Chapter 8 - THE GHOST COMES HOME
Thomas contacted me three nights later.
No caller ID.
No warning.
I answered.
“Maya.”
Nine years disappeared from his voice.
I remembered Christmas dinners.
Birthday parties.
The grandfather who bought Lily her first bicycle.
The man whose coffin I had watched being lowered into the ground.
“Thomas.”
“You received my letter.”
“You're supposed to be dead.”
“A technical inconvenience.”
“You used Lily.”
Silence.
“The trust.”
“I protected her.”
“You used a seven-year-old as camouflage for stolen money.”
His voice hardened.
“Be careful with words like stolen.”
“What would you call it?”
“Reallocated.”
I almost laughed.
David had inherited more than his father's face.
“What do you want?”
“Halcyon.”
“You can't have it.”
“It belongs to me.”
“Apparently your lawyers disagree.”
“Maya.”
“No.”
His tone changed.
“You have no idea what you're holding.”
“I know exactly what I'm holding.”
“You're grieving.”
“Yes.”
“You're angry.”
“Yes.”
“And angry people make irreversible mistakes.”
I looked at Lily's photograph beside my bed.
“Some mistakes should be irreversible.”
Thomas exhaled.
“David disappointed me.”
“Your son is facing decades in prison.”
“Because he became weak.”
“No.”
I gripped the phone.
“Because you taught him that people were disposable.”
Thomas remained silent.
I continued.
“You taught him money mattered more than loyalty.”
“Maya—”
“You taught him disappearing was easier than taking responsibility.”
His voice became cold.
“Sign Halcyon back to me.”
“No.”
“I can give you fifty million dollars.”
“No.”
“One hundred.”
“No.”
“You and I both know David destroyed your life.”
“You helped him.”
“Then let me compensate you.”
“You can't.”
“Everyone has a number.”
“My daughter doesn't.”
Thomas hung up.
Hale had recorded the entire call.
Federal agents immediately began tracing it.
The signal bounced through Europe.
Then Canada.
Then Illinois.
Thomas wasn't overseas.
He was nearby.
Less than twenty-four hours later, a package arrived.
Inside was Mr. Buttons.
Lily's stuffed rabbit.
I screamed.
I had left it in her bedroom.
Someone had entered the estate.
Hale examined the package.
No fingerprints.
No usable DNA.
Only a note.
LAST OFFER.
For the first time, fear replaced anger.
Thomas had been inside my home.
Or someone working for him had.
Federal protection increased immediately.
I moved into a secure apartment.
Agents watched every entrance.
But Thomas had already achieved what he wanted.
He'd reminded me that money wasn't the only thing he could reach.
That night, David called through his attorney.
I accepted.
His voice was frantic.
“Did he contact you?”
“Yes.”
“What did he send?”
“Lily's rabbit.”
David went silent.
Then he whispered something.
“Jesus.”
“You know what it means?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
David breathed heavily.
“When I was eighteen, my father discovered one of his partners was cooperating with investigators.”
I waited.
“He sent the man his daughter's favorite doll.”
My skin turned cold.
“What happened to the partner?”
“He disappeared.”
I closed my eyes.
“Was he killed?”
“I don't know.”
“David.”
“I swear.”
Then his voice broke.
“Maya, listen to me.”
“I am.”
“My father doesn't threaten people twice.”
I looked toward the federal agent standing outside my temporary apartment.
“What are you saying?”
“Give him Halcyon.”
“No.”
“He'll kill you.”
“Then testify.”
Silence.
“Against your father.”
David didn't answer.
“If you actually loved Lily, do one thing she would have been proud of.”
“What?”
“Stop being afraid of him.”
May you like
The next morning, David Vance signed a full cooperation agreement.
And for the first time in his life, he chose to betray his father instead of his family.
