Chapter 9: The Last Place We Expected to Find Her
"Where is my mother?""
My voice was so loud that Danielle flinched.
Emily grabbed the folder.
"I don't know exactly.""
"Then find out!""
"I can try.""
"Try?""
I stepped toward her.
"My mother is recovering from surgery. She could barely walk without help. Someone has taken her, and you're telling me you can try?""
Emily's eyes filled.
"I know.""
"Then start talking!""
She opened her laptop.
"Jordan has three properties outside the city. One is a warehouse. One is an unfinished development site. The third is a furnished house he uses when he needs privacy.""
"Where?""
She typed quickly.
Then she turned the screen toward me.
A map showed three locations.
I recognized one immediately.
It was a property about forty minutes from my mother's neighborhood.
"What's that place?""
Emily looked at the address.
"That's the house.""
"Why would Jordan take my mother there?""
She hesitated.
"Because it's where he keeps the original documents.""
Danielle grabbed her coat.
"Then we're going.""
I reached for my keys.
Emily shook her head.
"Wait. You can't just drive there.""
"Watch me.""
"Jordan may have people with him.""
I stared at her.
"My mother is alone with those people.""
Emily lowered her voice.
"That's why we need to do this properly.""
I took out my phone and called Detective Bennett.
She answered immediately.
"Mr. Carter?""
"Jordan has taken my mother.""
"We're aware.""
"Then send officers to the address I'm about to give you.""
I read the address from Emily's screen.
Bennett went quiet.
Then she said:
"Don't go there yourself.""
"How long until you can get someone there?""
"We're coordinating with a regional team now.""
"How long?""
"I can't give you an exact time.""
I closed my eyes.
"Detective, my mother could be in danger.""
"I understand. Please stay where you are.""
I ended the call.
Danielle looked at me.
"Marcus, we can't wait.""
I nodded.
"We're going.""
Emily stood.
"I'm coming too.""
Nia stepped forward.
"So am I.""
I turned toward her.
"No.""
She looked stunned.
"Marcus, please. I know where Jordan keeps the spare keys.""
I stared at her.
"Why would I trust you?""
"Because I can help you find your mother.""
Danielle shook her head.
"After everything you've done?""
Nia's voice cracked.
"I know I don't deserve your trust. But your mother is in danger. Whatever happens to me afterward, I don't care.""
I looked at her.
For a moment, I saw the woman I had married.
The woman who had held my hand during my father's funeral.
The woman who had sat beside my mother in the hospital when I couldn't get away from work.
But those memories no longer erased what she had done.
"Fine," I said.
"You can come. But you stay behind us, and you do exactly what I say.""
We left together.
Danielle drove.
I sat in the passenger seat with Emily behind me and Nia beside her.
The rain had stopped, but the roads were slick.
Streetlights reflected across the windshield.
Nobody spoke for the first ten minutes.
Then Nia whispered:
"Marcus?""
I stared ahead.
"What?""
"I need to tell you something.""
"Not now.""
"It's about your mother.""
I turned slightly.
"Go on.""
Nia swallowed.
"Jordan didn't just take her because of the money.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What else?""
"He believes she knows where your father kept the original investment documents.""
I frowned.
"What investment documents?""
Nia shook her head.
"I don't know all the details. But Jordan said your father had an account connected to a property company.""
I looked at Emily.
She immediately opened her laptop.
"That could explain something.""
"What?""
Emily searched through the files.
Then she found a document.
It was an old company registration.
My father's name appeared near the top.
I stared at it.
"That's impossible.""
Emily turned the screen toward me.
"Your father owned a small property company twenty years ago. It was dissolved, but the company retained an interest in an undeveloped parcel of land.""
I read the address.
It was outside the city.
The same area where Jordan's unfinished development site was located.
"Why would Jordan know about my father's company?""
Emily answered quietly.
"Because Victor bought the company's old records.""
My mind raced.
"Bought them from whom?""
She scrolled down.
Then she stopped.
The seller's name appeared.
A man named Robert Hayes.
Victor's father.
I stared at the screen.
"Wait.""
Emily looked up.
"What?""
"My father knew a Robert Hayes.""
She nodded.
"They were business partners.""
I turned toward her.
"How do you know that?""
"Because Jordan mentioned it in a meeting. He said your father and Victor's father had a disagreement over a piece of land.""
I felt a chill crawl down my back.
My father had never told me about any business dispute.
He had always described his work as simple construction and maintenance.
"Why did they fight?""
Emily shook her head.
"I don't know.""
Nia suddenly spoke.
"Jordan said your father stole something.""
I turned.
"What?""
"That's why Victor wanted the property records.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"Stole what?""
Nia shook her head.
"He never told me.""
Danielle slowed the car as we approached the property.
A tall metal gate stood ahead.
Beyond it was a large two-story house surrounded by trees.
One upstairs window was illuminated.
I recognized the black SUV parked outside.
Jordan's vehicle.
Danielle pulled onto the side of the road.
I immediately reached for my door.
Emily grabbed my arm.
"Wait.""
I turned.
"What?""
She pointed toward the driveway.
A second vehicle was parked behind Jordan's SUV.
A white van.
The side door was open.
I felt my blood turn cold.
"That's the vehicle that took Mom.""
Nia leaned forward.
"Yes.""
I stared at the house.
"How do we get inside?""
Emily opened her laptop again.
"There's a security camera system. Jordan uses a remote application.""
"Can you access it?""
She nodded.
"Maybe.""
She connected her phone to the laptop and typed rapidly.
After a minute, a security feed appeared.
The front hallway.
The kitchen.
The living room.
Then a camera showed the upstairs corridor.
And there she was.
My mother.
Sitting in a chair beside a window.
Her hands were trembling.
A man stood near the door.
I leaned closer.
"Mom.""
Danielle covered her mouth.
"She's alive.""
I felt a wave of relief so powerful that I almost couldn't breathe.
Then another person entered the room.
Jordan.
He was holding a folder.
He placed it on the table.
"Mrs. Carter," he said, "we need to finish this tonight.""
My mother shook her head.
"I told you. I'm not signing anything.""
Jordan sighed.
"You're making this unnecessarily difficult.""
"I want to speak to my son.""
"Your son is in serious trouble.""
"Then let me call him.""
Jordan shook his head.
"Not until you sign.""
My mother's voice became firmer.
"You're a thief.""
Jordan's expression changed.
He leaned closer.
"Careful.""
My mother looked directly at him.
"Your father was exactly like you.""
Jordan froze.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
Then he grabbed the folder.
"Sign the paper.""
My mother pushed it away.
"No.""
Jordan slammed his hand against the table.
I clenched my fists.
"That's enough.""
Emily looked at me.
"Marcus, wait. There's something else.""
She switched to another camera.
The downstairs office.
A man was sitting at a desk.
Victor.
He was holding a document and speaking on the phone.
I turned up the volume.
"Yes. We have the original now.""
A pause.
"No, the old man's son doesn't know anything about it.""
Another pause.
Then Victor laughed.
"Once the mother signs, we can claim the land. Jordan gets the house, and I get the company shares.""
My eyes widened.
Company shares?
Victor continued:
"That's what Robert wanted all along. He never forgot what happened twenty years ago.""
I looked at Emily.
"What happened twenty years ago?""
She shook her head.
"I don't know.""
Then Victor said something that made the entire world seem to stop.
"Marcus's father didn't steal the land.""
He paused.
"He was murdered because he refused to give it up.""
Danielle gasped.
I stared at the screen.
My father had died eleven years earlier.
The official explanation had been a heart attack.
He had been fifty-eight years old.
Healthy enough to work.
Healthy enough to spend entire weekends repairing cars.
And now Victor was suggesting his death had something to do with a property dispute.
I stepped away from the laptop.
"No.""
Nia whispered:
"Marcus...""
I shook my head.
"No. My father died of a heart attack.""
Emily looked at the screen.
"Listen.""
Victor continued.
"Jordan, make sure the old woman signs. We can't afford another mistake like Robert made.""
The camera feed suddenly went black.
Emily's laptop displayed a connection error.
She tried again.
Nothing.
Then her phone rang.
An unknown number.
She answered.
A man's voice came through.
"Emily.""
She went pale.
"Jordan?""
He laughed.
"I was wondering when you'd show up.""
I looked at her.
She put the call on speaker.
Jordan continued.
"Tell Marcus I know he's outside.""
I felt my heart slam against my ribs.
"How?""
"Because I know him better than he thinks.""
I stepped toward the phone.
"Let my mother go.""
Jordan chuckled.
"Still giving orders, Marcus?""
"She's done nothing to you.""
"Neither did your father, according to the story you were told.""
I gripped the phone.
"What happened to my father?""
Silence.
Then Jordan said:
"That's a question you should have asked your mother years ago.""
I looked at the house.
"What are you talking about?""
Jordan's voice lowered.
"Your father didn't die the way you think.""
Danielle began crying.
I could barely breathe.
Jordan continued.
"And if you want to know the truth, bring me the flash drive.""
I looked at the laptop.
Then at Nia.
"What flash drive?""
Jordan laughed.
"The one your wife took from my office.""
I turned toward Nia.
She looked terrified.
I remembered the flash drive she had given me.
It contained the recordings.
The emails.
The evidence.
Jordan knew we had it.
"Let my mother go first," I said.
"No.""
"Then we have nothing to discuss.""
Jordan sighed.
"Marcus, you really don't understand.""
He paused.
Then his voice became cold.
"Your mother isn't the only person in that house.""
I looked at the security feed.
Emily managed to reconnect one camera.
The downstairs office appeared.
Victor was standing beside another man.
The man was holding a photograph.
He turned it toward the camera.
It showed my father standing beside a younger Victor.
And between them was another person.
A woman.
My mother.
Emily zoomed in.
I stared at the photograph.
Because the woman standing beside my father wasn't simply my mother.
She was holding a baby.
A baby I had never seen before.
Jordan's voice came through the phone again.
"Ask your mother who that child is.""
I couldn't speak.
Then he added:
"Because that child is the real reason your father died.""
The call ended.
I stared at the photograph.
Danielle slowly turned toward me.
"Marcus...""
I shook my head.
"Don't.""
But she was already crying.
Because she recognized the baby.
She looked at the photograph one more time.
Then she whispered:
"That's you.""
I stared at her.
"What?""
She swallowed.
"Marcus, that's you.""
My entire body went cold.
The photograph showed my mother holding me as a baby.
My father stood beside her.
And Victor was smiling at the camera.
But there was something written on the back of the photograph.
Emily enlarged the image.
The handwriting was faded but readable.
*PROPERTY AGREEMENT — SIGNED BEFORE MARCUS WAS BORN.*
I looked toward the house.
My mother was inside.
Jordan knew something about my birth.
And whatever my father had hidden twenty years ago had finally caught up with us.
Then, in the distance, red and blue lights appeared at the end of the road.
Police vehicles.
But Jordan had already seen them.
The front door of the house opened.
Victor stepped outside.
He looked directly toward our car.
Then he raised his phone.
And smiled.
May you like
Because he wasn't running.
He was waiting for us.
