I stayed awake until nearly three in the morning.
Lily slept in my room with the door locked.
Daniel slept downstairs.
Neither of us trusted ourselves to have another conversation without saying something we couldn't take back.
At six fifteen, I heard movement in the hallway.
I opened the bedroom door.
Daniel was standing outside.
"I found something."
I stepped into the hall.
He held his phone.
"The notary."
"What about him?"
"He died last year."
I stared at him.
"Then the agreement couldn't have been notarized six months ago."
"Exactly."
"Where did you find that?"
"I called the county office."
He handed me the phone.
The record confirmed it.
The notary had died eleven months earlier.
I looked at Daniel.
"So someone used his seal."
"Or had access to it."
"Who?"
He shook his head.
"I don't know."
We went downstairs.
His parents were gone.
Their bedroom doors stood open.
Their luggage was missing.
My stomach dropped.
"Where are they?"
Daniel called his father.
No answer.
Then Margaret's phone went to voicemail.
He called again.
Nothing.
On the dining table was a single envelope.
My name was written across it.
I opened it.
Inside was a short note.
I am sorry.
That's all.
Daniel read it over my shoulder.
"That's not enough."
"No."
His phone rang.
It was Robert Hale.
"Mr. Mercer?"
"Yes."
"I need you and your wife to come to the office."
"Why?"
"We found a discrepancy in the loan file."
"What kind?"
"I'd rather explain in person."
Daniel looked at me.
We left Lily with our neighbor and drove to the lender's office.
Hale met us in a conference room.
He placed a file on the table.
"The original custodial agreement was never submitted by your father."
Daniel stared.
"Then who submitted it?"
Hale turned the document around.
"Your sister."
Claire.
I felt my stomach drop.
"Why would Claire do that?"
Hale shook his head.
"I don't know."
Daniel called her.
She answered on the fourth ring.
"Daniel?"
"Where are you?"
There was a pause.
"At home."
"Did you submit documents to the lender?"
Another pause.
"What documents?"
"The custodial agreement."
Silence.
Then Claire began crying.
"I didn't know what it was."
"Who gave it to you?"
"I found it."
"Where?"
"At Dad's office."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Why did you submit it?"
"Because Dad told me to."
I looked at Daniel.
He whispered, "Put her on speaker."
Claire continued.
"He said the lender wouldn't extend the deadline unless we proved there was additional security."
"Did you sign anything?"
"No."
"Then who did?"
"I don't know."
She began crying harder.
"But I saw someone using Dad's computer."
"Who?"
"I thought it was Mom."
I felt a chill.
"Did you see her face?"
"No."
"Then why did you think it was her?"
"Because she was wearing Mom's coat."
Daniel looked at me.
"When?"
"Two months ago."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because Dad told me I'd go to prison if I interfered."
The line went quiet.
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Claire, where are Mom and Dad now?"
"I don't know."
"Are you sure?"
"I swear."
I took the phone.
"Claire, think carefully. What else did you see?"
She sniffed.
"The person was carrying a blue folder."
I looked at Daniel.
The same folder.
"What was inside?"
"I don't know."
"Did you see any papers?"
"One."
"What paper?"
Claire hesitated.
"Your insurance policy."
My heart began pounding.
"What else?"
"There was a photograph."
"Of whom?"
"You."
I froze.
"Me?"
"Yes."
"Where was it taken?"
"I don't know. It looked like your workplace."
Daniel looked at me.
I suddenly remembered something.
A photograph had disappeared from my desk at work three months earlier.
I had assumed I'd misplaced it.
It had been a family photograph.
Lily, Daniel, and me.
I had forgotten about it until that moment.
"Claire," I said, "did the photograph show Lily?"
"No."
"Just me and Daniel."
"Yes."
I ended the call.
Hale looked at us.
"There's something else."
He slid a page across the table.
The insurance beneficiary change had been submitted electronically.
The login originated from a computer associated with Daniel's employer.
I looked at my husband.
"Who at your company had access to your account?"
"Payroll."
"Anyone else?"
"Human resources."
"Your assistant?"
He shook his head.
Then stopped.
"What?"
"My old assistant."
"Who?"
He looked at me.
"Rebecca."
I remembered her.
Rebecca had worked with Daniel for nearly six years.
She had attended our housewarming.
She knew our finances.
She knew about Claire.
She knew about Daniel's father.
And she had been the person who handled his benefits paperwork.
"Where is she now?"
"She left three months ago."
"Why?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I thought she resigned."
Hale opened another file.
"She didn't."
He placed a termination record on the table.
"She was dismissed after an internal investigation."
"For what?"
"Unauthorized access to employee records."
I looked at Daniel.
"Did you know?"
"No."
Hale gave us another page.
Rebecca had accessed Daniel's insurance information repeatedly.
She had also accessed his emergency contact information.
And once, she had accessed my information.
I felt a coldness spread through me.
"Why would she do this?"
"We don't know."
Daniel stood.
"Where is she now?"
Hale shook his head.
"We're trying to find out."
I looked at the clock.
Eight forty-five.
Then my phone rang.
It was Lily.
I answered immediately.
"Sweetheart?"
Her voice was shaking.
"Mom, someone is at the house."
My blood ran cold.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Where are you?"
"In the pantry."
"Lock the door."
"I did."
"Don't come out."
Daniel was already standing.
Hale reached for his phone.
Lily whispered, "Mom?"
"I'm here."
"I saw her."
"Who?"
"The lady from Dad's office."
My heart stopped.
"Rebecca?"
"Yes."
Then the call went silent.
Click here to continue reading: PART 8: The Last Piece of the Puzzle Was Waiting Inside Our Own House, Where Lily’s Courage Finally Brought the Truth Into the Light
The Dinner I Was Never Supposed to See Revealed What My Daughter Had Been Hiding Behind Her Quiet Smile
Part 7 of 8
