Chapter 3
I kept my eyes on Vivian while Detective Monroe spoke.
"Where are your children right now?"
"I don't know."
That was the hardest sentence I'd ever said.
Vivian's face stayed still.
Detective Monroe's voice sharpened.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"My wife moved them while I was meeting with my attorney."
Nathan came into the hallway behind me.
I put the call on speaker.
Monroe said, "Do not confront her physically."
"I'm not."
"We're sending units."
Vivian laughed.
"You're calling the police on me?"
"You framed Maya."
Her expression changed.
There was no point pretending anymore.
"You've seen something."
"The backup footage."
For the first time, genuine fear appeared.
"You had backups?"
I didn't answer.
"Adrian."
"Where are Ethan and Caleb?"
She crossed her arms.
"They're safe."
"Where?"
"With someone I trust."
"Who?"
"My mother."
I immediately called Vivian's mother, Eleanor.
Straight to voicemail.
Vivian smiled.
"She's traveling."
My stomach tightened.
"Where?"
"Somewhere you won't embarrass me in front of police."
Nathan whispered.
"Get her car information."
I asked Vivian what vehicle Eleanor had.
She didn't answer.
Detective Monroe heard everything.
"We'll locate her."
Vivian took a step toward me.
"This is insane."
"Is it?"
"You're listening to a frightened six-year-old and a thief."
"Maya isn't a thief."
"According to you."
"According to the video."
Her face hardened.
"Do you know what Maya was doing?"
"Taking care of our sons."
"Turning them against me."
"No."
"You were never home."
That hit because it was true.
I worked constantly.
Philadelphia.
Baltimore.
Washington.
Board meetings.
Fundraising dinners.
Expansions.
I gave my family every luxury.
Except enough of me.
Vivian saw the guilt on my face.
She used it immediately.
"Who handled everything while you built your empire?"
"Don't."
"I did."
She stepped closer.
"School. Doctors. Tutors. Schedules. Tantrums. Nightmares."
"You hurt them."
"I disciplined them."
My stomach twisted.
"You locked them in a dark room."
Her eyes flashed.
"They needed consequences."
Nathan stared at her.
"They're six."
Vivian ignored him.
"Caleb is impossible."
I felt rage rise.
"Don't talk about my son like that."
"Our son."
"You don't get to use that word while defending hurting him."
She suddenly shouted.
"You left me alone with them!"
Silence.
There it was.
The first crack.
Then Vivian caught herself.
Her face smoothed again.
"I was overwhelmed."
"Then you ask for help."
"I did."
"When?"
She had no answer.
Sirens sounded outside.
Vivian's eyes moved toward the windows.
Then she grabbed her phone.
I saw her typing.
Nathan stepped closer.
"Who are you messaging?"
She shoved the phone against her chest.
"None of your business."
I didn't try taking it.
Police entered minutes later.
Detective Monroe came with them.
She was in her forties, focused and calm.
She addressed Vivian first.
"Mrs. Hale, we need to ask some questions."
Vivian switched personalities instantly.
Tears filled her eyes.
"My husband is having some kind of breakdown."
I almost laughed.
"He thinks I'm hurting our children."
Monroe's expression didn't change.
"We're investigating several matters."
"I'm the victim here."
Monroe looked toward me.
"Mr. Hale, your attorney can stay."
Nathan nodded.
Then Monroe turned to Vivian.
"Where are Ethan and Caleb?"
"With my mother."
"Where?"
Vivian hesitated.
"Her lake house."
That was new.
Eleanor owned a small property near Lake Harmony.
Three hours away.
Monroe signaled to another officer.
"Address?"
I gave it.
Calls went out immediately.
I tried Eleanor again.
Nothing.
Vivian began pacing.
"They're safe."
"Then why didn't you tell me you were sending them away?" I asked.
"Because you've become irrational."
"When did she take them?"
"Early."
"While I was downstairs?"
"Yes."
That seemed impossible.
The boys would've called for me.
Then I remembered the service entrance near the east wing.
Private driveway.
Vivian saw me understand.
"They were sleeping."
My chest tightened.
"You moved sleeping children without telling their father."
"I'm their mother."
Detective Monroe interrupted.
"Mrs. Hale, we're going to need your phone."
Vivian immediately stepped back.
"No."
"You're not required to hand it over without a warrant unless you consent."
"I don't."
Monroe nodded.
"Understood."
No argument.
That seemed to make Vivian more nervous.
My phone rang.
Maya.
I answered immediately.
"Maya?"
She was crying.
"Mr. Hale, where are the boys?"
"I don't know yet."
"What?"
I explained quickly.
She started breathing fast.
"Eleanor's lake house?"
"Yes."
"Mr. Hale..."
"What?"
"The boys hate that house."
My stomach dropped.
"Why?"
"Maya," Vivian snapped from across the room.
I turned away.
"Maya, tell me."
She hesitated.
"Ethan told me Mrs. Hale took them there once before."
"When?"
"Last summer."
I remembered a weekend conference in Chicago.
Vivian said she took the boys to see her mother.
"What happened?"
"Ethan wouldn't tell me."
"What about Caleb?"
"He said there was a punishment room."
My blood went cold.
Another room.
Another place.
"Do you know where?"
"No."
Detective Monroe heard.
She immediately contacted officers in Carbon County.
Vivian's composure shattered.
"This is ridiculous!"
Everyone looked at her.
"My mother would never hurt them!"
I stared at Vivian.
"No one said Eleanor hurt them."
She froze.
Nathan whispered.
"That was interesting."
Vivian glared at him.
Then my phone rang again.
Detective Monroe's colleague had reached local police.
A unit was heading to the lake house.
Forty minutes.
Maybe less.
Those forty minutes became torture.
Vivian remained in the dining room with an officer.
Nathan and I waited in my office.
Maya stayed on speakerphone.
She told me more.
Little things she had dismissed.
Caleb hiding food in his room.
Ethan jumping when doors locked.
Both boys begging Maya not to leave when Vivian returned from social events.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
My voice broke.
Maya cried harder.
"I tried."
That sentence again.
"When?"
"Three times."
I remembered emails.
Maya asking for private meetings.
I forwarded them to Vivian because I assumed scheduling issues were her responsibility.
I felt physically sick.
"I failed them."
"No," Nathan said.
I looked at him.
"I was absent."
"Then be present now."
My phone rang.
Detective Monroe answered this time.
She listened.
Her face changed.
"They're at the property."
I stood.
"The boys?"
She held up one finger.
I couldn't breathe.
Finally she looked at me.
"The house is empty."
My knees weakened.
"What?"
"No Eleanor. No children."
Vivian shouted from the dining room.
"That's impossible."
Monroe turned toward her.
"When did you last speak with your mother?"
Vivian didn't answer.
Then an officer came rushing from the hall holding a tablet.
"Detective."
He showed Monroe something.
She looked at Vivian.
"What?"
I demanded.
Monroe turned the screen toward me.
Traffic-camera footage.
Eleanor's black SUV.
Timestamped two hours earlier.
Heading west.
Far away from the lake house.
Nathan whispered.
"Where is she going?"
Vivian stared at the image.
Her face had gone completely white.
I looked at her.
"You know."
"No."
"You know where she's taking them."
"I don't."
"Vivian."
Her eyes filled with something I hadn't seen before.
Not manipulation.
Fear.
"My mother wasn't supposed to leave Pennsylvania."
My chest tightened.
"What does that mean?"
She whispered.
"She was supposed to wait for my call."
Detective Monroe stepped closer.
"Wait before doing what?"
Vivian looked at me.
May you like
And the answer almost stopped my heart.
"Taking the boys to Canada."
