Chapter 10: The Call That Changed Everything
“Ethan?””
I pressed the phone against my ear.
“Ethan, answer me!””
Nothing.
I called the number again.
Disconnected.
I called a second time.
Still nothing.
Then I grabbed my car keys and called the police.
Within twenty minutes, two officers were sitting across from me in my living room. I showed them the adoption documents, the photograph of Ethan, and the message from the unknown number.
Officer Grant studied the papers.
“You're saying this boy believes your wife was murdered?””
“I'm saying he knows something about her death that nobody has told me.””
“Do you have evidence that her death was suspicious?””
I opened the drawer beneath the television and removed an old folder.
Laura's accident report.
She had died nine years earlier in a single-car collision on a country road outside Richmond.
The official explanation was that she had lost control of the vehicle during heavy rain.
But there was something I had never questioned.
The accident happened at 11:48 p.m.
I had received the hospital's call at 12:16 a.m.
Vanessa had been the person who identified Laura's body.
I had been too devastated to ask why.
Officer Grant examined the report.
“Was anyone else in the vehicle?””
“No.””
“Did the police investigate foul play?””
“Not that I know of.””
He turned the final page.
“There's a note here about a missing personal item.””
“What item?””
“A small leather handbag. It wasn't recovered from the vehicle.””
I remembered that handbag.
Laura had carried it everywhere.
It contained her driver's license, her wallet, and a small photograph of the three babies.
I had never seen it again.
Officer Grant looked up.
“Do you know who had access to your wife's belongings after the accident?””
I stared at him.
“Vanessa.””
He nodded.
“Then we need to speak with her.””
I checked my phone.
There was a new message.
It came from Ethan.
*Don't go to the police station. Go to the old house on Briar Lane. The attic. You'll find what she left behind.*
I showed Officer Grant.
He immediately stood.
“Where is this address?””
I recognized it.
It was the house Vanessa had lived in before marrying me.
The same address listed on Ethan's adoption papers.
Officer Grant made a call and requested another unit.
“We're not going there alone,” he said.
Before we left, I checked on Maya.
She was sitting on the sofa with Mrs. Patterson, coloring a picture.
When she saw me, she put down her pencils.
“Daddy, are you going somewhere?””
I knelt beside her.
“Yes, sweetheart. I need to find Ethan.””
Her eyes widened.
“Is he really my brother?””
“I believe he is.””
She thought about that.
“Will he like me?””
I smiled sadly.
“I think he'll be very happy to meet you.””
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small drawing.
It showed three children holding hands beneath a yellow sun.
“Can you give him this?””
I took the picture.
“I promise.””
At 10:42 a.m., we arrived at Briar Lane.
The house was smaller than I remembered from the few times Vanessa had mentioned it. The front garden was overgrown, and several windows were covered with plywood.
Officer Grant checked the property records.
“It belongs to a holding company connected to Daniel Mercer.””
I looked at the house.
“Of course it does.””
The front door was unlocked.
Inside, the air smelled of damp carpet and old cigarette smoke.
We searched the ground floor first.
Nothing.
Then Officer Grant noticed a narrow staircase leading to the attic.
He stopped me.
“Stay behind me.””
We climbed slowly.
The attic door was secured with a small padlock.
An officer cut it open.
Inside were boxes, old furniture, and several plastic storage containers.
I found the blue box from Laura's belongings in my mind.
Then I noticed something hanging from a nail.
A small silver necklace.
Laura's necklace.
The one she had worn on our wedding day.
I reached for it.
Beneath it was a photograph.
Laura was standing outside the house, holding a baby wrapped in a blue blanket.
On the back, she had written:
*Ethan, six months old. I will find a way to bring you home.*
I felt my eyes burn.
Officer Grant opened a metal cabinet.
Inside were medical documents, photographs, and several envelopes.
One envelope was marked:
*FOR MICHAEL — IF I NEVER GET THE CHANCE.*
I opened it.
The first sentence made my hands shake.
Michael, if Vanessa gives you this letter, it means she has finally decided to tell the truth. If Daniel gives it to you, don't believe anything he says.
I continued reading.
Our son is alive. I have proof. Daniel arranged for him to be placed with a family who believed they were adopting an orphan. He told them his mother had died and his father had abandoned him.
My throat tightened.
I found the family. I spoke to them. They love Ethan. They don't know the truth about his birth.
I stopped.
There was another name.
*Margaret and Robert Hayes.*
A couple living in Richmond.
I read the next paragraph.
I wanted to bring Ethan home, but Daniel threatened to expose everything. He said he would tell Michael about my relationship with him before the marriage. He said he would destroy our family.
I turned the page.
The handwriting became uneven.
Vanessa helped Daniel arrange the transfer. She also helped him convince me that Ethan would be safer elsewhere. I believed her. I was wrong.
I swallowed hard.
Then I reached the final paragraph.
If anything happens to me, please find the Hayes family. They have Ethan. They are not responsible for what Daniel did. Please don't punish them for loving our son.
At the bottom was a sentence underlined twice.
*And Michael, there is something you must know about the night of the accident. Vanessa was in the car with me.*
I looked up.
Officer Grant was staring at the page.
“Was your wife alone in the accident?””
“That's what the report says.””
He took the letter.
“Then we have a serious problem.””
A phone rang somewhere inside the attic.
We all froze.
It wasn't my phone.
It was coming from one of the storage containers.
Officer Grant opened it.
Inside was an old mobile phone.
Its screen lit up.
The caller ID read:
*VANESSA.*
He answered.
“Hello?””
For several seconds, there was silence.
Then Vanessa's voice came through.
“Michael?””
Officer Grant looked at me.
I took the phone.
“Where are you?””
Her voice trembled.
“Listen carefully. Daniel knows you've found the attic.””
“I know.””
“He's going to destroy everything.””
“Where is Ethan?””
A long pause.
Then she whispered:
“Michael, I was with Laura the night she died.””
“I know.””
“No. You don't understand. I wasn't just in the car.””
My stomach tightened.
“What are you saying?””
She began crying.
“I was driving.””
The line went dead.
Officer Grant immediately called for backup.
I looked down at Laura's letter.
There was one final sentence I hadn't noticed before.
It was written along the bottom edge of the page.
*If Vanessa ever admits she was driving, ask her who was sitting in the back seat.*
I stared at the words.
Then I looked at Officer Grant.
“Laura wasn't alone.””
He shook his head.
“Apparently not.””
I turned toward the attic door.
Because if Vanessa had been driving, and Laura had been in the passenger seat, then someone else had been in the back.
May you like
Someone whose existence had been hidden for nine years.
And that person might be the only witness to what really happened.
