Chapter 5 - THE NIGHT SOMEONE CAME FOR MY DAUGHTER
Three weeks after Evelyn was born, I received a letter.
No return address.
Only my name.
Savannah Carter.
Inside was a photograph of Roman's old lake house.
On the back were six words.
YOUR ANSWERS ARE WAITING HERE.
I called Roman.
He answered immediately.
“I received one too.”
“What does yours say?”
“Same thing.”
We drove separately.
No security convoy.
No announcement.
Just two people who no longer knew whether they were husband and wife, but knew they were parents.
The lake house sat three hours outside Chicago.
It belonged to Roman's father.
It had been abandoned for years.
The house was dark when we arrived.
Roman unlocked the door.
Dust covered the furniture.
Old photographs hung on the walls.
His childhood.
His parents.
Family Christmases.
Roman as a boy.
I had never seen him like that.
Small.
Happy.
Before money.
Before control.
Before fear.
He stopped in front of one photograph.
“My father loved this place.”
I looked at him.
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you ever bring me?”
He swallowed.
“Because he told me never to bring anyone here.”
I looked around.
“Why?”
“I didn't know.”
We searched for hours.
Nothing.
Then Evelyn started crying.
I rushed toward her.
She was with the sitter in the next room.
The sitter looked terrified.
“What happened?”
“She was sleeping.”
“Where is her blanket?”
“I don't know.”
I checked the crib.
Her blanket was gone.
Then I noticed the window.
Open.
My blood froze.
Roman ran toward it.
There were footprints in the snow.
Fresh.
Someone had been outside.
Security arrived minutes later.
They found nothing.
No person.
No vehicle.
No child.
Because Evelyn was still inside.
But someone had entered the house.
Someone had taken her blanket.
A warning.
Roman's face turned white.
“This ends now.”
I looked at him.
“No.”
He stared at me.
“We find out who is doing this.”
“Yes.”
“But we don't let them scare us into making mistakes.”
He nodded.
That night, we found the hidden room.
It was behind a bookshelf.
Roman pressed a loose panel.
The wall moved.
Inside was a small office.
A desk.
A safe.
Boxes.
Documents.
And a recording device.
Roman opened the first box.
Inside was a letter from his father.
My dear son,
If you are reading this, then the trust is under attack.
I stared at Roman.
His hands were shaking.
The letter explained everything.
Thomas had been stealing money for years.
Richard Vale had discovered him.
Roman's father planned to expose him.
But before they could act, Roman's father died.
Richard disappeared from the investigation.
Thomas became more powerful.
And then Roman inherited the company.
The final paragraph was the one that changed everything.
Thomas will try to control Roman through the people he loves.
He will make him believe he is protecting them while he isolates himself from them.
I looked at Roman.
He whispered,
“He knew.”
The letter continued.
If Roman marries and has children, the trust will become his greatest vulnerability.
Protect his wife.
Protect his child.
Never allow fear to make him cruel.
Roman sat down.
For several minutes, he didn't speak.
Then he looked at me.
“I became exactly what he warned me about.”
I shook my head.
“You became what Thomas wanted you to become.”
Roman's eyes filled.
“I still made the choices.”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
We found one final document.
A list of names.
Thomas.
Several shell companies.
And one unexpected name.
Claire Bennett.
Roman looked at me.
“She was involved.”
“Maybe.”
The truth was more complicated.
Claire had been involved in the affair.
But perhaps not the financial scheme.
Then we heard a sound upstairs.
A door closing.
Roman stood.
We ran.
The hallway was empty.
But on the floor was a small white envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Evelyn.
Taken that morning.
My blood ran cold.
On the back were four words.
STOP DIGGING OR SHE PAYS.
Roman looked at me.
“I swear to God—”
“No.”
I grabbed his arm.
“This is what they want.”
He stopped.
“They want you angry.”
I stared at the photograph.
“They want you to make a mistake.”
Roman's breathing slowed.
Then he nodded.
“Then we don't.”
For the first time, we stood together.
Not as husband and wife.
Not as enemies.
As parents.
May you like
And somewhere in Chicago, someone realized they had made a terrible mistake.
They had threatened the one thing neither of us was willing to lose.
