Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Mara and Lena spent the night inside an abandoned motel outside town.
The room smelled of dust and old cigarettes.
Lena sat beside the window.
Mara sat on the bed, staring at the flash drive.
“Open it,” Lena said.
Mara shook her head.
“Not here.”
“We can't keep running.”
“I know.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
Mara looked at her.
“Proof.”
Lena frowned.
“Proof of what?”
“Everything.”
Mara finally told her the truth.
About the storage room.
About the babies.
About Caleb.
About the night her father disappeared.
Lena listened without interrupting.
When Mara finished, Lena whispered:
“You think Caleb killed your father?”
“I don't know.”
“But you think he knows what happened.”
“Yes.”
“Then why would he be involved with the Whitmore family?”
Mara looked at the flash drive.
“Maybe he isn't working alone.”
That thought had haunted her since the barn.
Caleb had been afraid when Ethan found the key.
But not surprised.
Someone else had been involved.
Someone powerful enough to poison three babies.
Someone who knew the ranch.
Someone who had access to the nursery.
Lena looked at her phone.
“There are police outside.”
Mara stood.
“What?”
“Not here.”
Lena turned the screen toward her.
A news report showed a picture of Mara.
WAITRESS WANTED FOR QUESTIONING IN WHITMORE BABY KIDNAPPING CASE.
Mara's stomach twisted.
“I'm not going back.”
“You can't stay here.”
Mara looked at the flash drive.
Then at the television.
Then at the photograph of Ethan Whitmore.
“He needs to know.”
Lena stared at her.
“Know what?”
Mara stood.
“His wife didn't die naturally.”
At that moment, the motel door exploded inward.
Two men entered.
Mara grabbed Lena and pushed her behind the bed.
One man shouted:
“Give us the drive!”
Mara froze.
They knew.
The second man moved toward her.
She grabbed the lamp and swung it.
The man fell backward.
Mara and Lena ran.
They escaped through the bathroom window.
Rain poured down as they crossed the parking lot.
A car screeched to a stop.
Mara opened the passenger door.
A man sat behind the wheel.
Ethan Whitmore.
Mara stopped.
Ethan looked at her.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then he said:
“Get in.”
Mara stared.
“How did you find me?”
“I didn't.”
His eyes moved toward the motel.
“I found the men looking for you.”
Lena climbed into the back seat.
Mara hesitated.
Ethan's voice became urgent.
“If you want to stay alive, get in the car.”
Mara got in.
The car sped away.
For several minutes, no one spoke.
Then Ethan said:
“My children are alive.”
Mara closed her eyes.
Relief washed through her.
“Thank God.”
“But someone poisoned them.”
Mara looked at him.
“I know.”
Ethan's eyes met hers in the mirror.
“How?”
Mara said nothing.
Ethan pulled the car to the side of the road.
He turned around.
“Tell me everything.”
Mara looked at him.
“I saw Caleb take the babies.”
“I know.”
“He put them in the storage room.”
“I know.”
“He wasn't alone.”
Ethan's expression changed.
“Who was with him?”
“I don't know.”
“What did you hear?”
Mara swallowed.
“He said the babies were the final problem.”
Ethan's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“Why didn't you tell me this last night?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of Caleb?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Mara looked away.
“Because I knew him before I ever worked at the diner.”
Ethan waited.
Mara finally said:
“He was the last person to see my father alive.”
Ethan went still.
“What was your father's name?”
Mara looked at him.
“Thomas Bennett.”
Ethan's face changed.
He knew that name.
He had seen it in Caroline's files.
On the notebook.
On the financial records.
He whispered:
“Thomas Bennett.”
Mara stared.
“You know him?”
Ethan didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
“Your father worked for my family.”
Mara's eyes widened.
“What?”
“He was my father's accountant.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I didn't know who you were.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Your father disappeared twelve years ago.”
Mara nodded.
“My mother said he ran away.”
Ethan's voice was low.
“My father said he stole money.”
Mara went silent.
Ethan looked toward the road.
“Now I don't believe either story.”
Mara slowly held up the flash drive.
“I found this.”
Ethan stared at it.
“Where?”
“In the storage room.”
He reached for it.
Mara pulled it back.
“First, you promise me something.”
“What?”
“If I give you this, you don't hand me over to the police.”
Ethan looked directly at her.
“You saved my children.”
“That's not a promise.”
He hesitated.
Then said:
“I won't let anyone arrest you until I know the truth.”
Mara gave him the drive.
Ethan took it.
And as he did, his phone rang.
The hospital.
His face changed.
He answered.
A nurse was crying.
“Mr. Whitmore, you need to come back immediately.”
Ethan stood on the accelerator.
“What happened?”
May you like
The nurse whispered:
“One of the babies is missing.”
