Chapter 5
The next morning, Detective Ramirez came to the hospital with a folder.
Drea had refused to talk.
That did not surprise me.
People like Drea only confessed when lying became useless.
Ramirez placed three printed photos on the table.
“These were found in her purse.”
The first was a copy of Elise’s driver’s license.
The second was a locksmith receipt.
The third was a folded legal document with my forged signature.
I stared at it.
“What is that?”
“A draft petition to terminate Ms. Carter’s parental rights.”
Elise went still.
Calla was asleep, thank God.
I picked up the paper.
My name sat at the bottom.
Mason Whitaker.
But I had not signed it.
Ramirez said, “We’re checking with the attorney listed.”
“I know him,” I said.
Drea’s cousin.
Grant Holloway.
A family lawyer with perfect teeth and dead eyes.
He had handled the closing on my new house.
My new house.
The housewarming.
The party.
The locked pool house.
A terrible thought landed in me.
“Detective,” I said. “The pool house was locked when I bought the property.”
He watched me.
“Who gave you the inspection report?”
“Drea.”
Elise whispered, “Mason.”
I already knew.
The whole house had been chosen for this.
Not for us.
For her plan.
Ramirez continued.
“We found sedatives in Ms. Bell’s bag.”
Drea Bell.
I had been one month away from marrying her.
One month away from giving her legal access to my daughter.
My hands went cold.
“She planned to make Elise look unstable,” I said.
Ramirez nodded.
“That is one theory.”
Elise closed her eyes.
Calla woke then.
She looked from me to Elise to the detective.
“Is Mom in trouble?”
Elise pulled her close.
“No, baby.”
Calla looked at me.
“Is Drea coming back?”
“No.”
“Promise?”
I had made promises before.
I had promised Elise I would always protect their bond.
I had promised Calla her mother loved her, then let Drea poison that truth.
This promise had to be different.
It had to become action.
“I promise,” I said. “And I’m going to prove it.”
That afternoon, I called my lawyer, Nina Park.
Then I called the security company.
Then I called the school.
Every password changed.
Every pickup list changed.
Every camera file was preserved.
By sunset, Grant Holloway had stopped answering calls.
By night, Drea’s mother left me a voicemail.
“You are destroying an innocent woman.”
I deleted it.
Then Calla crawled between Elise and me on the hospital bed.
May you like
For the first time in two years, my daughter held both her parents at once.
And cried until she fell asleep.
