Chapter 6: The Sister Who Sold Us Out
My sister had held me while I cried at Daniel's funeral.
She had helped me choose flowers, brought casseroles to the house, and slept on my couch for three nights because she worried I'd fall apart when the house became quiet.
Caroline had been the person I trusted most after Daniel died.
Now I was staring at a photograph of her standing beside the man who had supposedly murdered my husband.
“Tell me that's not what it looks like,” I whispered.
Daniel couldn't meet my eyes.
“Renee, I don't know how much she knew at the beginning.””
“At the beginning?””
“She introduced me to a consultant who claimed he could help investigate Northstar's fraudulent accounts. I thought she was doing me a favor.””
“My sister works in real estate.””
“She had connections to people who handled commercial properties. Some of those properties were being used by Northstar.””
I looked at the photograph again.
Caroline wore a cream-colored coat, her hair pinned back, one hand resting on Daniel's arm.
She looked comfortable.
Familiar.
Like someone who belonged there.
“When was this taken?””
“Eleven days before the crash.””
“And you never told me?””
“I couldn't risk it.””
“You could risk leaving your daughter without a father, but you couldn't risk telling me my own sister might be involved?””
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I was wrong.””
For a moment, I wanted to believe the simplicity of that confession.
Then I remembered the years of lies.
The empty coffin.
The birthday candles Maya had blown out while asking why her father couldn't be there.
I stepped away from him.
“I'm done taking your word for anything.””
I turned toward the house.
Daniel caught my wrist.
“Renee, please. Sullivan has the ring, but he doesn't have the second key.””
“What second key?””
“The ring contains a tiny compartment. Inside it is a code. The code unlocks an encrypted archive.””
“And where is the archive?””
“I don't know. Maya found it.””
I pulled my hand free.
“Then why did Sullivan take the ring?””
“Because he thinks the ring contains the only copy of the code.””
I remembered the memory card hidden in the blue lunchbox.
“Does the card contain the archive?””
“No. It contains a recording.””
“Of what?””
Daniel's eyes moved toward the street.
“Of Sullivan explaining what happened the night of the crash.””
My skin prickled.
“Who recorded it?””
“Maya.””
Before I could ask another question, a familiar voice called from the front porch.
“Renee?””
I spun around.
Caroline stood at the bottom of the steps.
She wore a camel-colored coat and carried a paper bag from the bakery where she'd bought Maya birthday cakes since she was five.
Her expression was carefully composed.
But her eyes went straight to Daniel.
For one second, her face went completely blank.
Then she smiled.
“Oh, my God.””
She dropped the bag.
“Daniel?””
He stood very still.
“Hello, Caroline.””
She took a step forward, tears filling her eyes.
“I thought you were dead.””
Daniel's expression hardened.
“Did you?””
She covered her mouth.
“Renee, what is happening? Why is he here?””
I stared at my sister.
“You tell me.””
She looked from me to Daniel.
“I don't understand.””
I held up the photograph.
Caroline's gaze landed on it.
Her face drained of color.
“Where did you get that?””
“That's your first question?””
“Renee, please. I can explain.””
“Then explain.””
She looked toward the street, where the damaged SUV sat abandoned.
“Not here.””
I almost laughed.
“Everyone keeps telling me that. You, Daniel, Elena. Apparently, nobody wants to tell me anything in my own house.””
Caroline took another step closer.
“Your daughter is in danger.””
“You know where she is?””
“No.””
“Then how do you know she's in danger?””
Her lips parted.
She had made a mistake.
A small one.
But I saw it.
“You know something,” I said.
Caroline's eyes filled with tears.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“By helping Daniel disappear?””
“I didn't know what he was doing until it was too late.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“That's not true.””
She flinched.
“You told me you had copied the files. You said you were going to hand them over.””
“I did hand them over.””
“To whom?””
“To federal investigators.””
Caroline let out a bitter laugh.
“Federal investigators? Daniel, you handed the records to Sullivan's partner.””
The words hung in the air.
Daniel went rigid.
“What did you just say?””
Caroline looked at me, then back at him.
“Northstar knew you were investigating. They knew about the files before you even made the copies. The meeting you arranged that night wasn't a trap set by Sullivan.””
Daniel's voice dropped.
“Then who arranged it?””
She swallowed.
“You did.””
I stared at her.
Daniel looked as if he'd been punched.
“What?””
“You arranged the meeting with a man named Victor Hale. He was supposed to give you the original account records. But Hale was working for Northstar.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No. Elena confirmed the meeting.””
“Because Elena thought Hale was a legitimate informant.””
My phone vibrated.
A message from Elena appeared.
*URGENT: Do not let Caroline leave. She has been identified in the Northstar investigation. Federal agents are on their way.*
I read it twice.
Then I looked at my sister.
“You're under investigation.””
Caroline saw the message on my screen.
Her face changed.
The tears vanished.
“Give me your phone.””
“No.””
“Renee, give it to me.””
She lunged.
I stumbled backward, and Daniel caught my shoulder.
Caroline grabbed the phone, but I held on. We struggled for several seconds before it slipped from my fingers and struck the porch.
The screen cracked.
Caroline snatched it up.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered.
Then she ran.
Daniel sprinted after her.
I followed, my heart pounding as Caroline reached the sidewalk and waved frantically at a dark sedan waiting at the curb.
The rear door opened.
A man leaned out.
I recognized him from the photograph Daniel had shown me.
Victor Hale.
He pointed a gun toward Daniel.
“Stop right there!””
Daniel froze.
Caroline climbed into the car.
For one second, she looked back at me through the open door.
I expected an apology.
A plea.
Anything that might explain how my sister had become a stranger.
Instead, she said, “I'm sorry about Maya.””
The sedan pulled away.
Daniel started after it, but I grabbed his jacket.
“Don't!””
He turned on me.
“They have her!””
“They have my sister, and they have my daughter, and I don't even know who any of you really are!””
My voice broke.
Daniel's expression softened.
“I know.””
“No, you don't.””
He looked toward the street where the car had disappeared.
“Caroline was the one who gave Northstar our information. I believe she thought she was helping them hide the money, not helping them hurt us.””
“Why would she do that?””
“Debt. Blackmail. I don't know.””
“Then why did she come here?””
“To see whether you had the evidence.””
I stared at him.
“She came to find out what Maya told me.””
He nodded.
My stomach twisted.
The paper bag Caroline had dropped lay on the pavement. A loaf of bread had rolled into the gutter, and a small white bakery box had opened beside it.
Inside was a chocolate cake.
Maya's name was written in pink icing.
My daughter had a birthday coming up in three weeks.
Caroline had bought her a cake anyway.
I didn't know whether that made me angrier or sadder.
Daniel crouched beside the abandoned SUV and retrieved a small black device from beneath the driver's seat.
“What is that?”” I asked.
“A tracking beacon.””
He turned it over in his palm.
“The people in that sedan knew where I was because someone was tracking the vehicle.””
“Who?””
He looked at me.
“Someone who had access to our location.””
I thought of Caroline.
Then I thought of Sullivan.
Then I thought of the unknown messages warning me not to trust Elena.
The list of people who might be lying to me had become longer than the list of people I could trust.
A phone rang.
Not mine.
Daniel reached into his jacket and pulled out an old burner phone.
He answered without speaking.
A girl's voice came through the speaker.
“Dad?””
Daniel's face transformed.
“Maya?””
I grabbed his arm.
“Maya, sweetheart, are you safe?””
“Mom?”” Her voice shook.
“I don't have much time.””
“Where are you?””
“I can't tell you. They took me to a house near the water.””
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Who is with you?””
“Sullivan.””
My stomach dropped.
“Baby, listen to me. We're coming to get you.””
“No!”” she cried.
“You can't. He knows you're together.””
Daniel looked at me, panic spreading across his face.
Maya continued, speaking so quickly that some of her words blurred together.
“Dad, I found out who gave Sullivan the ring. It wasn't Caroline.””
Daniel went still.
“What are you talking about?””
“The ring was never in his pocket when he came to the house. He already had it before he searched my room.””
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“Then who gave it to him?”” I asked.
Maya's voice dropped to a whisper.
“The person who took it from me was someone I trusted. Someone who knew where I hid it.””
A door slammed on her end.
Maya gasped.
“Dad, you have to listen. The person who helped Sullivan find me is—”
The call cut off.
Daniel stared at the phone.
I waited for him to tell me it was a bad connection, that Maya would call back, that there was still time.
Instead, he looked at me with a terror I had never seen before.
“Renee,” he whispered, “there's someone else who knows about the archive.””
“Who?””
He swallowed.
“The person who taught Maya how to hide it.””
My phone, its cracked screen barely responsive, buzzed in my hand.
A new message appeared.
It contained a photograph of Maya sitting in a dark room, her wrists bound to a chair.
May you like
Beneath it were seven words.
*SIX O'CLOCK. BRING THE ORIGINAL, OR SHE DIES.*
