Chương 8
Emma wanted details.
“What did it do?”
“Chased him into a hydrangea.”
“What’s a hydrangea?”
“A bush with self-esteem.”
Daniel looked at Rebecca.
“That makes no sense.”
“It makes perfect sense if you own hydrangeas.”
Emma giggled.
Later, she and Rebecca’s daughter Lucy took the dog into the backyard.
Daniel stood at the kitchen window watching them.
Rebecca came beside him.
“You didn’t believe her.”
He did not answer.
“I saw the video.”
Daniel turned.
“What video?”
“Somebody posted the hotel lobby.”
His stomach dropped.
“Emma’s face?”
“Blurred now on the major sites. Not originally.”
Daniel swore.
Rebecca ignored it.
“In the clip, she asks if you believe her.”
He looked back outside.
“She didn’t ask it exactly then.”
“Editing?”
“Probably.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“No.”
Rebecca crossed her arms.
“You didn’t believe her Tuesday.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Daniel had asked himself that question for fifteen hours.
The answers changed depending on which version of himself he hated most.
Because Michael was useful.
Because Michael was powerful.
Because Daniel had spent years admiring him.
Because Emma had broken a rule.
Because Daniel was tired.
Because believing her would have detonated too much.
Because adults often demand impossible clarity from children precisely when children are least able to give it.
“I didn’t want it to be true.”
Rebecca stared at him.
“That’s not the same as not believing.”
“It was to her.”
“Yes.”
He rubbed his eyes.
“Say whatever you want to say.”
“I don’t want to.”
“That’s new.”
“I want you to stop turning guilt into a performance.”
He laughed bitterly.
“Victoria said almost the same thing.”
“I’ve always liked her.”
“You hated her for two years.”
“I hated her shoes.”
“What?”
“She wore those pointy ones that made her walk like she was angry at the floor.”
Daniel stared at her.
Rebecca shrugged.
“People contain multitudes.”
Despite everything, he laughed.
She leaned against the counter.
“Sarah trusted you.”
He stopped.
“Don’t.”
“I’m not absolving you.”
“Good.”
“She trusted you because you came back after you screwed up.”
Daniel looked at her.
Rebecca’s eyes were wet now.
“You always screwed up.”
“Comforting.”
“You missed appointments. You forgot the cake for Emma’s fourth birthday. You told Sarah to calm down during labor, which should legally qualify as self-harm.”
He smiled despite himself.
“But you came back,” Rebecca said. “You apologized badly. Then slightly better. Then you tried again.”
Daniel looked through the window.
Emma was throwing a tennis ball too far for the old dog.
It watched the ball land and refused to move.
Lucy went to retrieve it.
“Sarah isn’t here to tell me what to do.”
“No.”
“And I’m scared I’ll get this wrong.”
“You will.”
“Becca.”
“You will get parts wrong.”
She touched his arm.
“So don’t make getting it right the requirement for staying with her.”
Daniel looked at his daughter.
Emma bent to scratch the dog’s ears.
He nodded.
On Monday morning, Detective Carver called again.
The man in the garage had been identified.
His name was Leonard Price.
He had worked for Grant Foundation as director of facilities until six months earlier.
The same employee who had raised concerns about private meetings with minors.
Daniel sat down.
“Why was Michael meeting him?”
“We’re investigating.”
“Was he paying him?”
“We’re investigating.”
“Was that what Emma photographed?”
“We’re investigating.”
He nearly threw the phone.
Instead he said, “Understood.”
“You don’t sound understanding.”
“I’m learning restraint.”
“Keep practicing.”
There was another development.
The foundation’s board had placed Michael on temporary administrative leave.
Victoria had resigned from all consulting work connected to the organization.
Daniel’s firm had issued a statement saying it would conduct an internal review of any work related to Grant entities.
By noon, three news vans were parked outside Daniel’s building in Manhattan.
By two, somebody posted Emma’s school name online.
That changed everything.
Daniel called the school immediately.
The headmistress had already increased security.
“We have not confirmed whether Emma is connected to any online speculation,” she said.
“Good.”
“But parents are asking questions.”
“Tell them nothing.”
“That was the plan.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Treating you like you needed instruction.”
The headmistress paused.
“That is somewhat your natural register.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Apparently.”
When he told Emma they would stay at Rebecca’s longer, she became furious.
“I have school.”
“You can do remote work.”
“I hate remote.”
“I know.”
“Lucy goes to school.”
“Yes.”
“That’s not fair.”
“No.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“I know.”
“Then why do I have to leave?”
Daniel sat on the edge of the guest-room bed.
“Because people are trying to figure out who you are.”
“They already know.”
“Some do.”
“So hiding is stupid.”
There it was.
Not childish logic.
Real logic.
Daniel rubbed his palms together.
“I don’t want strangers taking pictures of you.”
“I don’t want to miss science lab.”
“What are you doing?”
“Frogs.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Not real frogs.”
“That’s disappointing.”
She glared at him.
He tried again.
“Give me two days.”
“You said we were staying here ‘a few days.’”
“That was before the school name got posted.”
“You keep changing things.”
“Because things keep changing.”
“That’s what adults say when they don’t know.”
Daniel stopped.
“Yes.”
Her anger flickered.
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
“What if Michael comes here?”
“He won’t.”
“You don’t know.”
Daniel took a slow breath.
“Rebecca has cameras. The police know where we are. Michael has been told not to contact us. If he comes, we call 911.”
Emma stared at him.
“That’s better.”
“What?”
“You said what happens.”
He nodded.
Specifics.
Not promises.
He could learn.
Tuesday brought the first major contradiction.
Hotel security footage showed Emma entering the service corridor at 7:10.
At 7:14, Michael entered the garage from another elevator.
At 7:19, both disappeared from camera coverage near a blind corner.
At 7:22, Michael returned with Emma.
The video did not show him grabbing her.
It also showed something Daniel had not expected.
Emma went into the garage alone.
Not following Michael.
May you like
Waiting for him.
When Carver described the footage, Daniel’s mind seized on it.
