Chapter 5: The Girl in the Photograph
I stared at the photograph until the screen dimmed.
Then I tapped it, brightened the display, and examined every detail.
The man beside the girl looked enough like my father to make my chest tighten. His nose, his jaw, the slight scar above his left eyebrow—every feature matched the man I'd buried eleven years earlier.
But the girl was what made my hands shake.
She wore a yellow raincoat and stood with one hand tucked into the man's coat pocket. Her dark hair fell just past her shoulders. Her eyes were unmistakably familiar.
Emily had those same eyes.
I turned the phone toward Vanessa.
“Who is she?””
Vanessa looked at the photograph.
All the color drained from her face.
“Oh, God.””
“You recognize her?””
She nodded.
“Who is she?””
Vanessa sat down heavily.
“I've seen her before.””
“Where?””
“On a video call.””
I stared at her.
“You've been talking to this man?””
She shook her head.
“Not directly. His lawyer arranged everything. Sometimes he'd send photographs or short videos. He said he wanted me to understand what Emily's life could be like if she went to live with him.””
I felt sick.
“And you watched them?””
“Yes.””
“Did you tell him what Emily liked? Where she went to school? What time I got home?””
Vanessa looked away.
I understood before she answered.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“I gave him information.””
I stepped back from her.
For three months, someone had been gathering details about my daughter inside my own home.
Someone had known her routines, her fears, her favorite foods, and the location of her bedroom.
And my wife had helped.
Officer Miller approached from the kitchen.
“Mr. Hayes, the other officer has contacted a supervisor. We're treating the document as potentially fraudulent until it's verified. Do you have any idea who might have created it?””
I showed her the photograph.
“Someone who claims to be my dead father.””
She studied it.
“Do you have reason to believe this image has been altered?””
“No. But I have reason to believe the identity of the man in it is being misrepresented.””
Officer Miller wrote something in her notebook.
“We'll preserve the message and record the number. Don't delete anything or respond to the sender.””
I nodded.
Then I called Daniel again.
This time, he answered immediately.
“Mark, are you still at home?””
“Yes. Tell me about the girl.””
He went quiet.
“Daniel.””
“I've seen her.””
“Where?””
“At Dad's house.””
I gripped the edge of the table.
“You told me Dad was dead.””
“I know.””
“You attended his funeral with me.””
“I know!””
“Then explain how you've seen him alive.””
Daniel breathed shakily.
“Because I visited him two years ago.””
The room seemed to tilt.
“You visited our dead father?””
“I didn't know who he was at first. I thought he was a man who'd known Dad. He contacted me through an attorney and said he had information about the estate.””
“What estate? Dad left us nothing.””
“That's what we were told.””
I closed my eyes.
Daniel continued.
“He showed me old photographs, bank statements, letters. He knew things only Dad would know. Then he told me the funeral had been arranged to make the family believe Richard Hayes was dead.””
“Who was in the casket?””
“I don't know. He said the man was a distant relative who'd died without family.””
My stomach turned.
“You expect me to believe someone buried a stranger under our father's name, and neither of us noticed?””
“I was twenty-one, Mark. I didn't question it. I thought I was helping a grieving man resolve a family matter. Then he told me never to mention the meeting to you.””
“And you obeyed?””
Daniel's voice became defensive.
“He said you'd be in danger if you knew.””
“Danger from whom?””
“I don't know!””
I pressed my fingers against my forehead.
This was the same brother who'd signed a document surrendering my daughter without asking me a single question.
Every answer opened another hole.
“What does the girl have to do with Emily?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Dad said she was Emily's half-sister.””
“Did he tell you who her mother was?””
“No.””
“Did you ask?””
“Yes. He said that was something you needed to discover yourself.””
I let out a bitter laugh.
“Convenient.””
“Mark, listen. The little girl is real. I saw her in person. Her name is Sophie.””
“Where is she now?””
“I don't know.””
“Does she know Emily exists?””
“Yes.””
That answer stopped me.
“How?””
Daniel's voice dropped.
“Dad showed her photographs of Emily. He told her they were sisters and that someday they'd live together.””
I stared toward the kitchen.
Emily was drawing on the back of an old grocery receipt, trying to keep herself occupied while the officers spoke quietly nearby.
She had no idea that a stranger had apparently been telling another child that they were sisters.
I swallowed.
“Did you believe Dad?””
“I didn't know what to believe. But when Vanessa contacted me and said you wanted Emily to live with me, I thought I could protect her. I figured I'd take her temporarily and then find out what was really happening.””
“By signing a false document?””
“I thought you had agreed!””
“You never called me!””
“I was ashamed!””
The confession came out as a shout.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Daniel whispered, “I made a terrible mistake.””
“Yes, you did.””
“Mark, I'm coming over.””
“No. You're going to tell me everything you know first.””
Daniel hesitated.
Then he said, “There's something else. Dad told me that if the transfer failed, someone would come for Emily anyway. He said the document was just the easiest way to avoid a fight.””
I felt my stomach drop.
“Who?””
“I don't know. He said there was a family agreement from before Emily was born.””
“Before Emily was born?””
“Yes.””
“Rachel was alive then?””
“Of course.””
I looked at Vanessa.
She had gone pale again.
I covered the phone and asked, “What family agreement?””
She shook her head.
“I don't know.””
But she was lying.
I could see it in the way she avoided my eyes.
I returned to the call.
“Daniel, tell me exactly what Dad said.””
“He said Rachel had promised him something. He said she'd signed a document naming a guardian for Emily in the event that you couldn't care for her.””
“I can care for my daughter.””
“I know.””
“Then why would Rachel do that?””
Daniel's voice cracked.
“He said she knew something about you.””
I went completely still.
“What?””
“He wouldn't explain. He said the truth would destroy you.””
I heard movement on Daniel's end.
Then he whispered, “Mark, I think someone's outside my house.””
“Who?””
“I don't know. A black SUV. Same kind you described.””
My blood ran cold.
“Lock your doors.””
“I have.””
“Call the police.””
“I will.””
“Daniel, don't leave the house.””
A sharp noise interrupted him.
He gasped.
Then the phone went silent.
“Daniel?””
No answer.
“Daniel!””
The line disconnected.
I called back immediately.
It went straight to voicemail.
Officer Miller approached me.
“What's happened?””
“My brother may be in danger.””
She took out her radio and began relaying the information to her partner.
I stood frozen, staring at my phone.
Then another message arrived.
This time, it was a video.
The screen showed Daniel's front door.
Someone had taped a white envelope to it.
The camera moved closer, focusing on the handwriting.
*MARK HAYES — OPEN THIS ALONE.*
The video ended.
A new message appeared beneath it.
Your brother has already paid for his mistake. Don't make the same one.
I looked at Emily.
Then at Vanessa.
My wife had started crying silently.
I held up the phone.
“Who is doing this?””
She shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“Stop lying to me!””
She flinched.
Then, for the first time, she told me something that made more sense than any of her previous explanations.
“Because your father isn't trying to get Emily back, Mark.””
May you like
She wiped her cheeks with trembling fingers.
“He's trying to get something Rachel left inside her.””
