Chapter 2 - THE NAME ON THE ENVELOPE
I couldn't speak.
The photograph lay between Ethan and me.
Richard was unmistakable.
Same face.
Same expensive watch.
Same navy jacket he wore whenever he met important clients.
But the woman beside him was a stranger.
She appeared to be in her early forties, with dark hair pulled into a loose bun.
The baby in her arms couldn't have been more than a few weeks old.
"Who is she?"
Ethan looked at the floor.
"Her name is Vanessa Cole."
"And the baby?"
He swallowed.
"That's where everything gets complicated."
The newborn in my arms stirred.
I looked down.
A tiny hand emerged from the blanket.
"Then start at the beginning."
Ethan nodded.
"When Dad kicked me out, I slept in my car for three nights."
I closed my eyes.
He continued.
"Then an old friend from school let me stay in his garage."
"Why didn't you call me?"
"I did."
My eyes snapped open.
"What?"
"Three times."
"I never got those calls."
He reached into the suitcase and pulled out an old phone.
He showed me the call history.
His number.
Mine.
Three unanswered calls.
The dates were from shortly after he left.
"Richard had access to your phone," Ethan said.
My heart stopped.
"He told me you didn't want to speak to me."
I stared at him.
"I never said that."
"I know."
He pulled out another document.
A bank statement.
"After I left, I got a job at a delivery company. I saved everything I could. Eventually I rented a small apartment."
He paused.
"Then I met Vanessa."
I frowned.
"How?"
"At the hospital."
My eyes dropped toward the newborn.
"She was pregnant."
Ethan nodded.
"She had no family nearby. Her boyfriend had disappeared when he found out she was pregnant."
"What does that have to do with Richard?"
"Everything."
He opened the metal box.
Inside were several memory cards.
"Vanessa worked for one of Dad's companies."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"She was an accountant."
My pulse quickened.
"She discovered money missing from one of his accounts."
"How much?"
"Eight million dollars."
I nearly dropped the baby.
"Eight million?"
"She copied documents before she confronted him."
Ethan looked at the baby.
"Then she disappeared."
I whispered, "And you found her?"
"No."
He shook his head.
"She found me."
A terrible silence filled the room.
"She was terrified. She told me someone was following her."
"Why you?"
"Because she knew Dad had thrown me out."
My skin prickled.
Ethan continued.
"She thought Dad was using me as a scapegoat."
I looked again at the photograph.
"Then why is the baby in your arms?"
"Because Vanessa died."
My breath caught.
"How?"
"Car accident."
"Accident?"
Ethan looked directly at me.
"I don't believe it was an accident."
He handed me another photograph.
A wrecked sedan.
The driver's side had been crushed.
"She gave me the baby before she died."
"Why?"
"Because she knew Dad would come looking for her evidence."
I looked down at the sleeping infant.
"What's the baby's name?"
Ethan's eyes softened.
"Samuel."
"Samuel."
He nodded.
"Vanessa named him before she died."
A knock suddenly sounded at the front door.
Ethan froze.
I tightened my grip around Samuel.
"Did anyone follow you?"
"I don't know."
The knocking came again.
Three slow knocks.
Ethan's face turned white.
"Mom."
"What?"
"Don't answer."
The door handle moved.
Someone was trying to open it.
I stepped backward.
Ethan grabbed the suitcase.
The handle stopped moving.
Then silence.
We waited.
Thirty seconds.
A minute.
Finally, Ethan approached the window and carefully pulled back the curtain.
A black SUV sat across the street.
Its engine was running.
I whispered, "Who is that?"
Ethan's voice was barely audible.
"People who want that suitcase."
The SUV suddenly drove away.
I turned toward my son.
"What are we going to do?"
Ethan looked at me.
"For the first time in my life?"
May you like
He took a breath.
"We're going to stop running."
