Chapter 3 - THE LOCKED BLUE DOOR
We didn't follow Chad that afternoon.
We followed him that night.
Alec insisted that we needed evidence, not guesses.
So at 9:43 p.m., we parked three houses away from Chad's home.
The neighborhood was quiet.
Most windows were dark.
A few porch lights glowed.
At 10:17, Chad's front door opened.
He stepped outside.
He carried a duffel bag.
A woman followed him.
The woman.
Nina.
Or someone who looked exactly like her.
They walked to a black SUV.
Chad opened the passenger door.
She hesitated.
He said something.
She got inside.
The SUV drove away.
Alec started his truck.
We followed.
They drove twenty minutes.
Then thirty.
Eventually, we reached an industrial area on the edge of town.
Chad pulled into a warehouse parking lot.
The woman got out.
They entered through a side door.
Alec parked farther away.
“We don't go in yet.”
I looked at him.
“My daughter is in there.”
“If that's Nina, we don't know what we're walking into.”
I knew he was right.
That didn't make it easier.
We waited.
Twenty minutes.
Then Chad came out alone.
He got back into the SUV.
I stared.
“Where is she?”
“Still inside.”
“Then why is he leaving?”
Alec looked toward the warehouse.
“Because he thinks whatever is inside is safe.”
Chad drove away.
We waited another five minutes.
Then Alec called someone.
A local officer arrived shortly afterward.
We approached the warehouse.
The side door was locked.
Alec tried the handle.
Nothing.
Then we heard something.
A knock.
Three times.
From inside.
I froze.
Alec looked at me.
Another three knocks.
I whispered,
“Nina?”
Silence.
Then one knock.
Alec looked at the officer.
The officer forced the door.
It opened.
Inside was darkness.
We moved carefully.
The warehouse smelled like dust and oil.
There were several storage units.
Boxes.
Old furniture.
Construction materials.
Then we heard a woman's voice.
“Carter?”
My knees almost gave out.
I knew that voice.
Even after six years.
Even through fear and distance.
It was Nina.
I ran.
Alec grabbed my shoulder.
“Wait.”
But then I saw her.
She stood behind a locked interior door.
Thin.
Pale.
Her hair was shorter.
There was a scar along her jaw.
But it was her.
My daughter.
My little girl.
The person I had buried without a body.
I pressed my hand against the glass.
“Nina.”
She began crying.
“Dad.”
I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't think.
I simply stared.
She put her hand against the other side of the glass.
For six years, I had believed I would never touch her again.
Now there was only a few inches between us.
Alec found the key.
The door opened.
Nina collapsed into my arms.
I held her so tightly I thought I might hurt her.
She cried into my shoulder.
“I thought you were dead,” I whispered.
“I know.”
“Why?”
“I couldn't come home.”
“Why?”
She looked toward the door.
“Because Chad told me you'd be in danger.”
I stepped back.
“What?”
“He said if I contacted you, he would hurt Alvin.”
I looked at Alec.
“What happened?”
Nina wiped her face.
“The accident wasn't an accident.”
The words hit me like a physical blow.
“Tell me.”
She took a shaky breath.
“Chad had been stealing from my father before the crash.”
I stared.
“What?”
“He knew you had money.”
“He knew about my finances?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He had access to my laptop.”
I felt sick.
“Why would he kill you?”
“He wasn't trying to kill me.”
“Then what happened?”
“He wanted me to disappear.”
She looked at me.
“He had discovered that I was going to expose him.”
I shook my head.
“What was he doing?”
“Insurance fraud.”
I stared.
Nina continued.
“He had been taking policies out in other people's names. Small businesses. Elderly clients. People who trusted him.”
“And you found out?”
“Yes.”
“Then the crash…”
“He caused it.”
My heart stopped.
“He followed me that night.”
She closed her eyes.
“He forced my car off the road.”
“But you survived.”
“I woke up in a hospital.”
“Why didn't you call me?”
“Because Chad was there.”
I felt confused.
“He was there?”
“He told the doctors I was delirious.”
“What?”
“He told them I had brain damage.”
Alec's face hardened.
Nina continued.
“He had already prepared the story.”
My stomach twisted.
“He told everyone I was dead.”
“He arranged the cremation?”
“Yes.”
“But how?”
“He had my personal information.”
She looked down.
“I was unconscious for almost three days. When I woke up, I heard him talking to a nurse.”
“What did he say?”
“That my family had been notified.”
Nina swallowed.
“He told me my father had died of a heart attack.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
“He said you couldn't survive losing me.”
I stepped back.
“He lied.”
“I know.”
“He told you I was dead?”
“Yes.”
“And you believed him?”
“I was confused.”
Her eyes filled again.
“Then he took me somewhere.”
“Where?”
“A private rehabilitation house.”
“For how long?”
“Almost a year.”
I felt sick.
“He kept me hidden.”
“Why?”
“Because he needed everyone to believe I was dead.”
“And the money?”
She nodded.
“He told you I left debts.”
I closed my eyes.
Two million dollars.
Six years.
My daughter alive.
Chad had been collecting money while hiding her.
But there was something I still didn't understand.
“The woman at the grocery store.”
Nina smiled sadly.
“That was me.”
I laughed.
It came out broken.
“I knew.”
“You did?”
“I knew something.”
She touched my face.
“I wanted to come to you.”
“Then why didn't you?”
“Because Chad still has control over Alvin.”
I looked toward Alec.
“Where is my grandson?”
“At home.”
Nina's face changed.
“Carter.”
“What?”
“You need to get him out.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Chad knows someone has been asking questions.”
My blood went cold.
“How?”
“He told me yesterday.”
“What did he say?”
“He said, ‘Your father is finally becoming curious.’”
Alec stood.
“We need to leave.”
Nina grabbed my hand.
“Dad.”
“Yes?”
“I need you to believe me.”
“I do.”
“No matter what Chad says.”
“I believe you.”
She looked toward the hallway.
“He has another house.”
“What?”
“A second property.”
“Where?”
“I don't know the address.”
“What do you know?”
“It has a red mailbox.”
She closed her eyes.
“He keeps documents there.”
“What documents?”
“Everything.”
Alec moved closer.
“Everything what?”
“Money.”
She looked at him.
“Names.”
“Accounts.”
“Insurance policies.”
“And?”
May you like
Nina's voice became a whisper.
“Proof that he planned the accident.”
