Chapter 5 - The Correction PlanNaomi wanted to tear the notebook apart.
Detective Torres stopped her before she even reached for it.
“It’s evidence.”
“That has my daughter’s name on it.”
“I know.”
“What is a correction plan?”
“We haven’t fully reviewed it.”
Naomi looked through the plastic.
Several pages had colored tabs.
Dates.
Notes.
Observations.
Maisie wasn’t a child in that notebook.
She was a project.
A problem.
Something to manage.
Torres eventually allowed Naomi to see photographed pages while the original remained sealed.
The first entry was dated five months earlier.
Goal: Reduce attachment dependence on Naomi.
Naomi felt sick.
Another entry:
Problem behaviors: entering Naomi’s bedroom, crying for attention, interrupting adult conversations.
Then:
Method: deny reinforcement. Increase separation periods.
Rachel whispered, “He wrote about her like she was an experiment.”
Naomi couldn’t answer.
The next page was worse.
Week 2: Maisie responds to firm tone but still seeks maternal rescue. Naomi undermines consistency.
Naomi remembered that week.
Graham had encouraged her to attend yoga after work.
“You need time for yourself.”
He volunteered to babysit.
Maisie had screamed when Naomi left.
Naomi went anyway.
She had believed she was helping her daughter become more independent.
Tears blurred the page.
Another note:
Fear response improving compliance.
Naomi turned away.
“I’m going to be sick.”
Rachel wrapped an arm around her.
Torres closed the tablet.
“You don’t need to keep reading.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Naomi.”
“I need to know what happened in my home.”
Torres hesitated.
Then reopened the file.
Most entries described psychological control.
Timeouts.
Taking toys.
Ignoring crying.
Separating Maisie from Naomi.
Nothing graphic.
Nothing that looked dramatic when written alone.
But together, they formed something horrifying.
A deliberate effort to make a four-year-old afraid.
Then Naomi reached a page from two weeks earlier.
Wedding transition must be established before ceremony. Once married, Naomi must prioritize marriage over child attachment.
Rachel stared at the words.
“He wanted you to choose him over her.”
Naomi whispered, “He was preparing her.”
“For what?”
Naomi knew.
“To stop coming to me.”
That realization hurt more than anything else.
Graham hadn’t simply disliked Maisie.
He saw her bond with Naomi as competition.
Torres received another call.
She stepped outside.
When she returned, her expression was serious.
“We found something on one of the drives.”
Naomi stood.
“What?”
“Financial documents matching Claire’s description.”
“Eric’s?”
“Some appear to be.”
“And the crash?”
“Not yet.”
Naomi clenched her fists.
“Then keep looking.”
“We are.”
Torres paused.
“There’s something else.”
Of course there was.
“There’s correspondence between Graham and someone at Larkin Development.”
“Who?”
“His mother.”
Naomi almost laughed.
“Claire was right.”
“It appears Cynthia’s consulting company received substantial payments.”
“Fraud?”
“Potentially.”
“Does that give you enough to arrest them?”
“Financial crimes take time.”
Naomi hated those words.
Time.
Everything took time when all she wanted was Graham away from her daughter forever.
Then Torres said, “But the incident involving Maisie is separate.”
“What happens now?”
“We’ll interview him formally.”
“He’ll lie.”
“Probably.”
“And if he says it was accidental?”
“We document everything.”
Naomi stared through the window.
Across the street, police officers carried boxes from Graham’s house.
Then she saw something strange.
A black sedan slowed near the property.
It didn’t stop.
But the driver stared toward the house.
Claire suddenly stood.
“Oh God.”
“What?”
“That’s Cynthia.”
Naomi turned.
The sedan accelerated away.
Torres immediately called another officer.
But Cynthia was gone.
Naomi’s phone buzzed seconds later.
A message.
From Cynthia.
You have no idea what you’ve started.
Naomi showed Torres.
“Save it.”
Naomi replied before anyone could stop her.
Good.
Rachel looked at her.
“Really?”
Naomi put her phone away.
“I’m done being scared of these people.”
But fear returned that night.
At 2:13 a.m.
Naomi woke to Maisie screaming.
She rushed into the guest room.
Her daughter sat upright in bed, crying.
“He’s here!”
Naomi switched on the lamp.
“No, sweetheart. Graham isn’t here.”
“He was outside.”
Naomi’s heart stopped.
“What?”
“At the window.”
They were staying at Naomi’s mother’s house.
Second floor.
Naomi moved carefully toward the curtains.
Rachel entered carrying a baseball bat.
“What happened?”
“Maisie says someone was outside.”
Rachel looked toward the yard.
“I’ll call police.”
Naomi opened the curtain only enough to see.
Nothing.
Empty street.
Dark lawn.
Then headlights flashed at the far end of the block.
A vehicle pulled away.
Naomi grabbed her phone.
By morning, police had reviewed the neighbor’s security camera.
A black SUV had stopped outside Naomi’s mother’s house for eleven minutes.
The license plate was obscured.
Naomi immediately thought of Graham.
But Graham was at the police station being interviewed during part of that time.
Which meant either it wasn’t him—
or he wasn’t working alone.
Torres came to the house after sunrise.
“We need to talk about Cynthia.”
Naomi handed Maisie cereal while listening.
“What about her?”
“Her consulting company wasn’t just receiving money.”
Torres placed documents on the table.
“It was moving it.”
“Where?”
“Multiple accounts.”
Claire examined the pages.
“These aren’t all Graham’s.”
“No.”
Torres tapped a name.
Naomi read it.
MARCUS HALE.
“Who is that?”
Claire’s expression changed.
“I know.”
Everyone looked at her.
“He worked security at Larkin.”
“What kind of security?”
“Executive protection. Investigations. Whatever management needed.”
Naomi felt unease crawl across her skin.
“Was he there when Eric died?”
Claire thought.
“Yes.”
Naomi looked at Torres.
The detective was already checking her phone.
Thirty seconds later, she said, “Marcus Hale left Larkin three weeks after the crash.”
“Where is he now?”
Torres searched.
Then stopped.
“He owns a private security company.”
Naomi’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone went silent.
Torres nodded for her to answer.
Naomi put it on speaker.
“Hello?”
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Then a man’s voice said:
“You should have taken the canceled wedding and walked away.”
Naomi’s blood turned cold.
“Who is this?”
“You keep digging, your daughter loses more than a stepfather.”
Torres was already signaling another officer.
Naomi tightened her grip on the phone.
“Are you threatening my child?”
The man laughed softly.
“No.”
A pause.
“I’m warning you what Graham becomes when he has nothing left to lose.”
The call ended.
Torres immediately began tracing it.
Naomi stared at the phone.
Claire whispered, “Marcus.”
“You’re sure?”
“I heard him yell at Eric once.”
Naomi looked at Torres.
“What did he say?”
Claire’s face went pale.
“Eric told him he was going to the police.”
“And Marcus said?”
May you like
Claire swallowed.
“He said, ‘Then you better hope you make it there.’”
