Chapter 9 - The Doctor Behind the Lie)
Samuel Voss was not hiding.
He was working from a private addiction treatment center outside Richmond under a consulting contract.
Police found him before sunset.
His first reaction was denial.
His second was to request an attorney.
His third was to ask whether Owen Pike had been arrested.
That question interested detectives.
By nine that evening, Voss was cooperating.
Not because he suddenly developed a conscience.
Because he realized Owen had already begun framing everyone else.
Voss admitted preparing the false psychological report on Daniel.
He had never examined him.
He had watched videos supplied by Vanessa, reviewed fabricated incident reports, and signed a diagnosis in exchange for sixty thousand dollars.
He also admitted something worse.
Three years earlier, Owen had hired him to consult privately on Elise Carter's hospital treatment.
Daniel received the interview summary from Detective Collins.
Voss had recommended a medication adjustment.
Not the medication that appeared illegally in Elise's system.
When Voss questioned Owen afterward, Owen told him the hospital had made an error.
Voss accepted a payment and stayed silent.
Another person bought.
Another silence purchased.
Another piece of Daniel's family sold for money.
But Voss gave police something they had not expected.
A location.
Owen Pike owned a cabin through a shell company near Lake Raven.
Vanessa had been there several times.
Police moved immediately.
Daniel was ordered to remain home.
He hated it.
Every instinct told him to drive to Lake Raven himself.
But Noah and Lily were asleep upstairs.
For once, he chose staying over chasing.
At 11:43 p.m., Detective Collins called.
"The cabin is empty."
Daniel looked out the dark living room windows.
"Anything useful?"
"Documents. Clothes. Food."
"Recent?"
"Very."
"Vanessa?"
"Hair and personal items consistent with her."
"Owen?"
"Probably."
"Where are they?"
"We do not know."
Daniel's frustration sharpened.
Andrea continued.
"We found a map."
"What map?"
"Your neighborhood."
Daniel turned away from the window.
"What?"
"Your house, Rachel's house, Lily's school, Noah's school."
Daniel felt cold.
"And one more location."
"Where?"
"Carter Development headquarters."
The board meeting.
Nine in the morning.
Daniel understood.
Owen did not need to defeat him in court that night.
He needed the company.
If Northstar gained temporary control, Owen could move accounts, destroy records, sell assets, and disappear before the criminal investigation locked everything down.
Evelyn had already filed for an emergency injunction.
A judge would hear it at eight thirty.
But until then, the corporate meeting remained scheduled.
Daniel walked upstairs.
He stopped outside Noah's room.
The door was open.
Noah was awake.
"You okay?" Daniel asked.
"No."
Daniel leaned against the doorframe.
"Me neither."
Noah sat up.
"Are you going to work tomorrow?"
"For a little while."
"Vanessa said they were taking your company."
"They are trying."
"Can they?"
Daniel considered the answer.
"No."
Noah studied him.
"You sound like Dad."
Daniel smiled faintly.
"Aaron hated people telling him what he could not stop."
Noah looked toward the window.
"Did you and Dad ever fight?"
"All the time."
"About what?"
"Everything."
Noah almost smiled.
Daniel entered the room and sat at the edge of the bed.
"When we were kids, your dad broke my nose."
Noah's eyes widened.
"Seriously?"
"With a basketball."
"That does not count."
"He threw it on purpose."
Noah laughed.
The sound lasted only a second.
Then he became serious again.
"Did you ever tell him you were mad he died?"
Daniel looked at him.
Noah's eyes filled.
"I am."
Daniel swallowed.
"So am I."
"I know it was not his fault."
"I know."
"But I am still mad."
Daniel nodded.
"You are allowed."
Noah looked down.
"I am mad at you too."
Daniel's chest tightened.
"Okay."
"For not believing me."
Daniel frowned.
"When?"
"Before."
Noah picked at the blanket.
"I told you Vanessa hated me."
Daniel remembered.
Noah had said Vanessa treated him differently when Daniel was gone.
Daniel had responded by telling him families needed patience.
He had asked Noah to try harder.
Daniel closed his eyes.
"You did."
"I said she locked my phone away."
"You did."
"I said she told Lily not to talk to Rachel."
"You did."
"You said she was adjusting."
Daniel nodded.
"I was wrong."
Noah looked at him.
Daniel continued.
"I wanted the house to feel normal again so badly that I accepted explanations I should not have accepted."
Noah did not say anything.
"I cannot undo that."
Daniel's voice became rough.
"But I can believe you now."
Noah nodded once.
Daniel stood.
As he reached the door, Noah spoke.
"Uncle Daniel."
Daniel turned.
"What?"
"The day Dad died, he called me."
Daniel froze.
"What?"
"I never told anyone."
Daniel walked back.
"What did he say?"
"I did not answer because I was in class."
Noah looked ashamed.
"He left a voicemail."
Daniel's heart hammered.
"Do you still have it?"
"No. Vanessa got me a new phone last year."
Daniel stood.
"Where is the old one?"
"In Dad's things."
"Which things?"
"The box in the attic."
Daniel moved before Noah finished.
They went upstairs together.
Aaron's belongings occupied three boxes beneath an old blanket.
Daniel opened the first.
Clothes.
The second.
Photographs.
The third held electronics.
An old tablet.
Two phones.
Noah pointed.
"That one."
Daniel connected the phone to a charger.
Nothing.
He tried again.
The screen flickered.
Password.
Noah entered Aaron's birthday.
Incorrect.
He tried his own.
The phone opened.
The voicemail application showed archived messages.
One remained saved.
Aaron Carter.
2 years ago.
Daniel pressed play.
Aaron's voice filled the attic.
"Hey, buddy. I know you are in school. I just wanted to hear your voice."
A pause.
"If Uncle Daniel asks where I went today, tell him Warehouse Six."
Daniel stopped breathing.
Aaron continued.
"And Noah, there is something else. If anything happens and I do not come home, remember what I told you about people who make you feel small."
Noah began crying.
Aaron's voice softened.
"They are usually scared you will become bigger than the lie they told about you."
Another pause.
"I love you, kid."
The message ended.
Daniel sat beside Noah on the attic floor.
Neither spoke.
Then the phone vibrated in Daniel's hand.
A second archived voicemail appeared.
It had been marked unheard.
Same date.
Thirty seven minutes later.
Aaron's voice sounded breathless.
"Daniel, if Noah ever finds this before you do, listen carefully."
Daniel stared at the phone.
"I was wrong about Elise."
Daniel's pulse stopped.
Aaron continued.
"Owen did not start this."
A crash sounded in the background.
May you like
Aaron whispered the final sentence.
"Vanessa knew Elise before you met her."
