Chapter 9 - The ChaseI don't remember grabbing my keys.
I don't remember running outside.
I only remember one thing.
My son was inside that SUV.
I got into my truck and followed.
Amy called the police.
Evelyn stayed behind.
Mason came with me.
“You know where she's going?”
Mason nodded.
“There's an old family property.”
“Where?”
“Twenty miles outside the city.”
I pressed the accelerator.
“Then that's where we're going.”
The police were behind us.
But the SUV was fast.
Rain began falling.
The road became slippery.
I kept thinking about Frederick.
His tiny hands.
His laugh.
The way he reached for me.
Teresa had no right to him.
None.
Mason pointed ahead.
“There!”
The SUV turned onto a dirt road.
We followed.
The vehicle finally stopped near an abandoned farmhouse.
Teresa jumped out.
She was holding Frederick.
I slammed my truck to a stop.
“Put my son down!”
Teresa turned.
“He's safe.”
“You kidnapped him.”
“I am his grandmother.”
“You broke into my house.”
“He belongs to this family.”
I stepped forward.
“He belongs with his parents.”
She laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
She looked at Frederick.
“He is the only reason your entire inheritance can be controlled.”
The police arrived.
Teresa tried to run.
An officer stopped her.
Frederick was returned to Amy.
She held him tightly.
I hugged both of them.
Then Teresa shouted:
“You think you've won?”
I turned.
She smiled.
“Ask your father why the trust was created.”
I froze.
“What?”
She laughed.
“Your father knew.”
Back at the house, I confronted my father.
He had been dead for years.
But his records were still there.
And Teresa had left me one final clue.
A hidden box.
Inside was a letter from my father.
I opened it.
Connor, if Teresa ever tries to take Frederick, you must know the truth.
My hands trembled.
I knew she was manipulating the family.
But I didn't know how far she would go.
Then:
Your mother wasn't killed by Teresa.
I stopped.
The next sentence destroyed everything.
Your mother was killed by the person you have trusted most since childhood.
I looked at Amy.
Then at Richard.
May you like
Then at Eleanor.
Who was it?
