Chapter 3
Officer Ruiz took Noah and me outside.
Melissa was handcuffed behind us, screaming that we belonged to her.
“We’re married,” she shouted. “Those children are legally mine.”
“You never adopted us,” I said.
Her face twisted.
She had tried twice.
I had refused to sign the papers.
Dad thought I was still grieving Mom.
I could never tell him that Melissa came into my room at night and warned me what would happen if I replaced my mother’s name with hers.
Ruiz opened an ambulance door.
A paramedic examined Noah’s bruises.
He winced when she touched his ankle.
“How long has this been happening?” she asked.
Noah looked at me.
I wanted to tell the truth.
Then I remembered Melissa saying Dad would go to prison if we spoke.
Now Dad was already in a police car.
“Six months,” I said.
Noah whispered, “Longer.”
Ruiz crouched in front of us.
“You’re safe right now.”
I glanced at Mercer.
He stood beside Melissa and spoke quietly to her.
She nodded.
He wasn’t questioning her.
He was reassuring her.
“Not from him,” I said.
Ruiz followed my gaze.
“What did you see?”
“He put our camera card in his pocket.”
Her expression tightened.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
Mercer looked over.
Ruiz stood immediately.
“Stay with the paramedic.”
She walked toward him.
Their voices were low, but I heard Mercer say the card was contaminated.
Ruiz demanded that he log it.
Melissa watched them argue with a small smile.
Then a silver SUV stopped beyond the police tape.
Aunt Rebecca jumped out before it had fully parked.
She was Dad’s older sister and a family attorney in Fort Worth.
She pushed past a reporter and ran toward us.
“Oh, my God.”
Noah collapsed into her arms.
Rebecca saw my lip, then stared at Melissa.
“I warned Daniel about you.”
Melissa lifted her chin.
“And he chose me.”
Rebecca turned to Ruiz.
“These children leave with me.”
“Child Protective Services will decide placement,” Ruiz said.
“I’m their emergency guardian.”
Rebecca produced documents from her bag.
She was always prepared.
While Ruiz checked them, Rebecca leaned close.
“What did Daniel say?”
“The blue box.”
Her face lost its color.
“You know about it?”
“I thought he destroyed it.”
Melissa heard.
She began pulling against the officer holding her.
“Rebecca!”
Rebecca ignored her.
CPS allowed us to leave after photographs were taken and statements recorded.
But before we reached the SUV, Mercer blocked our path.
“I need to speak with Emma alone.”
“No,” Rebecca said.
“She may have information about a homicide.”
“She’s fifteen, injured, and represented by me.”
Mercer looked at me.
“Your father murdered your mother, Emma. Protecting him won’t change that.”
Rebecca moved between us.
“If you approach her without me again, I’ll file a complaint.”
Mercer smiled.
“File whatever you want.”
As we drove away, I looked back at the house.
Melissa was being placed in a different cruiser.
Mercer opened her door himself.
Before she got inside, she looked directly at me and mouthed four words.
You’ll never find it.
Rebecca saw my face.
“What did she say?”
I told her.
Her hands tightened around the wheel.
“The blue box isn’t in the house,” she said.
“Then where is it?”
Rebecca looked at Noah in the back seat.
May you like
He was finally asleep.
“Your mother hid it the night she died.”
