Chapter 12 - The Lie That Finally Broke
Andrew heard the radio.
His head turned sharply.
Then everything happened at once.
One of his men reached inside his coat.
Police floodlights ignited beyond the cemetery wall.
A voice thundered through a loudspeaker.
"POLICE! HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!"
Andrew grabbed Caroline.
He pulled her against his chest.
A pistol appeared in his hand.
"BACK OFF!"
Richard lunged forward.
Andrew shoved Caroline away.
She fell against the grave.
Richard caught her before her head struck the stone.
For one brief second, he held his wife.
Three years of grief collapsed into the space between their faces.
"Carrie."
She touched his cheek.
"Richard."
He pressed his forehead against hers.
"I'm here."
A gunshot cracked.
Stone chipped beside them.
Richard pulled Caroline behind the headstone.
Andrew backed toward the SUV.
"EVERYONE STAYS BACK!"
Victoria screamed.
"Andrew, stop!"
He turned his gun toward her.
"Get in the car."
She froze.
"You promised."
Andrew laughed.
"Don't be stupid."
Victoria stared at him.
"You said we'd leave together."
"We will."
"You're lying."
Andrew's expression changed.
His patience had vanished.
"Victoria, you've been useful."
She stepped back.
"Useful?"
"Don't make me repeat myself."
She looked toward Richard.
Then toward Caroline.
For the first time, Victoria seemed to understand the trap she had helped construct.
Andrew had never intended to share anything.
Not the company.
Not the money.
Not the escape.
Richard watched from behind the headstone.
He saw Victoria slowly lower her hand toward her pocket.
Andrew noticed.
"Don't."
Victoria stopped.
"What?"
"Whatever you're reaching for."
She smiled bitterly.
"You always did think you were the smartest man in the room."
Andrew raised the pistol.
Victoria pulled out her phone.
She pressed the screen.
A recording began playing.
Andrew's own voice filled the cemetery.
"Once Richard signs, we eliminate the witnesses."
Andrew froze.
Richard stared.
The recording continued.
"Caroline first. Then the girl. Oliver can be handled later."
Victoria looked at him.
"You said you'd never hurt Hope."
Andrew's face twisted.
"Give me the phone."
"No."
"Victoria."
She stepped away.
"You said I could be her mother."
Richard felt sick.
Victoria had wanted Caroline's place so badly she'd imagined replacing her with Hope too.
Andrew charged.
Victoria threw the phone toward Richard.
"TAKE IT!"
Andrew fired.
Victoria screamed and fell.
Officers moved.
A tactical shield advanced between Andrew and the people behind him.
Detective Brooks shouted:
"DROP THE WEAPON!"
Andrew turned toward the SUV.
The driver accelerated.
The vehicle struck a low stone wall.
Metal screamed.
Andrew stumbled backward.
An officer tackled him from the side.
The gun slid across wet grass.
Two more officers pinned him down.
"Hands behind your back!"
Andrew fought.
Then one officer pressed a knee beside his shoulder.
"It's over."
Richard barely heard them.
He was kneeling beside Victoria.
Blood soaked the sleeve of her coat.
She stared at him.
"Richard..."
He pressed a cloth against her wound.
"Don't move."
She looked toward Caroline.
"Is she..."
Richard didn't answer.
Victoria swallowed.
"I never wanted the little girl to die."
Caroline stood behind him, shaking.
"You locked me away from my children."
Victoria began crying.
"I know."
"You told me Oliver was dead."
Victoria turned her face away.
Caroline's voice broke.
"You held my daughter and told me she wasn't mine."
Richard looked at Victoria.
Every ounce of sympathy disappeared.
But he kept pressure on her wound until the medics arrived.
Because justice required her to survive long enough to face what she'd done.
Brooks approached.
Andrew had been secured in a police vehicle.
Dr. Graves was in custody.
The remaining men had surrendered.
But Richard wasn't relieved.
Hope wasn't there.
He looked at Caroline.
"Where's our daughter?"
Caroline began trembling.
"Andrew moved her."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
Richard took her hands.
"Carrie, think."
Her eyes filled.
"They gave me medicine."
"Who?"
"Michael."
She looked toward Dr. Graves.
"He said it would help me sleep."
Richard stared at the doctor.
Graves looked away.
Caroline continued.
"I woke up in another room. Hope was gone."
Richard looked at Brooks.
"Find her."
"We're already searching."
Caroline grabbed his sleeve.
"Richard."
He turned.
She was crying harder now.
"There's something else."
"What?"
Caroline looked toward Andrew's police vehicle.
"He told me if you came tonight, he'd send someone to the hospital."
Richard's blood went cold.
"Oliver?"
She nodded.
Richard grabbed his phone.
He called the officer assigned to his son's room.
No answer.
He called again.
Nothing.
Brooks was already speaking into her radio.
"Confirm protective detail status. Now."
Static.
Then a voice answered.
"Detective, we've got a problem."
Brooks went pale.
Richard stepped closer.
"What problem?"
The voice continued.
"The child protection room is empty."
Richard stopped breathing.
May you like
The officer hesitated.
"Oliver Blackwood is missing."
