Chapter 6: The Woman In The Photograph
I pulled the photograph from the wall so quickly the frame almost fell apart.
Hayes stepped beside me.
“What is it?””
I didn’t answer.
I was staring at the woman in the background.
A small detail I had ignored for years.
Because why would I look for danger in a happy memory?
It was Ethan’s tenth birthday.
A backyard barbecue.
Neighbors.
Friends.
Family.
Everyone smiling.
And behind us, near the fence, stood a woman holding a glass of wine.
Watching.
Not smiling.
“I know her,” I whispered.
Hayes took the picture.
His eyes narrowed.
“Who?””
“My ex-husband’s sister.””
He looked at me.
“Your sister-in-law?””
“Rachel.””
The name tasted strange after so many years.
Rachel had been part of our lives for nearly a decade.
She had come to birthdays.
Christmas dinners.
School events.
She had brought Ethan gifts.
She had called herself his aunt.
Hayes stared at the photograph.
“Are you sure?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn’t you mention her in your report?””
I looked at him.
“Because she wasn’t involved.””
“How do you know?””
I opened my mouth.
Then stopped.
Because I didn’t know.
I just believed.
And suddenly I wasn’t sure why.
The front door opened.
I turned.
Ethan walked inside.
Alone.
My heart jumped.
“Where’s Kai?””
He didn’t answer immediately.
He looked at the picture in my hand.
Then at Detective Hayes.
“You found out.””
I stared at my son.
“What happened?””
“He left.””
“When?””
“Ten minutes ago.””
“Why?””
Ethan looked hurt.
“Because he knew this was coming.””
I walked toward him.
“Ethan, I need you to understand something. I’m not trying to destroy your relationship.””
“Then what are you doing?””
The question hurt.
“I’m trying to understand who he is.””
Ethan shook his head.
“You already decided.””
“No.””
“Yes.””
His voice rose.
“You looked at him and saw a scar. You didn’t see him.””
I wanted to argue.
But I couldn’t.
Because part of me knew there was truth in his words.
Then Ethan pulled something from his jacket pocket.
A small envelope.
“He gave me this.””
My stomach tightened.
“What is it?””
“I don’t know.””
I opened it.
Inside was another photograph.
But this one was old.
The edges were damaged.
A child stood in front of Riverside Elementary.
Kai.
Seven years old.
And beside him…
was Rachel.
My hands went cold.
On the back of the photograph was a handwritten note.
*You always wondered who came for me.*
I turned the picture over.
The second line made my breath disappear.
*Ask your sister-in-law why she told everyone I was never there.*
The room went silent.
Ethan looked at me.
“Mom?””
I couldn’t answer.
Because suddenly the story I had carried for twelve years had changed.
I thought I had been the person who found Kai.
The person who helped him.
The person who remembered him.
But I had never asked the most important question.
Why had nobody else remembered?
Hayes took the photograph from my hand.
His face became pale.
“I know this picture.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
He swallowed.
“Because this was the evidence that disappeared from my case file.””
I felt a chill.
“Who took it?””
He looked at me.
“The same person who erased every record of Kai Mercer.””
The lights in the house flickered.
Then my phone buzzed.
A new message.
From Kai.
I opened it.
Only one sentence.
*Your son is in danger because he trusts me.*
A second message appeared.
*But he is in more danger if he stops.*
I stared at the screen.
May you like
Then the third message arrived.
*Ask Detective Hayes what happened to the missing evidence the night he quit the case.*
