Chapter 10 - The Last TrapMark’s plane never left Illinois.
Mark Reynolds.
Eli’s father.
Everything suddenly made horrible sense.
Sarah had worked for Mark.
She knew his secrets.
She had a child Mark could not afford to acknowledge.
Nathan sat down.
“When did Mark meet Sarah?”
Emily answered quietly.
“Years before she became his cleaner.”
Nathan looked at her.
“You knew?”
“Not at first.”
Emily explained.
Sarah had been nineteen when she met Mark at a restaurant where she worked.
Mark was already married.
He hid it.
When Sarah became pregnant, he disappeared.
Years later, desperate for employment, she unknowingly accepted a cleaning job in one of Mark’s buildings.
Then she recognized him.
Mark recognized Eli’s name from paperwork.
“He wanted Sarah quiet,” Emily said.
Nathan looked sick.
“So he paid her.”
“At first.”
“And then she discovered the fraud.”
Emily nodded.
Sarah realized Mark’s crimes went far beyond abandoning her.
She began collecting evidence.
When Mark discovered it, threats began.
Eli listened from the doorway.
Nathan turned.
He had heard everything.
The boy’s face was empty.
“Mark is my dad?”
Nathan stood.
“Eli—”
“Is he?”
Nathan wouldn’t lie.
“Biologically, yes.”
Eli’s eyes filled.
“He tried to kill you.”
“Yes.”
“He hurt my mom.”
“We’re still proving exactly what happened.”
“He tried to kidnap me.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“Being someone’s biological father doesn’t make him your family.”
Eli looked away.
“My mom said my dad was dead.”
“She was protecting you.”
“Everybody lies to protect me.”
He ran upstairs.
Nathan started after him.
Emily stopped him.
“Give him five minutes.”
Nathan looked frustrated.
“He shouldn’t be alone.”
“He just found out his father is a criminal who may have helped destroy his mother. He needs to be angry.”
Nathan waited.
Five minutes became ten.
Then Nathan went upstairs.
Eli sat inside the closet.
Nathan lowered himself onto the floor outside.
Neither spoke.
Finally Eli asked, “Did you know your dad?”
Nathan nodded.
“Yes.”
“Was he good?”
“Sometimes.”
“That means no.”
Nathan almost smiled.
“My father loved me. But after my mother died, he drank too much. He became angry.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“Mostly with words.”
Eli stared at the wall.
“Did you still love him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because feelings aren’t always fair.”
Eli thought.
“Do I have to love Mark?”
“No.”
“Do I have to hate him?”
“No.”
Eli finally looked at Nathan.
“What do I have to do?”
“Nothing.”
Nathan’s voice softened.
“You get to be eleven.”
That sentence broke something inside Eli.
He started crying.
Nathan held him.
Later that day, FBI agents located Mark’s abandoned SUV near the Indiana state line.
Mark was still missing.
But Peter Lang began talking.
Facing decades in prison, he agreed to cooperate.
He confessed to helping alter Sarah’s supplements.
Nathan felt physically ill hearing it.
Peter claimed Mark ordered it.
Small doses over time.
Enough to damage Sarah’s liver gradually.
Vanessa had delivered some of the bottles without knowing exactly what they contained.
Mark had murdered the mother of his own child.
When Rachel told Eli, Nathan insisted on being present.
Eli remained silent for almost a full minute.
Then asked one question.
“Did my mom suffer?”
Rachel answered gently.
“She was sick. But the hospital kept her comfortable.”
Eli nodded.
He stood.
Walked toward the door.
Then suddenly turned and threw a chair across the room.
Nathan caught him before he hit the wall.
Eli screamed.
Nathan held him while he fought and cried.
“She didn’t do anything!”
“I know.”
“She worked all the time!”
“I know.”
“She was good!”
“I know.”
“Why did he do it?”
Nathan had no answer.
So he simply held him.
That evening, Eli slept on Nathan’s couch.
Nathan sat nearby.
Emily joined him.
“You love him.”
Nathan didn’t deny it.
“I barely know him.”
“That isn’t what I said.”
Nathan looked at the sleeping child.
“I keep thinking about what happens after this.”
Emily smiled faintly.
“What do you want to happen?”
Nathan remained quiet.
“I want him to stay.”
“Then tell him.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“No. You’ll need social workers, lawyers, court approval.”
She touched his shoulder.
“But none of that changes what you want.”
The next morning, Nathan spoke with child services about becoming Eli’s guardian.
The process would take time.
Background checks.
Home studies.
Hearings.
Nathan accepted everything.
When he told Eli, the boy stared at him.
“You want me to live here?”
“If you want to.”
“Forever?”
“If the court allows it.”
Eli looked suspicious.
“You have a big house.”
“Yes.”
“You travel.”
“Sometimes.”
“You work all the time.”
“I can work less.”
Eli frowned.
“Why?”
Nathan smiled.
“Because I spent years thinking work was my whole life.”
He looked at Eli.
“I was wrong.”
Eli’s lips trembled.
“Can I think about it?”
“You can take as long as you need.”
Three hours later, Eli left a folded note on Nathan’s desk.
I think yes.
Nathan laughed and cried at the same time.
Then his phone rang.
Rachel.
“We found Mark.”
Nathan stood.
“Where?”
“Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
“We found his private plane.”
Nathan’s stomach dropped.
“It took off forty minutes ago.”
“Destination?”
“No flight plan.”
“Can you track it?”
“We’re trying.”
Nathan looked toward Eli.
Rachel continued.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Mark called someone from the plane before takeoff.”
“Who?”
Rachel paused.
“Vanessa.”
Nathan’s eyes narrowed.
Vanessa was in custody.
“How?”
“She’s not anymore.”
Nathan stopped breathing.
“What?”
“Someone forged a federal transfer order.”
Nathan stared.
“Vanessa escaped?”
Rachel’s voice hardened.
“Twenty-three minutes ago.”
And just like that, Nathan realized the two people who had tried to destroy his life were together again.
Free.
May you like
And somewhere beyond the city, Mark Reynolds still had one thing left to lose.
His son.
