Chapter 10 - THE EXCHANGE
Rachel replayed the recording twenty times.
The whisper lasted less than two seconds, but she knew her sister’s voice.
Caroline was alive.
Possibly with Vanessa.
Possibly helping her.
Detective Reed wanted to create a duplicate memory card containing a tracking program and harmless files.
“They may check it before releasing Lily,” Rachel said.
“We’ll make it convincing.”
“They’ll recognize the videos.”
“We can copy those.”
“What about the damaged files?”
“We copy the entire structure.”
Joanna objected to Rachel participating.
“It’s too dangerous.”
“They asked for me.”
“That doesn’t mean you should go.”
“It means Lily expects me.”
Rachel looked toward Emma’s room.
“And Caroline told me not to bring it. She was warning me.”
“Or it wasn’t Caroline,” Reed said. “Victor may know enough about your family to imitate her voice or use an old recording.”
“It was her.”
“You want it to be her.”
Rachel turned on him.
“I know my sister.”
“You thought your father arranged Daniel’s funeral honestly. You thought Diane cared for Emma. You thought Vanessa was reckless rather than organized. This family has manipulated your instincts for years.”
The words hurt because they were true.
But one instinct remained clear.
Lily needed help.
At 10:34 a.m., another message arrived.
Pier 17. Come alone. Wear white. Bring Emma’s rabbit.
Rachel looked at the stuffed animal on Emma’s bed.
Daniel hid access codes inside something belonging to her. Charles thinks it’s a toy.
Everyone had searched the rabbit.
But not thoroughly enough.
A forensic technician opened a concealed seam beneath one ear. Inside was a small metal cylinder engraved with numbers.
The real access key.
The memory card was only evidence.
The rabbit held whatever Victor actually wanted.
“Why would they ask for both?” Rachel said.
“Maybe Vanessa knows one contains the key but not which one,” Reed replied.
“Emma can’t lose the rabbit.”
“We’ll replace the cylinder and repair the seam.”
At 11:40, Rachel drove toward Pier 17 wearing a white blouse. The altered memory card rested in her pocket. The rabbit sat on the passenger seat.
Unmarked police vehicles followed at a distance.
Fog covered the harbor.
Pier 17 had been closed for years after storm damage. Rusted fences surrounded empty storage buildings. A cargo ship waited beyond the breakwater with no visible name.
Rachel walked to the end of the pier.
A black SUV approached.
Vanessa stepped out.
She wore a dark coat and sunglasses. There was no sign of Lily or Caroline.
“Where is she?” Rachel asked.
“Do you have the card?”
“Where is Lily?”
Vanessa smiled.
“You were always so demanding.”
“You attacked a four-year-old.”
“And everyone finally looked exactly where we wanted them to look.”
Rachel felt sick.
“The attack was planned.”
“Not the skull fracture. I misjudged the weight of the pan.”
“You could have killed her.”
“Emma was never supposed to matter this much.”
“She matters more than you ever will.”
Vanessa’s smile disappeared.
“Give me the card.”
“Show me Lily.”
The rear door of the SUV opened.
Lily sat inside beside Charles.
Her wrists were bound loosely with fabric. Charles held one hand against her shoulder.
Rachel stared at her father.
“You kidnapped your own granddaughter.”
Charles looked exhausted.
“Give Vanessa what she wants.”
“Where is Caroline?”
He looked toward the cargo ship.
Rachel followed his gaze.
A woman stood on the deck.
Thin.
Dark-haired.
Wearing a green scarf.
Caroline.
Rachel stepped toward the water.
“Caroline!”
The woman did not move.
Vanessa extended her hand.
“The card.”
Rachel removed it from her pocket.
“The rabbit too,” Charles said.
“You knew.”
His eyes moved toward the toy.
“Daniel put something inside it.”
“Why?”
“To protect the ledger.”
“What ledger?”
“The complete record of every transfer Victor arranged for twenty years.”
“Where is Daniel?”
Charles looked at the ship again.
“He’ll come for Caroline.”
Rachel understood.
They were using her sister as bait.
She held up the rabbit.
“You release Lily first.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Throw me the card.”
“Lily comes to me.”
Vanessa drew a small pistol.
Police marksmen waited beyond the fog, but the angle was poor. Lily sat too close.
Rachel slowly placed the card on the pier.
Vanessa stepped forward to retrieve it.
Lily suddenly bit Charles’s hand.
He shouted and released her.
She leaped from the SUV and ran.
Vanessa turned the gun toward the child.
Rachel threw the rabbit directly at Vanessa’s face.
May you like
The pistol fired.
Lily fell.
