Chapter 6 - the second family)
Rebecca left Patricia's building with one goal.
Find Claire.
Daniel's first wife.
Patricia gave her a surname.
Morris.
Claire Morris.
Rebecca found three women with that name in the state.
One had no social media presence.
One lived in another county and worked at a veterinary office.
The third ran a small bookstore in Millhaven.
Rebecca drove there the next morning.
She left Mia with Sophie again.
The bookstore smelled of old paper and coffee.
A woman stood behind the counter arranging bookmarks.
She was about forty.
Brown hair.
Gray eyes.
When Rebecca said Daniel's name, the woman's hand stopped.
"You're his wife."
Not a question.
Rebecca nodded.
Claire locked the front door.
"Where is the child?"
"Safe."
"Is she?"
Rebecca felt tears rise.
"I don't know anymore."
Claire led her upstairs to a small office.
Rebecca told her about the falls.
The hidden storage room.
The hospital.
Patricia.
Claire listened without interrupting.
When Rebecca finished, Claire opened a drawer.
Inside were six thick folders.
She placed them on the desk.
"Daniel likes records."
Rebecca stared.
Claire opened the first.
Police reports.
Medical notes.
Custody filings.
Photographs.
"He did this to you."
Claire nodded.
"We had a son."
Rebecca's chest tightened.
"Had?"
"His name was Owen."
Rebecca could not breathe.
"Is he dead?"
"No."
Claire smiled faintly.
"He's nineteen now. He lives with my brother in Oregon."
Relief came strangely.
"Why?"
"Because after Daniel spent two years trying to prove I was unstable, I realized I couldn't protect Owen while fighting Daniel in court."
Rebecca looked at the files.
"What did he do?"
"Small things."
Claire's tone turned bitter.
"Small enough to explain."
Missed medication.
A kitchen burn.
A fall from a bicycle.
A daycare pickup Claire supposedly forgot.
Daniel created emergencies.
Then documented Claire's reaction.
"He wanted custody?"
"He wanted my father's company shares."
Rebecca closed her eyes.
Money again.
"Did Patricia help him?"
"At first."
"What happened?"
"Patricia and Daniel turned on each other over money."
Claire pulled out another page.
A photograph showed Daniel outside a courthouse.
"He lost."
"How?"
"I stopped trying to prove he was evil."
Rebecca looked confused.
Claire continued.
"I proved he was lying."
She pointed to timelines.
Receipts.
Phone logs.
Security footage.
"You can't win by telling people someone is a monster. Monsters look normal in court. You win by proving the impossible details."
Rebecca stared at her.
Claire leaned forward.
"Daniel survives because every incident has a separate explanation. Your job is to connect the incidents."
Rebecca thought of daycare.
Hospital.
Hidden files.
Patricia.
"Will you help me?"
Claire's eyes softened.
"I've been waiting thirteen years for someone to ask."
That afternoon, they built a timeline.
Every fall.
Every day Daniel had Mia alone.
Every false statement.
Every unexplained absence.
Rebecca gave Claire access to the camera cloud account.
The living room camera had been disabled.
But the laundry room camera had not.
Rebecca had forgotten about it.
They opened the footage.
At eleven thirty two the previous night, Daniel entered the basement.
He moved the freezer.
Opened the hidden wall cavity.
Removed documents.
Then another person appeared.
Patricia.
Claire froze.
Rebecca whispered, "She said she was done helping him."
The video continued.
Daniel handed Patricia a folder.
Patricia opened it.
They argued.
No audio.
Then Daniel shoved her against the wall.
Rebecca covered her mouth.
Patricia slapped him.
Daniel seized her wrist.
Then he pointed upstairs.
Toward Mia's room.
Patricia went still.
Daniel said something.
Patricia shook her head violently.
Then Daniel leaned close to her face.
Even without audio, Rebecca could read the final two words on his lips.
Your choice.
Patricia left.
Daniel remained.
He looked directly toward the camera.
Rebecca stopped breathing.
But he did not remove it.
He smiled at it.
Then he lifted a piece of paper.
Written in thick black marker were four words.
COME HOME, REBECCA.
Claire whispered, "He knows."
Rebecca's phone rang.
Daniel.
She declined.
It rang again.
She declined.
A text appeared.
MIA'S RABBIT IS MISSING YOU.
Rebecca stared.
Mia's stuffed rabbit was in Sophie's house.
Rebecca had packed it herself.
She called Sophie.
No answer.
Rebecca stood.
Called again.
No answer.
Then Claire's phone rang.
Unknown number.
Claire answered on speaker.
Daniel's voice filled the office.
"Hi, Claire."
Claire went white.
Daniel laughed softly.
"Did you really think I forgot where you worked?"
Rebecca grabbed the phone.
"Where is Mia?"
Daniel paused.
May you like
Then said, "Ask Sophie."
The line disconnected.
