Chapter 13 - THE LAKE HOUSE
Daniel’s eyes went to Sophie before Vanessa finished speaking.
Hannah grabbed the phone from him and muted it.
Detective Ellis, already on a conference line, spoke through Hannah’s laptop.
“Keep her talking.”
“Vanessa, where are you?”
“You know where.”
The lake house belonged to Daniel’s parents. It had been empty since October.
“What do you want?”
“My family.”
Daniel’s voice broke. “Sophie is not your child.”
Then Vanessa laughed once.
“That’s Hannah talking.”
“No. That’s me.”
Police moved immediately.
Hannah stayed home with Sophie under officer protection.
For three hours there was no news.
Vanessa was not at the lake house.
But someone had been there.
They found clothes, food, forged documents, and a child’s booster seat in the garage.
On it was a draft email scheduled to send at 6:00 a.m.
I have decided that Hannah’s instability makes continued shared parenting impossible. Sophie is safe with me. We need space while our attorneys resolve this.
Attached was the forged relocation consent.
Hannah felt physically ill.
“She planned to make it look like Daniel took Sophie.”
“Yes,” Ellis said.
“Why?”
“To create confusion long enough to travel.”
“Travel where?”
“We’re working on that.”
At 1:06 a.m., Sophie woke crying.
“Mommy?”
“I’m here.”
“Vanessa said if I tell the truth, Daddy goes to jail.”
Hannah closed her eyes.
“No, sweetheart.”
“She said she has a secret that can make him disappear.”
“What secret?”
Sophie whispered, “The night Daddy broke the stairs.”
May you like
Hannah went still.
Daniel had never told her about any broken stairs.
