Chapter 4 - THE DAY MY GRANDSON DISAPPEARED
We reached Chad's house at 11:52 p.m.
The lights were on.
The front door was locked.
There was no sign of Alvin.
I knocked.
No answer.
I knocked again.
Nothing.
Alec walked around the side.
The back door was open.
My heart began racing.
We entered.
The house was empty.
Alvin's shoes were by the stairs.
His backpack was on the couch.
His favorite dinosaur was on the floor.
But he wasn't there.
“Nina,” I whispered.
She stood behind me.
Her face had gone white.
“He took him.”
I called Chad.
Straight to voicemail.
Again.
Nothing.
Alec immediately contacted the police.
I stood in the hallway.
Then I noticed something.
The blue door.
At the end of the hall.
The door Alvin had told me about.
It was locked.
I tried the handle.
Nothing.
Alec forced it.
Inside was not a bedroom.
It was an office.
A desk.
Two filing cabinets.
A computer.
A wall covered with photographs.
I stepped closer.
There were photographs of me.
Outside my grocery store.
Leaving my bank.
Driving home.
Walking into restaurants.
For six years, Chad had been watching me.
There were photographs of Nina too.
Recent photographs.
Not old ones.
Recent.
I turned.
She was staring at the wall.
Her face collapsed.
“He's been tracking me.”
Alec opened the filing cabinet.
Inside were folders.
Insurance policies.
Bank records.
Property records.
Copies of my financial statements.
And photographs of Alvin.
Hundreds.
School.
Park.
Bedroom.
Kitchen.
My hands shook.
“This isn't about money.”
Nina shook her head.
“No.”
Alec pulled out a folder.
On the front was my name.
Inside was a financial summary.
My net worth.
My properties.
My investments.
My insurance policies.
Everything.
Then I saw another folder.
NINA MILLARD.
I opened it.
Inside was a copy of her death certificate.
A fake medical report.
A cremation authorization.
A photograph of the burned SUV.
And a typed document titled:
BENEFICIARY TRANSFER PLAN
I read the first paragraph.
My entire estate was scheduled to transfer to Alvin under a trust controlled by Chad.
I stared.
“He planned to inherit everything.”
Nina nodded.
“He knew you would eventually die.”
“But why keep me alive?”
“He needed the money first.”
“Why?”
“He was drowning in debt.”
Alec looked at another document.
“Not just debt.”
“What?”
“Fraud.”
He handed me a report.
Chad had been involved in multiple financial schemes.
Insurance.
Real estate.
Fake medical expenses.
He had been moving money through shell companies.
My payments were only one source.
My two million dollars had been used to cover losses.
But the biggest account was an investment fund.
Six hundred thousand dollars.
All under a company registered to Chad.
I looked at Nina.
“Did you know?”
“I suspected.”
Then we heard something.
A car outside.
A door slammed.
Alec turned off the lights.
We waited.
Footsteps.
The front door opened.
Chad.
I heard him say,
“Alvin?”
No answer.
He walked toward the hallway.
Then stopped.
He knew.
Someone had been inside.
His footsteps became faster.
Alec moved behind the wall.
Chad entered the office.
The light came on.
He saw us.
His face changed.
Then he smiled.
“Carter.”
“Where is Alvin?”
He said nothing.
“Where is my grandson?”
“You shouldn't have come here.”
“Where is he?”
Chad laughed.
“You finally found her.”
I stepped toward him.
“You lied to me for six years.”
“Yes.”
“You told me my daughter was dead.”
“Yes.”
“You stole millions.”
“Yes.”
“You took my grandson.”
His smile disappeared.
“He is my son.”
“He is my grandson.”
“He belongs with me.”
Nina stepped forward.
“No.”
Chad looked at her.
For the first time, fear appeared in his face.
“Nina.”
She stood straight.
“You should have finished the job.”
He stared.
“You should have let me die.”
“You're supposed to be dead.”
“So are you.”
Alec moved closer.
“Where is Alvin?”
Chad said nothing.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His face changed.
He answered.
“Hello?”
I heard Alvin's voice.
“Dad?”
My heart broke.
“Where are you?” Chad asked.
A pause.
Then Alvin whispered,
“I want Grandpa.”
Chad closed his eyes.
I stepped forward.
“Give me the phone.”
“No.”
“Chad.”
He ended the call.
Alec immediately contacted the phone company.
We had a location within minutes.
A cabin.
Twenty-eight miles away.
Chad tried to leave.
The police stopped him outside.
He was arrested.
But Alvin wasn't there.
The cabin was empty.
A bed.
A backpack.
A half-eaten sandwich.
No child.
No Chad.
Then we found a note taped to the wall.
Four words.
THE RED MAILBOX.
I looked at Nina.
She was crying.
“The other house.”
We drove there.
The property was hidden behind trees.
At the end of a gravel road stood a small white farmhouse.
And beside it—
a red mailbox.
The front door was unlocked.
We entered.
There was no one inside.
Then I heard a sound.
A faint knock.
Three times.
I froze.
It came from behind a wall.
Alec looked at me.
We followed the sound.
Behind a bookshelf was another door.
Locked.
I pulled the handle.
Nothing.
Then came another three knocks.
I whispered,
“Alvin?”
A tiny voice answered.
“Grandpa?”
I nearly collapsed.
“It’s me.”
“Grandpa!”
Alec broke the lock.
The door opened.
Alvin ran into my arms.
I held him.
He was cold.
Terrified.
But alive.
“I knew you'd find me.”
I cried into his hair.
“I'm sorry.”
“You came.”
“Yes.”
“Did you find Mom?”
I looked toward the doorway.
Nina stood there.
Alvin froze.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Nina whispered,
“Alvin.”
He stared at her.
“Mom?”
She nodded.
He ran.
The sound that came from her was not a scream.
It was something between a sob and a prayer.
She fell to her knees.
Alvin wrapped his arms around her.
I turned away.
I needed a moment.
Six years.
Six years of grief.
And now my daughter was holding her son.
Alive.
But when I turned back, Nina was staring at the room.
“Dad.”
“What?”
She pointed toward the far wall.
“There.”
A locked metal cabinet.
“We need to open that.”
May you like
Inside were the records.
And the truth that would finally bring Chad down.
