Chapter 8
The search continued for three days.
Coast Guard.
Private contractors.
Harrison hired his own investigators.
No wreckage.
No debris.
No bodies.
Nothing.
The plane had simply vanished.
“Planes don’t disappear,” Harrison said, pacing the living room. “Not like that. Not without leaving a trace.”
“Richard paid someone,” I said. “Someone who knows how to make aircraft vanish. Someone who can change tail numbers. Reregister them. Fly them under the radar.”
Harrison stopped pacing.
“Exactly. Which means they are alive. And they are somewhere. Probably South America. Or Africa. Somewhere with weak extradition treaties.”
He sat down beside me.
“But they will come back. Eventually. Richard has too much pride. Too much ego. He will want to see his son or daughter. He will want to know what you did with everything. And he will want what he believes is his.”
I touched my belly.
Seven months to go.
“He won’t find me,” I said.
“We make sure of it,” Harrison said. “We change your name. We move you out of state. We live quietly. Until the baby is born. Until we track him down.”
Two weeks passed.
Then three.
Life settled into a strange, tense rhythm.
Security followed me everywhere.
Harrison worked the case day and night.
No leads.
No sightings.
No communications.
Richard had truly vanished.
But I knew him.
I knew how his mind worked.
He wouldn’t stay gone forever.
He would wait until everyone stopped looking.
Until I let my guard down.
And then he would strike.
One evening, Harrison called me.
“I found something,” he said, his voice tight. “A partial credit card swipe. In Panama. A woman matching Vanessa’s description bought supplies. Expensive sunscreen. Insect repellent. Clothing. And prenatal vitamins.”
My heart stopped.
“Prenatal vitamins?”
“Vanessa is pregnant,” Harrison said. “Richard got her pregnant. Which means… he has a new plan. A new family. A new heir. And he will want everything you have to secure their future.”
I gripped the phone.
“She’s having his baby.”
“And he’s already replacing you,” Harrison said. “But that doesn’t make him less dangerous. It makes him more desperate. He needs money. He needs access. And he needs you out of the way permanently.”
He paused.
“Khloe… he also bought a gun. Registered under a false name. Same town. Same week.”
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“He’s coming back.”
“Not yet,” Harrison said. “But he’s preparing. He’s building resources. Planning. Waiting for the right moment.”
Three weeks later.
The moment arrived.
I was at a routine doctor’s appointment.
Security waited outside the examination room.
The nurse stepped out for a moment.
I was alone.
The door opened.
I turned, expecting the doctor.
My heart stopped.
Vanessa stood in the doorway.
Different hair.
Sunglasses.
But those eyes.
I would know them anywhere.
She stepped inside and closed the door.
Locked it.
She pulled the sunglasses down.
Smiled.
Cold.
Triumphant.
“Hello, Khloe,” she whispered. “Did you miss us?”
I backed away slowly.
Hand on my belly.
“How did you find me?”
Vanessa stepped closer.
She looked different.
Harder.
Confident.
“Richard found you,” she said. “He always finds everything. And everyone.”
She glanced at my stomach.
“Look at you. So big. Almost time.”
“Why are you here?” I said.
Vanessa pulled a small device from her pocket.
A voice recorder.
She set it on the counter.
“Richard wants to know where the files are. The ones from the bank. The ones Caroline hid. He wants them back. And he wants you to sign a statement saying everything was a lie. That you made it all up. That the crash was real. That he is dead.”
“And if I don’t?”
Vanessa’s smile widened.
“Then Richard comes to visit. And this time… there is no courthouse. No cameras. No witnesses. Just you. Your baby. And us.”
She leaned in closer.
“Hand over what belongs to him, Khloe. Sign the papers. And we might let you live. Refuse… and you join Caroline.”
I stood my ground.
“Where is Richard?”
Vanessa laughed.
“Close enough. Watching. Waiting to see if you cooperate.”
She tapped the recorder.
“Your answer, Khloe. Now.”
I looked at her.
Really looked at her.
And I noticed something.
Her left hand rested protectively over her own stomach.
Barely visible beneath her loose jacket.
Vanessa was pregnant.
Months along.
Same timeline roughly as mine.
I realized then.
She wasn’t just Richard’s accomplice.
She was being replaced.
Just like Caroline.
Just like me.
And she knew it.
“You’re afraid of him too,” I said quietly.
Vanessa’s smile faltered.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“He’ll kill you too, Vanessa,” I said. “Once he gets what he wants. Once the baby is born. You know too much. You saw too much. He will get rid of you exactly the way he got rid of Caroline. And exactly the way he tried to get rid of me.”
Vanessa said nothing.
Her eyes flickered.
Doubt.
Fear.
“I can protect you,” I said. “Harry can. Turn on him. Testify. Tell us everything. Where he is. What he’s planning. We can put him away forever. And you and your baby can be safe.”
For a heartbeat…
I thought she might do it.
Then her expression hardened.
“You’re lying,” she said. “Richard loves me. We’re going to be a family. He loves our baby.”
“Richard loves only Richard,” I said. “Caroline found that out. I found that out. And you will too.”
Vanessa stepped back.
She picked up the recorder.
“I’m not listening to your lies,” she said. “You have forty-eight hours. Bring the files to the old boathouse on the lake. Midnight. Alone. Or Richard comes for you. And believe me… you do not want him to come here.”
She unlocked the door.
Glanced back at me.
“Forty-eight hours, Khloe. Don’t be late.”
She was gone.
I stood there, trembling.
Vanessa had given me exactly what I needed.
A location.
A time.
And proof that Richard was alive.
May you like
I pulled out my phone and called Harrison.
“She’s alive,” I said. “And Richard is with her. I know where they are.”
