met Travis at the bus terminal.<\/p>\n
That meant Travis had not taken her.<\/p>\n
Not initially.<\/p>\n
She had chosen him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat could the letter contain?\u201d I asked Amber.<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel wrote things down when he was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ever write to Bentley?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe died before Bentley could read.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't what I asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are those letters?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have letters from Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you never gave them to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor when you were older.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m older than I was yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence landed hard.<\/p>\n
Amber looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are they?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStorage box at Grandma Renee\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley crossed his arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo everybody has letters except me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber stood carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have them. I just kept them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
His anger came cleanly now.<\/p>\n
Not panic.<\/p>\n
Not fear.<\/p>\n
Something healthier.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou keep saying you were protecting me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou kept deciding what I could know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's not protecting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
This time he believed her enough to stay in the room.<\/p>\n
Harris suggested retrieving Daniel\u2019s letters immediately.<\/p>\n
Not because they belonged to the investigation.<\/p>\n
Because Travis might know they existed.<\/p>\n
Amber\u2019s mother, Renee, lived twenty-five miles away.<\/p>\n
Police contacted her.<\/p>\n
She confirmed the storage box was still in her attic.<\/p>\n
Then she added something.<\/p>\n
\u201cA man called yesterday asking about Amber\u2019s old things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat man?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he was from an insurance office.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you give him anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell him about the box?\u201d<\/p>\n
Renee hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I didn't keep important documents there.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach sank.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat told him there were documents somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't think\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris dispatched officers to Renee\u2019s immediately.<\/p>\n
The attic box contained Daniel\u2019s three letters.<\/p>\n
Untouched.<\/p>\n
One for Amber.<\/p>\n
One for Bentley.<\/p>\n
One addressed simply:<\/p>\n
FOR MY CHILDREN.<\/p>\n
Plural.<\/p>\n
Amber stared at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew about Nicole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course he did.<\/p>\n
Daniel wrote the letter before his death.<\/p>\n
Police photographed the envelope.<\/p>\n
Then Amber allowed Bentley to open it.<\/p>\n
His hands shook.<\/p>\n
Inside were six pages.<\/p>\n
He read silently at first.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He handed me one page.<\/p>\n
A line had been underlined by Daniel himself.<\/p>\n
If Nicole ever comes looking for me, tell her I never abandoned her. Carla was afraid, and Travis used that fear.<\/p>\n
Below it:<\/p>\n
If Bentley grows up thinking I chose one child over another, then I've failed both of them.<\/p>\n
Bentley swallowed hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad knew I might think that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber touched his shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew fear makes people tell incomplete stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley kept reading.<\/p>\n
Daniel wrote about Nicole as a toddler.<\/p>\n
Her habit of sleeping with one sock off.<\/p>\n
Her hatred of peas.<\/p>\n
His regret that he could not be more present.<\/p>\n
Then he wrote about Bentley.<\/p>\n
Only two years old.<\/p>\n
He described how Bentley laughed whenever Daniel sneezed.<\/p>\n
How he carried a wooden spoon everywhere for three weeks.<\/p>\n
Bentley laughed through tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did?\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The final page contained something none of us expected.<\/p>\n
Daniel wrote directly to both children.<\/p>\n
If anything happens to me, don't inherit my war with Travis. Learn the truth. Tell it. Then live somewhere he doesn't get to define.<\/p>\n
Bentley read that line twice.<\/p>\n
Amber cried silently.<\/p>\n
I thought of Ray.<\/p>\n
Different man.<\/p>\n
Same mistake.<\/p>\n
Trying to protect family through secrecy.<\/p>\n
Daniel had eventually understood something Ray only partly reached.<\/p>\n
Evidence matters.<\/p>\n
Truth matters.<\/p>\n
But survival cannot become another form of captivity.<\/p>\n
At 8:17, Nicole\u2019s phone came online.<\/p>\n
One tower ping.<\/p>\n
Northern Indiana.<\/p>\n
Then off again.<\/p>\n
Agents narrowed the location to a twenty-mile radius.<\/p>\n
Within it sat three properties linked to Nolan Recovery.<\/p>\n
An impound lot.<\/p>\n
A closed body shop.<\/p>\n
And Frank Nolan\u2019s old lake cabin.<\/p>\n
Carla reacted immediately to the cabin.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Harris asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's where Travis took me after Elaine died.\u201d<\/p>\n
The place where she helped clean up.<\/p>\n
The beginning.<\/p>\n
Of course he would return there.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould Nicole know it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHas she been there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral times.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does she think it is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily cabin.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase turned my stomach.<\/p>\n
Police mobilized.<\/p>\n
Keene insisted none of us go.<\/p>\n
For once, nobody argued.<\/p>\n
Not even Bentley.<\/p>\n
We waited in the protected house.<\/p>\n
Minutes stretched.<\/p>\n
Maddie fell asleep against Amber.<\/p>\n
Doug made coffee.<\/p>\n
Nobody drank it.<\/p>\n
At 9:06, Harris texted.<\/p>\n
CABIN LOCATED. LIGHTS ON.<\/p>\n
At 9:14:<\/p>\n
NICOLE CONFIRMED INSIDE.<\/p>\n
At 9:19:<\/p>\n
NO VISUAL ON TRAVIS.<\/p>\n
Then nothing.<\/p>\n
At 9:31, a call came.<\/p>\n
Harris.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have Nicole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla was patched in from the hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere's Travis?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGone.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBoat.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cabin sat on a lake.<\/p>\n
Of course it did.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Nicole help him escape?\u201d Keene asked.<\/p>\n
Harris answered carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNicole believed police were coming to kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told her that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she still believe he was her father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil she read Daniel\u2019s letter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had it with her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked Travis why Daniel called her his daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took the letter from her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley sat forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris\u2019s voice softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Daniel was a liar.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Nicole do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked why Travis had lied for twenty-two years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe hit her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla made a broken sound.<\/p>\n
Nobody comforted her.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
Harris continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat appears to have ended the discussion about whether he was protecting her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nicole had run from the cabin.<\/p>\n
Police found her near the road.<\/p>\n
Travis took the boat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere can he go?\u201d Doug asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cAcross the lake. Several private docks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCars?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlenty.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man had escaped again.<\/p>\n
But this time he left Nicole behind.<\/p>\n
And Nicole had information.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe heard him make a call,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter Sloan.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cSloan is in the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe called someone using Sloan's name.\u201d<\/p>\n
A code, perhaps.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris read from Nicole\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrepare the southern route. One passenger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber gripped Maddie.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne passenger?\u201d<\/p>\n
Keene and Harris both looked at her.<\/p>\n
Travis no longer had Maddie.<\/p>\n
Nicole was gone.<\/p>\n
So who was the passenger?<\/p>\n
Then Harris added the rest.<\/p>\n
\u201cNicole says Travis told the person, \u2018I\u2019ll have the girl before dawn.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley stood.<\/p>\n
Amber went pale.<\/p>\n
Maddie slept against her.<\/p>\n
The threat had returned to where it began.<\/p>\n
Travis was coming for Maddie.<\/p>\n
And this time, he had abandoned every other plan.<\/p>\n
Carla stopped screaming only after the nurse threatened to remove the phone. Detective Harris waited until her breathing slowed. \u201cCarla, tell me exactly what Nicole believes.\u201d Carla\u2019s voice came through … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7659"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7679,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7659\/revisions\/7679"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}