Chapter 12 - Maya's File Began Years Earlier
Marcus opened the file with gloved hands.
The first pages were harmless.
Public information.
Birth announcement.
Preschool enrollment.
A photograph from a charity picnic.
Then the material changed.
Jenna's work schedule.
Marcus's travel schedule.
Evelyn's address.
Notes about Maya's temperament.
Attached to one page was a typed sentence.
Potential future leverage if counselor continues interference.
Marcus went cold.
Claire began crying.
“My father wrote that?”
Detective Bennett photographed everything.
Marcus couldn't look away.
Maya had never been the original target.
She had been insurance.
Thomas Walsh had apparently collected information on Jenna's family because Jenna was investigating his business practices.
Not to harm Maya physically.
To pressure Jenna.
To remind her that her own family had vulnerabilities.
Claire sat on a storage box.
“I didn't know.”
Marcus believed her.
At least about this.
Bennett found additional records showing Thomas had monitored other professionals who questioned his referral network.
Some notes were aggressive.
Some merely strategic.
Nothing proved he had committed violence.
But the intimidation pattern was clear.
Then they found Ethan's personnel file.
Thomas had suspected Ethan of copying documents.
A handwritten note read:
E.G. cannot be trusted. Remove access after Mercer situation.
That supported Ethan's claim.
But another box complicated it.
Inside were recent printouts.
Printed after Thomas's death.
Someone had continued using the storage unit.
The access log showed Claire's key code.
She stared at Bennett.
“I haven't been here in years.”
“Who has your code?”
“No one.”
“Your brother?”
Claire shook her head.
“My brother is dead.”
Marcus stared.
“What?”
Claire looked confused.
“I told you.”
“No. You told me Ethan borrowed your car last week.”
Claire went pale.
“I said my brother's old friend Ethan.”
Marcus replayed the conversation in his mind.
He had assumed.
Claire hadn't corrected him.
“Why didn't you say that?”
“Because everything was happening so fast.”
Bennett interrupted.
“What was your brother's name?”
“Caleb.”
Not Ethan.
Another assumption.
Another gap filled incorrectly.
Claire continued.
“Ethan Grant worked for Dad. Caleb knew him.”
“Did Ethan have your storage code?”
“He might have.”
That pointed back to Ethan.
Then Bennett checked the facility's camera archive.
The person using Claire's code wasn't Ethan.
It was Sophie.
Marcus stared at the image.
Seventeen-year-old Sophie entered the unit six weeks earlier.
She returned four times.
Sophie had lied again.
When confronted, she finally broke.
She had found Thomas's storage information among Ethan's papers.
She wanted evidence about Jenna.
Instead, she found Maya's file.
“And you decided to scare Claire?” Marcus asked during the supervised interview.
Sophie cried.
“I wanted her to know what it felt like.”
“What what felt like?”
“To have someone decide a kid is a problem.”
Marcus understood the emotional logic.
He hated it.
“Did you forge my authorization?”
Sophie shook her head.
“No.”
“Did you create the fake therapist?”
“No.”
“Then what did you do?”
Sophie admitted placing the photographs in Claire's car.
She wanted Marcus to discover Claire had known Jenna.
She also contacted Maya at Rebecca's office.
“And the birthday?”
“I didn't know about the party until Maya told me.”
“Did you contact Ethan?”
“No.”
“Did you use his computer?”
“No.”
Bennett asked one final question.
“Did you tell anyone else about Maya's file?”
Sophie hesitated.
That hesitation mattered.
“Who?”
“My foster mom.”
Marcus frowned.
He had heard only about Ethan.
“What is her name?”
Sophie whispered, “Rebecca.”
Marcus stared.
“Rebecca Sloan?”
Sophie nodded.
May you like
The woman running the yellow house was Sophie's foster mother.
And she had never disclosed that connection.
