Chapter 17 - Emily Is Missing

I screamed her name through the house.

No answer.

Detective Brooks locked down the property within minutes. Officers searched the grounds, garages, service buildings, and road cameras.

There were no signs of a struggle inside.

Then Kevin called.

"Margaret, Emily just called the restaurant from a blocked number."

"Where is she?"

"She said Thomas contacted Ruth. He told Emily he would explain everything if she came alone. She sounded scared. Then the call dropped."

I wanted to be furious with Emily for going.

Instead, I understood.

Thomas had controlled the truth of her life since the day she was born. Of course some part of her wanted to hear him say why.

Police traced a highway camera that caught Thomas's black SUV heading toward an old Ashford paper mill outside the city.

The mill had been closed for nine years.

Thomas still owned the land through a subsidiary.

We drove there behind tactical officers.

Brooks ordered me to stay in the command vehicle.

I lasted forty seconds.

Inside the mill, broken windows let in strips of gray evening light. Rusted machinery turned every footstep into an echo.

Then I heard Emily.

"You ruined her life!"

Thomas answered from somewhere beyond the loading floor.

"I saved her life."

I moved toward the voices.

Emily stood near an old office doorway. Thomas was ten feet away holding a leather document case.

He did not have a gun.

That was the first good thing I noticed.

"You could have left me at the hospital," Emily said.

"And lost everything?"

There it was. No apology. No lie.

"You let my mother think I was dead."

"Your mother had a company to protect. A future. She was stronger without the chaos."

I stepped into view.

"Don't you dare tell her what I was better without."

Thomas turned.

For the first time, his mask completely disappeared.

"You never listen."

"I listened for eighteen years. That was the problem."

Sirens approached outside.

Thomas looked toward the loading bay.

Then he grabbed Emily's arm and pulled her backward.

"Thomas!"

"Tell them to stay back."

Emily twisted free and shoved him.

The document case fell open.

Passports, cash, and a small bottle of lighter fluid spilled across the concrete.

Thomas lunged for the case.

A flare gun slid out with it.

He reached down.

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Emily reached first.

And the flare fired.