Chương 8
And he had spent those same hours believing he was the only person fighting for her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t know if you would believe me.”
The answer was quiet.
That made it worse.
Daniel sat down.
The anger drained out of him, leaving something heavier behind.
“What did he say when you reached him?”
“He didn’t answer.”
“Then why do you think he’s the one sending messages?”
“I don’t.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
Emma looked at him.
“Because someone else has his phone.”
The silence afterward felt different.
Not empty.
Waiting.
Daniel picked up his phone and stepped into the hallway.
He called Detective Ortiz immediately.
She answered on the second ring.
“What happened?”
“Someone is using Noah Bennett’s phone.”
A pause.
“How do you know?”
“Emma told me Noah stopped answering after the crash.”
“Daniel.”
“She called him eight times.”
The pause became longer.
“Did she tell you that before?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s sixteen and scared.”
Ortiz did not respond.
Daniel could imagine her writing something down.
“What else?”
“She says Noah found evidence about my ex-wife’s accident.”
“Your daughter has mentioned this.”
“Not everything.”
“What did she leave out?”
Daniel looked through the hospital window at Emma.
“She found an old laptop.”
“Whose?”
“Laura’s.”
“And?”
“She found pictures of our house.”
Ortiz became quiet.
“What kind of pictures?”
“Taken from outside.”
“When?”
“Before Laura left.”
The detective exhaled slowly.
“I need to ask you something.”
“Okay.”
“Where is the laptop now?”
Daniel stopped.
“I don’t know.”
“Find out.”
“Why?”
“Because if there was information on it, whoever is trying to scare you may want it back.”
Daniel looked at Emma.
The question he had avoided came suddenly.
“Where is it, Emma?”
She looked at him.
The fear on her face changed.
Not fear of him.
Fear of what the answer meant.
“At home.”
“Where?”
“In the basement.”
“Why didn’t Noah take it?”
“He tried.”
Daniel froze.
“When?”
“After he found the file.”
“Emma.”
“He came to the house two nights before the crash.”
Daniel felt a cold pressure in his chest.
“He came here?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To look at the computer.”
“Did I see him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I let him in through the basement door.”
Daniel stood again.
He needed to move.
He did not know where.
He just needed his body to do something.
“How many times did Noah come to our house?”
“Three.”
“Three?”
“He was helping me.”
“Emma, you have to understand how this looks.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do.”
Her voice cracked.
“Because I know what you’re thinking.”
Daniel stopped.
“What am I thinking?”
“That I was stupid.”
He opened his mouth.
The words disappeared.
“That I trusted someone I shouldn’t have.”
“Emma.”
“That I made everything worse.”
“No.”
But the speed of his answer told him she had been waiting to hear it.
Daniel sat back down.
“You made a choice.”
She looked at him.
“You were scared.”
“I should have told you.”
“Yes.”
The honesty surprised her.
“But you were also trying to solve something you thought nobody else would.”
Emma looked down.
“That doesn’t make it right.”
“No.”
Daniel softened his voice.
“But it means I need to understand why you felt alone.”
The door opened before she could answer.
Detective Ortiz stood there.
She looked between them.
“Sorry.”
Daniel immediately knew something had changed.
“What?”
“We found something.”
“What?”
She looked at Emma.
“Is she okay to talk?”
Daniel looked at his daughter.
Emma nodded slowly.
Ortiz entered and closed the door.
“We traced the message sent to you.”
“And?”
“It came from a prepaid phone.”
Daniel waited.
“That doesn’t tell us who sent it.”
“No.”
Ortiz looked at Emma.
“But it tells us something else.”
“What?”
“The phone was activated yesterday morning.”
Daniel frowned.
“That was after the crash.”
“Yes.”
“So Noah’s phone wasn’t used.”
“No.”
Emma looked confused.
“Then why did it have his number?”
Ortiz hesitated.
“Because someone cloned the information.”
Daniel felt his stomach drop.
“Someone copied his phone?”
“Not exactly.”
She placed a printed document on the table.
“Someone transferred Noah’s number to another device.”
Daniel stared at the paper.
“Can someone do that?”
“Yes.”
“Then why would they?”
Ortiz looked at Emma.
“To make you think Noah was contacting you.”
Nobody spoke.
The meaning settled slowly.
Someone wanted Daniel to believe Noah was still reaching out.
Someone wanted Emma to be afraid.
Someone wanted them looking in the wrong direction.
Daniel looked at his daughter.
“What did Noah know?”
Emma shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Ortiz picked up the paper.
“There is one more thing.”
Daniel waited.
“We found Noah.”
The room changed.
“He’s alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“About thirty miles from here.”
“Why didn’t he contact anyone?”
Ortiz looked at Emma.
“Because he wasn’t able to.”
Daniel felt his hands tighten.
“What happened to him?”
“He was injured.”
“How badly?”
“Bad enough that he couldn’t leave.”
Emma covered her mouth.
“Is he okay?”
“He’s conscious.”
Daniel looked at Ortiz.
“Did he tell you who did this?”
The detective’s expression remained careful.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because before he answers that, he asked for one person.”
Daniel already knew.
But he asked anyway.
“Who?”
Ortiz looked at Emma.
“Your daughter.”
Emma looked at Detective Ortiz as if she had misheard her.
“Me?”
Ortiz nodded.
“He asked specifically for you.”
Daniel stepped between them without realizing it.
“No.”
Emma looked at him.
“Dad.”
“No.”
His voice was firmer this time.
“She just survived a crash.”
“And Noah is the person who helped uncover what happened,” Ortiz said.
Daniel turned toward her.
“She’s a child.”
“She’s also the person he trusts.”
That answer bothered him because he knew it was true.
Trust had become the one thing everyone in this situation seemed to have except him.
Emma slowly pushed the blanket aside.
“I want to go.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
May you like
She looked toward the window.
“Because he got hurt trying to help me.”
