Chapter 6
My blood ran cold.
They had Marisol.
Chloe and Richard had kidnapped her.
To stop me.
To make me drop the case.
I called the police immediately.
I told them everything.
They launched an investigation.
But they said it would take time.
Time I didn't have.
The custody hearing was tomorrow.
And Marisol was in danger.
I called Richard.
He answered immediately immediately.
"Where is she?" I demanded.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said. But I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Don't play games with me, Richard," I said. "I know you and Chloe took her. If you hurt her—"
"Then drop the case," he said. "Tomorrow morning, in court. You tell the judge you're dropping all charges. You tell him you've decided to give Chloe full custody of the girls. And you transfer fifty million dollars to our offshore account. If you do that, Marisol will be released unharmed. If you don't… you'll never see her again."
He hung up.
I stared at the phone.
I had a choice to make.
Drop the case.
Give Chloe custody of my daughters.
Give them fifty million dollars.
And let them get away with everything.
Or fight.
And risk Marisol's life.
I went to the girls' room.
They were asleep.
Sofia was clutching her rabbit.
Valeria was sleeping peacefully.
They were everything to me.
I couldn't let Chloe take them.
I couldn't let them be raised by that monster.
But I couldn't let Marisol die either.
Not after everything she'd done for us.
Not after she'd protected my daughters.
Loved them like her own.
I sat down on the edge of Valeria's bed.
And I cried.
For the first time since my wife died.
I cried.
Because I didn't know what to do.
Because I was trapped.
Because the people I loved were in danger.
And I didn't know how to save them all.
Hector found me there.
"Mr. Vance," he said quietly.
I looked up at him.
"I can't choose, Hector," I said. "I can't choose between my daughters and Marisol."
"You don't have to," he said.
He was holding something.
A phone.
"I've been tracking Marisol's phone," he said. "She has a GPS tracker on it. A hidden one. I gave it to her a few weeks ago. After Chloe threatened her. I told her to keep it with her at all times."
He showed me the screen.
A map.
With a blinking red dot.
"She's here," he said. "An old warehouse downtown. Richard owns it. He uses it for storage."
I stood up.
My fear was gone.
Replaced by cold determination.
"Let's go get her," I said.
Hector nodded.
"I already called my team," he said. "They're waiting. And I called the police. They're on their way. But we need to get there first. Before they hurt her."
We left immediately.
We drove to the warehouse.
It was dark.
Deserted.
Hector's team surrounded the building.
We moved in quietly.
I could hear voices inside.
Chloe's voice.
Richard's voice.
And Marisol's.
Calm.
Brave.
"You're making a mistake," she was saying. "Alexander won't give you what you want. He'll find you. And he'll destroy you."
Chloe laughed.
"Your precious Alexander is going to give us everything we want," she said. "Or you'll die. And then those little brats will be mine. And I'll make sure they forget all about you. About their weak, pathetic father. About everything."
I signaled to Hector's team.
We burst through the door.
Chloe and Richard were standing over Marisol.
She was tied to a chair.
Her face was bruised.
But she was alive.
And she was still fighting.
"Police!" Hector shouted.
Chloe and Richard turned.
Their faces went white.
Richard tried to run.
But Hector's team caught him.
Chloe tried to pull a knife.
But one of the security men disarmed her.
They were both on the ground.
Handcuffed.
I ran to Marisol.
I untied her.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
She nodded.
Tears in her eyes.
"I knew you'd come," she said.
I held her.
Tightly.
The police arrived a few minutes later.
They arrested Chloe and Richard.
They took statements.
They collected evidence.
It was over.
Finally.
We took Marisol to the hospital.
She had a few bruises.
A cut on her forehead.
But she was going to be okay.
I stayed with her all night.
Holding her hand.
Watching her sleep.
And I knew.
I loved her.
I'd been falling for her for months.
Maybe even longer.
And now I knew.
She was the one.
The next morning, we went to court.
Chloe and Richard were there.
In handcuffs.
Accompanied by police officers.
The judge looked at the evidence.
The video.
The recordings.
The testimony.
The kidnapping.
And he threw Chloe's custody case out.
Immediately.
He called it "the most despicable attempt at parental alienation and fraud" he'd ever seen.
He granted me full and sole custody of my daughters.
He ordered Chloe and Richard to stay away from us permanently.
And he ordered their cases to be sent to the district attorney for criminal prosecution.
It was over.
We'd won.
As we walked out of the courtroom, Marisol was beside me.
The girls were holding my hands.
And for the first time in months, I felt like I could breathe.
But as we walked to the car, a woman approached us.
She was older.
With kind eyes.
And she was holding an envelope.
"Excuse me," she said. "Are you Alexander Vance?"
"I am," I said.
"I have something for you," she said. "From my son. Richard. He asked me to give this to you. After the trial."
She handed me the envelope.
And then she walked away.
I opened it.
Inside was a letter.
May you like
And a key.
And the letter changed everything I thought I knew about my wife's death.
