Chapter 9 - sophie
The police found no sign of the young woman near Lauren's house.
A neighbor's doorbell camera captured her walking away.
She entered a dark sedan parked two streets over.
The plate was obscured by rain.
By sunrise, Ryan had slept less than an hour.
He drove to Lauren's apartment carrying coffee, clothes for Noah, and enough guilt to fill the car.
Emily opened the door.
She looked exhausted.
Ryan resisted the instinct to hug her.
"How is he?"
"Watching cartoons."
Noah sat on the sofa in pajamas.
A small bandage rested near his hairline.
"Dad."
Ryan crossed the room.
Noah hugged him.
Ryan held his son longer than usual.
"I'm sorry."
Noah pulled back.
"For what?"
Ryan looked at Emily.
"For not listening sooner."
Noah didn't understand.
Emily did.
She looked away.
Ryan sat beside him.
"How's your head?"
"It hurts a little."
"You tell Mom if it gets worse."
"I know."
Noah hesitated.
"Is Grandma in jail?"
Emily looked at Ryan.
"No," Ryan said. "The police are still figuring out what happened."
"Is she coming here?"
"No."
This time Ryan didn't hesitate.
"No one gets to come near you if you don't feel safe."
Noah nodded.
A child's trust could survive terrible things.
That made Ryan want to deserve it.
Emily walked into the kitchen.
Ryan followed.
"I need to tell you something."
"If it's about your mother, I don't have room for another surprise."
"It's about my sister."
"Claire?"
Ryan stopped.
"You know her name?"
Emily crossed her arms.
"Diane mentioned her once when we were dating. She said Claire was selfish and unstable."
Ryan looked sick.
"Of course she did."
He told Emily everything.
The trust.
The hidden letters.
Margaret.
Daniel.
Sophie.
When he finished, Emily leaned against the counter.
"Your family is insane."
"That's fair."
She almost smiled.
Almost.
"What does this have to do with the woman who came here?"
"I think she might be Sophie."
"And she wanted to see Noah?"
"Apparently."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Emily's expression hardened.
"Then she doesn't see him until we do."
"Agreed."
She looked surprised.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"No, say it."
"I'm just not used to you agreeing without defending someone."
The words hurt because they were deserved.
"I'm learning."
"You're seven years late."
"I know."
Silence.
Ryan said, "I need to ask you something."
Emily waited.
"How bad was Mom with Noah when I wasn't around?"
Emily stared at him.
He immediately regretted the question.
Not because he didn't want the answer.
Because he realized she had already answered it many times.
"Forget I asked."
"No."
"Emily."
"You should hear it."
She sat.
"She corrected everything he did. The way he held a fork. The way he laughed. The way he sat. She once made him stand beside the dining table for twenty minutes because he put his elbows on it."
Ryan's stomach dropped.
"What?"
"You were upstairs helping Robert."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Emily looked at him.
"I did."
Ryan remembered.
Diane had said Noah was being dramatic.
Ryan had told Emily his mother believed in manners.
He felt nauseated.
"What else?"
"At his sixth birthday, he spilled lemonade on her carpet."
Ryan remembered Diane changing the rug.
"She told me it was ruined."
"She locked Noah in the powder room until he apologized."
Ryan's head snapped up.
"What?"
"Four minutes. Maybe five. I got him out."
"Why didn't you leave?"
"I wanted to."
"Why didn't we?"
"Because you told me your mother had overreacted but we shouldn't destroy Noah's birthday."
Ryan covered his face.
He remembered saying it.
His exact words.
He'd thought he was keeping the peace.
He had been teaching his son that peace meant accepting mistreatment.
"I'm sorry."
Emily's anger softened slightly.
"I don't need apologies this morning."
"What do you need?"
"Change."
"You'll get it."
"Don't promise."
Ryan nodded.
"Then I'll show you."
A knock came at the apartment door.
Everyone froze.
Lauren looked through the peephole.
"Police."
An officer stood outside.
With him was a detective.
And behind them, a young woman with brown hair.
The woman from the photograph.
Sophie.
Emily moved toward Noah immediately.
Ryan stepped into the hallway.
The young woman stared at him.
Neither spoke.
Finally she said, "You look like Claire."
Ryan felt something inside his chest shift.
"You're Sophie?"
"My name is Sophie Carson."
The detective said, "She voluntarily came to the station this morning."
Ryan looked at her.
"Why did you come here last night?"
"Because I knew Diane would eventually figure out where Emily took Noah."
Emily stepped into the hallway.
"How?"
Sophie looked at her.
"Because she already knew."
Emily went pale.
"What do you mean?"
Sophie removed her phone.
On the screen was a message received at 11:47 the previous night.
An unknown number.
It read:
Lauren's apartment. 1486 Crescent. Second floor. Don't let Ryan find you first.
Ryan stared at it.
"Who sent that?"
"I thought it was Claire."
"Was it?"
"No."
"How do you know?"
Sophie looked at him.
"Because Claire called me thirty minutes later and told me to stay away from all of you."
Ryan's heart hammered.
"Then who sent you Emily's location?"
Sophie swallowed.
"I think Diane did."
Emily's eyes narrowed.
"Why would Diane send you here?"
Sophie looked toward the apartment where Noah sat.
"Because she wanted me to see him."
"Why?"
Sophie hesitated.
"I don't know."
Ryan stepped closer.
"You said Noah wasn't the first child Diane hurt."
Sophie looked at him.
"I wasn't talking about Claire."
"Then who?"
May you like
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Me."
