Chapter 8 - THE MAN WHO HELPED ME SEARCH
For six years, Thomas Reed had stood beside me.
He had searched abandoned buildings.
He had followed leads across state lines.
He had sat at my kitchen table when I couldn't bear to face another empty Christmas.
And now my dead wife's voice was telling me he had been there when Lucas disappeared.
I stepped away from him.
“Tell me she's wrong.”
Thomas looked older than I'd ever seen him.
“Damian—”
“Tell me.”
He lowered his eyes.
“I was there.”
I felt something inside me break.
Adrian moved toward us.
I raised a hand.
“No.”
I stared at Thomas.
“You watched them take my son?”
“No.”
“Then explain.”
Thomas looked toward the elevator.
“Not here.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course. There's always another room. Another secret. Another reason I have to wait.”
He met my eyes.
“I was assigned to protect Rebecca.”
Silence.
“What?”
“Rebecca contacted a detective in my department about threats from Martin Voss. I was brought into the case.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because she specifically asked us not to.”
I stared at him.
“She was afraid Martin had people inside your company. She thought you might unknowingly expose her.”
“And you believed that?”
“Damian, Martin controlled your finances, your security, and access to your family. You trusted him completely.”
I wanted to argue.
I couldn't.
Thomas continued.
“On the morning of the crash, I was supposed to meet Rebecca and Adrian near the northern woods. I arrived late because someone sent me to the wrong location.”
“Who?”
“A dispatcher working with Martin.”
He swallowed.
“When I reached the road, the car was burning. Adrian was gone. Lucas was gone. I found a woman unconscious beside the wreck.”
My heart stopped.
“Rebecca?”
Thomas nodded.
“She was alive.”
I grabbed his jacket.
“You found her alive?”
“Yes.”
“Then where is she?”
Thomas didn't answer immediately.
And that was when I knew the truth would be worse than whatever I'd imagined.
He looked at me.
“I moved her before emergency crews arrived.”
“Why?”
“Because someone was still watching the road. I believed whoever caused the crash would try to finish the job.”
I released him.
“You hid her?”
“Yes.”
“For six years?”
Thomas nodded.
My knees felt weak.
“Where?”
“A protected residential facility under another name.”
I stared at him.
“You let me believe she was dead.”
“I let everyone believe Rebecca Hale had disappeared.”
“She's Lucas's mother!”
“And she was the only living witness who could identify the men who attacked them.”
I stepped closer.
“Do you understand what you've done?”
Thomas's voice hardened.
“Yes. Every day.”
He glanced toward the hotel windows.
“Rebecca suffered serious injuries. She had months of rehabilitation. By the time she could testify reliably, the internal investigation had been compromised.”
“Then you should have come to me.”
“Martin was still inside your house.”
I shook my head.
“You made the decision for everyone.”
“Yes.”
“And now Evelyn is dead.”
That silenced him.
Thomas looked down.
“I know.”
We moved upstairs.
Grace sat at the small dining table while Sophie colored beside her.
Lucas was reading on the couch.
The moment he saw Adrian, his body stiffened.
I noticed.
So did Adrian.
He stopped at the doorway.
“Hi, Luke.”
Lucas didn't answer.
Adrian nodded.
“That's okay.”
Then he stepped back into the hallway.
For the first time, I saw my brother accept that forgiveness wasn't something he could demand.
I sat beside Lucas.
“Can we talk?”
He closed his book.
“Did I do something?”
“No.”
“Then why does everybody look sad?”
I searched for an honest answer a child could understand.
“Because some grown-ups made bad choices a long time ago.”
He looked toward Grace.
“Are we in trouble?”
“No.”
“Is Mom?”
“No.”
He nodded slowly.
Then he asked:
“Are you going away?”
My throat tightened.
“No.”
“People say that.”
“I know.”
He looked down at his bracelet.
I took a breath.
“Then I'll show you.”
I stayed beside him until he picked up his book again.
Later that afternoon, Thomas arranged for us to meet Rebecca.
We didn't bring the children.
Not yet.
Lucas had already endured too many surprises.
The facility was a small residential community outside Rockford, surrounded by gardens and mature trees.
Rebecca lived in a modest apartment overlooking a courtyard.
When the door opened, I recognized her immediately.
Not from the old photograph.
From Lucas.
She had his eyes.
His dark eyebrows.
The same small crease beside her mouth when she was nervous.
She looked at me for a long time.
Then whispered:
“Damian.”
I couldn't speak.
Rebecca began to cry.
“Is he really alive?”
I nodded.
She covered her mouth.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then she asked the question I had been afraid to hear.
“Does he remember me?”
I swallowed.
“Some things.”
She closed her eyes.
“That's more than I hoped.”
We sat in her small living room.
There were plants on the windowsill and photographs of lakes and mountains on the walls.
On a shelf stood a framed picture of a newborn baby.
Lucas.
Rebecca noticed me looking.
“Evelyn gave me that.”
I turned.
“You knew her well?”
Rebecca nodded.
“At first, she was just the woman who wanted a child. Later, she became my friend.”
She looked down.
“I never wanted to take Lucas away.”
“I know.”
“Martin told me the arrangement was legal. He told me everyone understood.”
“He lied.”
“Yes.”
She folded her hands.
“When I learned he was using the clinic to move money, I tried to get out. Evelyn helped me.”
I leaned forward.
“What happened at the crash?”
Rebecca's face changed.
“Adrian was driving. Lucas was in the back. We were taking the records to someone we thought we could trust.”
“Thomas?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
My pulse quickened.
“Who?”
“Your wife.”
I stared.
“Evelyn?”
Rebecca nodded.
“She was supposed to meet us at the old ranger station. She had documents proving Martin had forged the trust records.”
“But she wasn't in the car.”
“No.”
Rebecca's hands trembled.
“We never reached her.”
She described a black SUV blocking the road.
A man standing beside it.
Round glasses.
A black onyx ring.
Martin Voss.
“He said we'd made everything harder than it needed to be,” Rebecca whispered.
Then she looked at me.
“And he told Adrian something.”
“What?”
“He said Evelyn had already agreed to cooperate.”
I felt sick.
“Did you believe him?”
“No.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“Evelyn would never have handed Lucas over.”
She reached into a drawer and produced a folded photograph.
It showed Evelyn standing beside a little boy in a hospital hallway.
Lucas.
The photograph had been taken months after his supposed disappearance.
I stared.
“That isn't possible.”
Rebecca's voice broke.
“Thomas found me after the crash. But Evelyn found Lucas later.”
I looked at Thomas.
He closed his eyes.
Rebecca continued.
“She knew Grace was protecting him. She visited secretly because Martin was watching her.”
My heart pounded.
“Evelyn knew where Lucas was?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Several months.”
I turned toward Thomas.
“You knew?”
He nodded.
“Evelyn begged me not to tell you until we could remove Martin from the company.”
I could barely breathe.
Rebecca reached for my hand.
“She wanted to bring Lucas home. She was gathering the final evidence.”
“And then she died.”
Rebecca nodded.
Tears filled her eyes.
“Evelyn believed Martin had made a mistake. She thought she could still persuade him to surrender.”
I looked at the photograph again.
My wife had held our son after I believed he was gone.
She had touched his face.
She had heard his voice.
And she'd gone home to me carrying a secret that must have nearly destroyed her.
Then Rebecca said something that made me look up.
“There's one thing nobody has told you.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
She hesitated.
“Martin wasn't acting for himself.”
I felt cold.
“Then who was he working for?”
Rebecca's answer was barely audible.
“The person who controlled the original Cross trust.”
“My father?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
She reached beneath the table and placed a faded photograph before me.
It showed my father standing beside a woman I hadn't seen since childhood.
A woman I had been told left our family after a bitter divorce.
My father's first wife.
Margaret Cross.
Adrian's mother.
And beneath the photograph lay a letter bearing her signature.
Rebecca looked at me.
“Martin didn't want Lucas dead because of the money, Damian.”
May you like
She swallowed.
“He wanted Lucas gone because Margaret Cross had already named another heir.”
