Chapter 4
My mother’s name filled the room like a ghost.
Rebecca Lane.
I had known her from photographs.
Soft brown hair.
A gentle smile.
A voice I could barely remember except in dreams.
Dad had always told me she died in a car accident when I was two.
Now his face told me that was only the story he survived by repeating.
“Harrison’s father ran a development company,” Dad said. “Rebecca worked in accounting. She found false books. Payments to judges. Bribes. Property stolen from families who couldn’t fight back.”
Judge Reed added, “She came to me when I was a young prosecutor.”
Harrison’s voice cracked.
“You never proved anything.”
“No,” Judge Reed said. “Because Rebecca died before she could testify.”
I felt sick.
Marcus shook his head.
“This has nothing to do with me.”
Detective Ellis looked at him.
“It has everything to do with patterns.”
She opened a folder.
Texts from Harrison to Marcus.
Keep Emily controlled.
Do not let her leave with the baby.
If necessary, we use the same competency strategy.
My hands went cold.
“The same strategy?” I whispered.
Dad’s jaw tightened.
“That’s what they tried with your mother before the crash. They called her unstable.”
Harrison looked at the floor.
Marcus backed toward the window.
An officer stepped in front of him.
“You are not leaving.”
He pointed at me.
“She is my wife!”
Judge Reed’s voice became steel.
“And she is under court protection.”
The nurse came in to take Lily for a newborn check.
I panicked.
“No.”
The nurse froze.
Dad touched my shoulder.
“I’ll go with her.”
I looked at him.
He understood immediately.
I had learned fear from Marcus.
But I had learned trust from Dad.
“Okay,” I whispered.
Dad gently lifted Lily.
Harrison watched him.
His face twisted with old terror.
May you like
And I realized Dad’s tattoo had not scared him because of war.
It scared him because Dad had survived the Vances once before.
