Chapter 12 - THE DAUGHTER OF THE DEVIL HAD ONE LAST SECRET"If Vivian took that little girl, I'll never forgive her."
Grace stood beside me in Detective Park's office.
Her face was pale with anger.
On the monitor, the pharmacy footage played again.
The black SUV.
The woman with the bracelet.
Maya climbing into the back seat.
I had watched the recording six times.
Each time, my stomach tightened.
"The image isn't clear enough to identify her conclusively," Park cautioned.
"But it looks like Vivian," I said.
"Then we'll treat her as a person we need to locate and question."
She paused.
"Do not confront her. If she was involved, she may know where Maya is, and we don't want to endanger the child."
I nodded.
Grace sat heavily.
"Leah must be terrified."
Park glanced at her.
"We're pursuing leads on both of them."
Within an hour, investigators identified the SUV as a vehicle registered to a holding company associated with Cross Civil Works.
The license plate matched a car that had been seen near Leah's workplace.
I stared at the report.
"Victor isn't even trying to hide his involvement."
Park shook her head.
"Registration doesn't prove who used the vehicle. But it's an important lead."
She looked at me.
"I know this is personal, Mr. Reed. You need to let us work."
"I will."
And I meant it.
There was a time when I would have believed my money and influence made me better equipped than anyone else to solve a crisis.
Now I understood how dangerous that arrogance could become.
Maya didn't need a wealthy man acting like an action hero.
She needed trained people making careful decisions.
Still, waiting felt unbearable.
By midnight, Grace and I returned to the estate.
Eli was pacing in the kitchen.
"Any news?"
I shook my head.
"Not yet."
He sat down heavily.
"I should have told Leah to go straight to the authorities."
Grace touched his shoulder.
"You helped her when she needed help."
"But it wasn't enough."
"That doesn't mean you were wrong to help."
I watched them.
Eli and Grace had built something I envied.
Trust.
Not romantic trust.
Not the complicated kind that made people afraid of rejection.
A simpler kind.
They believed each other would show up when it mattered.
I wondered how many years I had wasted measuring loyalty through contracts and promises instead of actions.
At one in the morning, my phone buzzed.
A message from Vivian.
I need to talk to you.
I stared at the screen.
Another message appeared.
Not on the phone.
Then a third.
Please, Nathan. I'm scared.
I immediately forwarded the messages to Park.
She called within minutes.
"Do you think she'll cooperate?"
"I don't know."
"Then let us arrange contact."
An hour later, Vivian agreed to meet with investigators at a law office.
I was asked to remain nearby because she specifically wanted to speak with me.
When I saw her enter the conference room, I barely recognized her.
She wore jeans, a loose sweater, and no makeup.
Her blonde hair was pulled into a careless ponytail.
Dark shadows ringed her eyes.
She looked frightened.
Not offended.
Not angry.
Frightened.
I sat across from her with Park and an attorney present.
"Where's Maya?" I asked.
Vivian's eyes filled with tears.
"Nathan—"
"Where is she?"
"I don't know exactly."
My jaw tightened.
"Then tell us what you know."
She looked toward Park.
"Am I going to be arrested?"
Park answered carefully.
"That depends on the facts. We can't promise you immunity. Your attorney can advise you about the consequences of cooperating."
Vivian looked down.
For a long time, she said nothing.
Then she whispered, "My father told me to collect the girl."
Grace, who was sitting near the door with her own attorney, went rigid.
Vivian continued.
"He said her mother had stolen confidential documents. He said the child had something that belonged to the company."
I leaned forward.
"So you took a nine-year-old girl?"
Vivian began crying.
"He told me nobody would hurt her."
I stared at her.
"Do you hear yourself?"
She covered her face.
"I know."
"No, Vivian. I don't think you do."
She looked at me through her tears.
"Do you know what it's like growing up with a father who controls every part of your life?"
I remained silent.
"He chose my schools. My friends. My clothes. He decided which men were acceptable and which women weren't."
Her voice cracked.
"When I stopped dating you, he told me I'd made the biggest mistake of my life."
I stared at her.
"So that's why you came back?"
She nodded.
"He wanted us together again."
"Why?"
"Because he believed you were becoming suspicious of the family trust, and he thought I could keep you distracted."
Grace looked away.
Vivian continued.
"He told me Grace was dangerous. He said she was working with people trying to destroy the company."
"And you believed him?"
"I wanted to."
Her answer was painfully honest.
"I hated her because you looked at her the way you used to look at me."
I swallowed.
Vivian began crying harder.
"Then I saw how you treated her. You listened when she spoke. You cared when she was upset."
She looked directly at Grace.
"And I realized you had never looked at me quite that way."
Grace said nothing.
Vivian wiped her cheeks.
"So I did everything I could to make you distrust her."
"The necklace?" Park asked.
Vivian nodded.
"My father arranged it. Garrick gave me the pouch. I put it in her bag."
"And the story about Eli?" I asked.
She lowered her head.
"I heard someone crying in the cottage. Then I saw Grace going in and out of his room. I didn't know who was inside, but I decided to tell you she was sleeping with him."
I closed my eyes.
All the pain that had followed began with a lie she told because she was jealous.
But the lie had also served Victor's purpose.
It had directed my attention toward Grace's supposed behavior rather than toward the real danger on my property.
"Where did you take Maya?" Park asked.
Vivian hesitated.
"To a warehouse near the port."
"Which warehouse?"
"One of my father's storage buildings. A place off River Street."
Park leaned forward.
"Do you know the address?"
Vivian nodded.
"Garrick was there. He took her from me."
"What condition was she in?"
"She was crying. She wanted her mother."
Vivian's voice broke.
"I told him to let her go."
"What did he say?" Park asked.
"He told me to leave and forget what I'd seen."
She swallowed.
"Then he said if I ever spoke about it, I'd disappear the same way Clara Ellis did."
Grace inhaled sharply.
Vivian looked at her.
"I'm sorry."
Grace's expression remained hard.
"Sorry doesn't bring Maya home."
"I know."
"Then help the police find her."
Vivian nodded.
"I will."
Over the next two hours, she provided the warehouse location, gate information, and details about the vehicles commonly used by Garrick Shaw.
Detective Park coordinated with law enforcement units responsible for the waterfront area.
Investigators began preparing to locate the child.
Vivian also gave her attorney access to messages from Victor.
One contained instructions to keep Maya away from her family until certain financial records were returned.
Another contained a photograph of Leah Morales sitting in a bare room.
She was alive.
But she looked frightened.
My heart pounded as I saw it.
"Are Leah and Maya in the same place?" I asked.
Vivian shook her head.
"I don't think so."
"Where's Leah?"
"I don't know."
Park asked additional questions, but Vivian insisted she had never been told.
Then Vivian remembered something.
"Garrick called my father yesterday."
Park looked up.
"What did he say?"
"That the accountant wasn't talking."
"And?"
Vivian swallowed.
"My father told him to stop wasting time."
She looked at Grace.
"He said there was only one person who could lead them to the missing audit."
Grace went still.
"Who?"
Vivian met her eyes.
"You."
A terrible silence filled the room.
May you like
Then Vivian whispered:
"My father doesn't just want the evidence, Grace. He wants you to tell him where Richard Reed hid the original report—and he won't stop until he gets it."
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