Chapter 16 - The Line
That note ended any remaining argument about whether this was "family drama."
Police placed patrols near our house.
James's command security office helped us coordinate temporary housing on base for a few nights.
Mom asked to come with us.
I said no.
She cried.
I still said no.
"Rachel, I'm your mother."
"And I'm Emma's mother. That's the role I'm choosing first."
It hurt to say.
It also felt clean.
Lauren remained in custody on fraud-related charges and child endangerment allegations from Thanksgiving were being reviewed.
Martin was still missing.
Then a detective called with news.
They had traced his car near Emma's daycare.
James and I looked at each other.
The daycare had already been warned, but fear doesn't care how many plans you make.
We drove there with police nearby.
Mrs. Patel met us at the locked entrance.
"He never got inside," she said. "But someone came to the side gate about forty minutes ago."
Security video showed a man in a baseball cap walking the fence line.
Martin.
He tried the gate once, then walked away.
On his way out, he dropped something near the curb.
An officer retrieved it.
A photograph.
It showed Lauren standing beside Emma's crib months earlier.
Emma was asleep.
Lauren was holding a folder.
Behind the photograph, someone had written:
SHE WAS NEVER THE PLAN. SHE WAS THE ACCESS.
I felt sick.
James stared at those words.
"Martin never cared who had custody," he said. "He just needed someone he could control."
The detective nodded.
Then his radio crackled.
May you like
Martin's vehicle had just been found.
At my parents' house.
