“You think someone inside helped?”
“Or someone with access to those who are inside.”
“Michael?”
“He doesn’t have that level of reach,” Richard said. “Not alone.”
The implication was clear.
“Your family,” I said.
Richard didn’t deny it.
A knock interrupted us.
I flinched. Pain shot through my ribs.
Richard immediately stepped between me and the door.
Detective Marisol Grant entered, holding a folder.
Her eyes moved from Richard to me, then to the letter in my hand.
“I have updates,” she said.
“No,” I replied. “You have timing.”
She closed the door behind her. “Michael Carter is missing.”
The words settled heavily.
“Since when?” Richard asked sharply.
“He was supposed to come in for questioning. He didn’t show. His lawyer says he’s unstable. His phone is off. His car was found near Denver International Airport.”
My breathing tightened. “He left?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“And Ashley?” I asked.
“She’s gone too.”
The room went still again.
I thought of her voice on the phone. The warning. The panic.
“She called me,” I said.
Grant’s expression sharpened. “When?”
“Tonight.”
“She said Michael was running.”
“And something about my mother’s file,” I added.
Grant frowned. “Did she mention who gave him access?”
“No.”
Richard spoke quietly. “But someone clearly did.”
Grant opened her folder and placed a photo on my blanket.
Michael stood at a private airfield.
Beside him was Arthur Voss.
And behind them—
Nora Bell.
Holding something against her chest.
A blue notebook.
My stomach dropped.
“That’s my mother’s ledger,” Richard said.
Grant nodded. “We believe so.”
Richard stared at the image. “Then they’ve already opened it.”
The phone rang.
We all froze.
Grant answered and put it on speaker.
Wind filled the line first.
Then Nora Bell’s voice.
“Emma,” she said urgently. “I don’t have time. Listen carefully.”
My grip tightened on the blanket.
“What is it?” I whispered.
Her breathing was uneven.
“The baby from Vale Harbor… didn’t disappear.”
My pulse stopped.
“Then what happened to it?”
A pause.
Then her voice broke the silence completely.
“It was hidden.”
I felt my blood turn cold.
“She?” I whispered.
Another pause.
Then the words came.
“Emma… the child Elise Morgan gave birth to was your mother.”
