Chapter 12 - The Missing Man
The blood was Martin's.
Not enough to prove he was dead.
Enough to make the situation real in a different way.
Local police found his phone smashed twenty yards from the car.
His wallet was still inside.
Nina wanted me under full security.
I agreed.
Ethan hated that I agreed so easily.
"You think they might come after you."
"I think desperate people get stupid."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one I have."
Vanessa called Ethan sixteen times that day.
He finally answered on speaker.
She was crying.
"I didn't know about any of this."
Ethan looked at me.
"Did you know your mother recognized mine before the hose?"
Silence.
"Vanessa?"
"Mom said the woman might be someone from the bank."
"And you still sprayed her?"
"I thought she was trying to embarrass us."
Ethan closed his eyes.
"You keep explaining why you did it like the explanation makes it better."
She snapped, "Your mother came disguised to judge me!"
I leaned toward the phone.
"Yes. And within ninety seconds, you threatened a waiter, insulted a stranger, and turned cruelty into entertainment. I didn't create that. I gave it privacy to reveal itself."
Vanessa went quiet.
Then she whispered, "You don't understand my father."
"Help us understand."
Her breathing changed.
"He said if I didn't marry Ethan, my brother would go to prison."
Ethan frowned.
"What does your brother have to do with this?"
"Everything."
Before she could continue, someone in the background shouted her name.
The call ended.
A minute later, Ethan received a text from Vanessa.
DON'T CALL ME. DAD HAS MY PHONE.
May you like
Then another.
THE ATLANTA PROJECT IS IN MICHAEL'S NAME.
