Chapter 12
Maya had been alive for at least three days after she vanished.
That fact changed the investigation immediately.
Police sealed the forest site.
Federal agents joined them because the fraud crossed state lines and involved charitable funds.
Reporters appeared outside Westbridge.
Our home.
Harrison Group headquarters.
By afternoon, my face was everywhere.
Dad shut off the television.
“I was watching that.”
“You were doom-scrolling with a remote.”
“That’s still watching.”
He sat across from me.
“You don’t need strangers explaining your own life to you.”
I looked at my phone.
“They’re calling me Billionaire Undercover Girl.”
“That sounds like a terrible streaming series.”
I laughed despite myself.
Then guilt hit.
Maya was still missing.
I stopped.
Dad understood.
“You’re allowed to laugh.”
“It feels wrong.”
“Joy isn’t betrayal.”
I looked at him.
“You sound like Mom.”
His face softened.
“She used to tell me that.”
Silence settled between us.
Then I asked something I had avoided.
“Why did you make me hide our money?”
He frowned.
“You know why.”
“No. I know the sentence you always use.”
If people know your last name before they know your heart.
“But why did you really care?”
Dad leaned back.
“My father was rich before I was born.”
I knew Grandfather Harrison had built the original company.
“He was surrounded by people.”
Dad looked toward the window.
“Very few loved him.”
I waited.
“When I met your mother, I told her I worked in logistics.”
I smiled.
“You lied to Mom?”
“For three weeks.”
“What happened when she found out?”
“She threw a drink at me.”
I laughed.
“That sounds like her.”
“It was iced tea.”
“Still deserved.”
“Probably.”
His smile faded.
“She told me money wasn’t the problem. Testing people was.”
That surprised me.
“Then why did you test me?”
Dad looked guilty.
“I thought I was protecting you from people who wanted access.”
“And I got noodles poured over my head.”
“Yes.”
The answer came painfully.
“I’m sorry.”
I stared at him.
“This isn’t your fault.”
“I put you in a situation without preparing you.”
“You sent me to school.”
“Under a false surname.”
“Mom’s surname.”
“Still.”
I thought about it.
“I don’t regret it.”
Dad blinked.
“Really?”
“If Madison had known, she would have smiled at me.”
“Yes.”
“She might have invited me to sit with her.”
“Yes.”
“And I would have thought she was nice.”
His expression softened.
“Probably.”
I swallowed.
“That scares me more than the noodles.”
Dad reached across the table.
I took his hand.
A knock interrupted us.
Daniel entered.
“They recovered additional data from Maya’s drive.”
I stood.
“What?”
“An audio file.”
Dad’s hand tightened.
“Content?”
“Dalton.”
My pulse jumped.
Daniel played it.
Static.
Then Maya’s frightened voice.
“Ms. Dalton, please.”
A car engine hummed.
Dalton answered.
“You created a serious problem.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You recorded private conversations.”
“They were stealing money.”
“You don’t understand what you heard.”
“My dad understood.”
Silence.
Then Dalton said, “Your father should have stayed out of things too.”
Dad went pale.
Maya’s voice sharpened.
“What does that mean?”
Dalton didn’t answer.
The car turned.
Maya began breathing harder.
“This isn’t the way to my house.”
“I need you to calm down.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“To someone who can fix this.”
“No.”
A scuffle.
The sound of a door handle.
“Stop the car!”
“Maya!”
The recording cut.
My hands shook.
“Dalton kidnapped her.”
Dad’s face was hard.
“At minimum, she transported her somewhere against her will.”
“Why wasn’t this on the drive video?”
“Different file.”
Daniel continued.
“Technicians are reconstructing deleted sectors.”
I stared at him.
“Deleted?”
“Yes.”
“Who deleted them?”
“Unknown.”
Dad asked, “Can we determine when?”
“Possibly.”
My phone buzzed.
Elena.
I answered.
“Hey.”
“Did they find Maya?”
“Not yet.”
She sighed.
“I saw the news.”
I didn’t know what to say.
Then she continued.
“My mom remembered something.”
“What?”
“The night Maya disappeared, someone called our house.”
“Who?”
“She didn’t give a name.”
Dad motioned for speaker.
“What did she say?”
“She asked if I knew where Maya kept her school files.”
“Did your mom recognize the voice?”
“No.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes.”
Elena hesitated.
“She heard a school bell in the background.”
I frowned.
“At night?”
“That’s what she remembered.”
Dad looked at Daniel.
“Westbridge bells?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Automated bell system ends after classes.”
Elena said, “There was one place where bells kept ringing.”
My skin prickled.
“Where?”
“The old chapel.”
Westbridge had a small historic chapel at the edge of campus.
It wasn’t used for religious services anymore.
Mostly ceremonies.
Its bell tower rang manually during alumni events.
“Why would someone be there?”
Elena lowered her voice.
“Maya used to volunteer in the archives underneath it.”
Dad stood.
“Archives?”
“She helped digitize old school records.”
My stomach tightened.
“Financial records?”
“Everything.”
Daniel was already calling investigators.
Dad looked at me.
“You stay here.”
I groaned.
“Again?”
“Yes.”
“Fine.”
He blinked.
“That was suspiciously easy.”
“I’m learning.”
“That’s worse.”
He kissed my forehead and left with Daniel.
Claire stayed with me.
Two hours passed.
Then three.
No word.
At nearly seven, Dad called.
I answered immediately.
“Did you find something?”
His breathing sounded strange.
“Avery.”
“What?”
“We found a hidden room under the chapel archive.”
My heart stopped.
“Was Maya there?”
“No.”
Relief and disappointment collided.
“What was there?”
“Records.”
“What kind?”
“Student files. Financial documents.”
I waited.
Dad didn’t continue.
“Dad?”
“And photographs.”
“Of what?”
“Students.”
My skin went cold.
“What students?”
“Every scholarship recipient Westbridge targeted.”
I couldn’t breathe.
Then Dad said something worse.
“There’s a photograph of you.”
I stood.
“What?”
“It was taken your first day at Westbridge.”
My knees weakened.
“They were watching me before Madison dumped the noodles?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Dad was silent.
May you like
Then his voice broke.
“Because they knew exactly who you were before you ever stepped onto campus.”
