Chapter 13 - The Price of Being Seen
The admission made me sit down. For days I'd pictured Nolan as the architect and Mara as someone he had persuaded. He had exploited our family, but she had built the door that let him in.
I brought the voicemail to Anita. She made sure investigators received it, then reminded me to keep my distance from Mara while the cases unfolded. I wanted to ask her a hundred questions. None would make the children unlive the last months.
At the house, Tessa helped me pack away the studio furniture after the officers released the room. We found a cardboard box of birthday decorations, some still sealed. Lily's seventh birthday had been the week before I left on my last trip. Mara had told me she used the money I'd sent for a cake and a small party.
The decorations were untouched. The box held receipts for camera equipment instead.
"I missed her birthday," I said.
"You called her," Tessa reminded me.
"For three minutes. Mara said Lily was too tired for more."
Tessa sat beside me. "You can regret that without making Mara's decisions yours. But you need to decide what kind of father you are when no one is watching."
The words stayed with me as I called my supervisor. I explained that I could not return to constant travel, even if the company cleared me. We began discussing a local position at lower pay. It would mean cutting expenses and possibly selling my truck.
After dinner, Lily asked if we could put up the birthday decorations anyway. We hung the paper stars over the kitchen table. Tommy insisted every star had to face the same direction. For twenty minutes, our family did something without a camera pointed at us.
May you like
Then a text arrived from an unknown number. It held a still image of me shouting in the kitchen.
"One hour," the message said. "Agree to keep quiet, or the full clip goes live."
