Chapter 6 - A Face Behind the Caterers

"You saw her there?" I demanded.

"I saw a hundred people," Elias said. "Not her. I swear to you, June."

Mom's face was turned away, but her copper-colored hair was twisted into the crooked knot I used to tease her about. She was pushing a catering cart toward a service elevator.

"Why would she be at a party if she's a prisoner?"

"Maybe someone needed her to do something," Elias said.

He called a reporter named Luz Ortega, who answered on the first ring with, "Tell me you got the donor records."

"I found June Calder. And Rebecca may still be alive."

Silence.

Then a woman's voice, suddenly gentle: "Is her daughter listening?"

"Yes," I said.

"June, your mom was the bravest person who ever corrected my spelling. I need you to hear that before anybody else tells you a story about her."

Luz explained that Mom had discovered Harlan's relief charity was laundering public money through fake housing contractors. At the fundraiser, donors scanned digital receipts that appeared charitable but redirected some payments to a private escrow account.

"Rebecca knew the software," Luz said. "If they forced her to log in, they could erase an audit trail."

"She wouldn't help them," I said.

"They have two children they can threaten," Luz replied. "They know exactly what she'd do to protect you."

Elias shut his eyes. I realized he hadn't thought of that either.

Luz texted us a cropped image from a different angle. Mom wasn't just pushing a cart. Her free hand was pressed against a service-door keypad. Four fingers were spread wide. Her thumb covered the bottom left corner.

"She's telling us something," I said.

Elias looked at the image. "A code?"

"No. Mom counts when she's nervous. She touches things in groups of four. But she only sticks out her thumb when she wants me to notice a number."

I counted the buttons visible around her hand. Two, one, four. A small brass plaque above the panel read LOADING LEVEL B.

Luz inhaled sharply. "Storage bay 214. That's where they kept the old county housing files before the flood."

Elias put the truck in gear.

May you like

Billionaire’s Wife Kicked a Waitress in Front of 300 Elites—One Slap Exp...

The billionaire’s wife tried to kick a waitress in the face in front of 300 wealthy guests. But seconds later, she whispered three...

My Mother Grabbed My Wife by the Hair Over Cold Soup—But What My Father...

My mother grabbed my wife by the hair over a bowl of cold soup. And the most shameful part? For one terrible second, I almost defe...

My Parents Kicked My 6-Year-Old Daughter and Me Out on Christmas—Then I...

My mother kicked my six-year-old daughter out of Christmas dinner, never realizing I was the only reason she still had a house to...

My phone, silent since Mom disappeared, suddenly lit up with an incoming call. It was labeled MOM.

When I answered, a man said, "Tell Elias Kane his sister is next."