Chapter 9: The Final Trap
We didn’t wait.
Detective Harris organized surveillance immediately.
The old house sat at the end of a private road surrounded by trees.
It looked abandoned.
But someone was living there.
Lights turned on every night.
Food deliveries arrived.
Someone was inside.
Watching.
Waiting.
I sat in the car beside Emily.
She looked exhausted.
“You don’t have to come.””
She looked at me.
“Yes, I do.””
“Emily.””
“No.””
Her voice was firm.
“He took two years from me.””
She looked toward the house.
“He took my daughter’s childhood.””
She turned back.
“I’m done running.””
I understood.
Because I felt the same way.
A few hours later, officers entered the property.
We waited outside.
Then we heard shouting.
A few minutes later, Detective Harris walked out.
But his expression wasn’t relief.
It was concern.
“What happened?””
He looked at us.
“He knew we were coming.””
My heart sank.
“What?””
“He left.””
“Did you find anything?””
The detective nodded.
He handed me an envelope.
My name was written on the front.
Daniel.
My hands shook.
Inside was a letter.
No.
Not a letter.
A confession.
Edward Voss had written everything.
He hated that I had built a life without his daughter.
He hated that Emily was loved more than Rebecca.
He believed Rebecca deserved everything I had.
But the final paragraph made my blood run cold.
*Rebecca was never my partner. She was my student.*
*I taught her how to manipulate. How to lie. How to take what she wanted.*
*But she failed because she started caring about you.*
I looked up.
“What?””
Emily read the page.
Her face changed.
“He’s saying Rebecca wasn’t the mastermind.””
Detective Harris nodded.
“Rebecca followed orders.””
A phone rang.
Not mine.
Emily’s.
She looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
She answered.
Nobody spoke.
Then a voice.
Edward.
“You always were the difficult one, Emily.””
She froze.
“Where are you?””
He laughed.
“You still think this is about revenge?””
Emily gripped the phone.
“What do you want?””
A pause.
Then:
“Your family.””
The call ended.
At that exact moment, my phone rang.
Lily’s school.
My blood turned cold.
I answered.
“Hello?””
A teacher’s voice.
“Mr. Carter?””
“Yes?””
“Your daughter never arrived for pickup.””
The world stopped.
“What?””
“We thought you picked her up.””
I looked at Emily.
She was already running toward the car.
Because we both knew.
May you like
Edward had taken the one thing he could use against us.
Our daughter.
