Chapter 2 - The House of Secrets
Leaving Ethan under the watchful eye of a pediatric nurse and a CPS caseworker, I accompanied Detective Miller and Officer Briggs back to Sarah’s house. The transition from the sterile hospital to the quiet, tree-lined suburban street was jarring. Neighbors were out walking dogs, completely oblivious to the horror that had transpired behind the manicured hedges of number 42.
We crossed the threshold. The stench I had barely registered in my initial panic now hit me like a physical blow.
"Forensics is on their way, but we need you to walk through and tell us if anything is missing or out of place," Miller said, gloving up.
I walked through the living room. Ethan’s toys were scattered everywhere. In the kitchen, a half-eaten loaf of moldy bread sat on the counter. But as we moved upstairs to Sarah’s master bedroom, the picture grew infinitely more complex.
Her closet was half-empty. It wasn't the chaotic packing of a woman in a rush; it was highly selective. Her designer bags, her expensive jewelry, and her passport drawer were completely cleared out.
"She didn't get kidnapped," I muttered, looking at the empty jewelry boxes. "She planned this."
"Looks like a clean break," Detective Miller agreed, shining a flashlight into the back of the closet. "But look at this."
He pulled out a small, heavy fireproof lockbox that had been pried open and discarded on the floor. Inside were several empty envelopes and a single, crumpled piece of ledger paper. I picked it up. Written in Sarah's elegant cursive were rows of numbers, dates, and names.
My eyes locked onto one name that appeared repeatedly: Richard Vance.
My father.
May you like
The man who had cut me off a decade ago when I refused to join his corrupt real estate conglomerate. The man I hadn't spoken to in eight years.
Beside his name were transactions totaling over four hundred thousand dollars, paid out over the last six months. The final entry was dated last Thursday—the day before Sarah vanished. Next to it was a single scribbled word: Settled.
