Chapter 12 - The Plan for That Afternoon
The rest of Rachel’s video file was recovered from Thomas’s cloud storage.
Daniel watched it with Susan and Detective Harris.
Rachel stood in the kitchen.
“I need an incident.”
Thomas’s voice came through speakerphone.
“Nothing serious.”
“Obviously.”
“What kind?”
“Something that shows the kids are uncontrollable under Daniel’s routine.”
Daniel stared.
Rachel continued.
“If Emma runs toward the stairs, I stop her. Noah intervenes. I document chaos.”
“No injuries.”
Daniel’s stomach turned.
Emma had not simply “misbehaved.”
Rachel had pushed the situation until a four-year-old panicked.
Daniel said, “She grabbed her by the hair.”
Harris nodded.
“Because Emma tried to get away.”
“Likely.”
Susan said, “And Daniel coming home ruined the documentation phase.”
Daniel remembered Rachel’s face.
Not guilt.
Surprise.
He had interrupted the scene before she could complete it.
Then investigators found a scheduled email in Rachel’s drafts.
Daniel’s prescription.
Noah’s forged statement.
All waiting.
Daniel had walked in at 5:42.
Thirty-three minutes later, Rachel planned to send the package.
The staircase.
The fear.
The evidence.
The report.
Daniel went home and sat in the dark kitchen.
Noah came down for water.
“You okay?”
Daniel almost lied.
Then stopped.
“No.”
Noah climbed onto the chair beside him.
“Because of Aunt Rachel?”
“Yes.”
Noah thought.
“Are we safe now?”
Daniel looked at him.
“That’s not yes.”
Daniel almost smiled.
His son had become very good at hearing vague adult language.
“You’re right.”
He took a breath.
Noah nodded.
“Okay.”
Then he said something Daniel did not expect.
“I still love Aunt Rachel.”
Daniel’s chest tightened.
“You can.”
“Even if she’s bad?”
Noah looked relieved.
Walter stood outside.
His face pale.
“Daniel.”
“What?”
“Rachel disappeared from the hotel.”
Her car was gone.
May you like
Her phone was off.
And Noah and Emma’s school pickup information had been accessed twenty minutes earlier.
