Chapter 4 - Aunt Rachel
Rachel did not leave when Mitchell told her to.
Aubrey could hear voices downstairs.
“You don’t get to appear after two years and demand access.”
Mitchell sounded controlled.
Rachel did not.
“I appeared every month.”
Aubrey moved closer to the bedroom door.
It was unlocked tonight.
Dylan remained behind the side door.
“You blocked my calls,” Rachel said.
“That was Ronald.”
“And now you’re doing exactly the same thing.”
“I have custody.”
“Temporary emergency custody.”
Mitchell lowered his voice.
“You should be grateful I got them away from him.”
“I am grateful they’re away from Ronald.”
A pause.
“That does not mean I trust you.”
Aubrey’s heart pounded.
She opened the bedroom door slightly.
Rachel stood at the bottom of the stairs.
Mitchell faced her.
“I passed the court’s background check.”
Rachel laughed bitterly.
“The court checked whether you have convictions. That is not the same as checking what Claire knew about you.”
Mitchell’s shoulders stiffened.
“What exactly did Claire tell you?”
Aubrey leaned closer.
Rachel saw movement upstairs.
Their eyes met.
Aubrey froze.
Rachel’s expression changed immediately.
“Aubrey?”
Mitchell turned.
Aubrey stepped into the hallway.
Rachel smiled.
Not too brightly.
Not pretending everything was fine.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
Aubrey had not heard anyone call her that since Claire died.
She nearly cried.
Mitchell climbed two stairs.
“Go back to your room.”
Rachel noticed Aubrey’s dress.
Her face changed.
“Why is she dressed like that?”
“Mind your business.”
“She’s eleven.”
“It was for guests.”
“What guests?”
Mitchell looked toward the front door.
“We’re done.”
Rachel stared at Aubrey.
“Where’s Dylan?”
Aubrey’s eyes involuntarily moved toward the locked side door.
Mitchell saw it.
Rachel saw it too.
“What is behind that door?”
“Storage.”
From inside came a faint scrape.
Rachel turned sharply.
“That was not storage.”
Mitchell stepped between her and the stairs.
“Leave.”
“Is Dylan in there?”
“No.”
Aubrey’s mouth opened.
Mitchell looked at her.
One look.
Cold.
Warning.
Rachel saw that too.
“Aubrey,” she said carefully, “is Dylan okay?”
Aubrey’s hands started shaking.
If she said no, what would Mitchell do after Rachel left?
If she lied, Dylan stayed inside.
Mitchell smiled.
“Tell your aunt Dylan is asleep.”
Aubrey stared at Rachel.
Then at the locked door.
She remembered Claire saying something when Aubrey was little.
When you can’t say the truth safely, find another way to show it.
Aubrey did not know whether she truly remembered the sentence or simply wished her mother had said it.
She looked at Rachel.
“He’s very tired.”
Rachel studied her face.
“Where is he sleeping?”
Mitchell answered.
“In the guest room.”
Aubrey slowly turned her eyes toward the locked side door again.
Then back to Rachel.
Rachel understood something.
Not everything.
Enough.
She stopped arguing.
“All right.”
Mitchell looked surprised.
Rachel walked toward the entrance.
“I’ll go.”
She looked up at Aubrey one last time.
“I’m glad I saw you.”
Aubrey nodded.
Rachel left.
Mitchell locked the front door.
Then he turned toward Aubrey.
“What did you tell her?”
“Nothing.”
“You looked at the door.”
“I was scared.”
“Of what?”
Aubrey said nothing.
Mitchell climbed the stairs.
He stopped close enough that Aubrey could smell coffee on his breath.
“Rachel is not your mother.”
“I know.”
“She cannot take you from me.”
Aubrey met his eyes.
“Neither could you before.”
Mitchell’s expression darkened.
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing.”
He took the locked-room key from his pocket.
For a second Aubrey thought he might let Dylan out.
Instead he turned the lock twice.
“Your brother stays there tonight.”
Aubrey’s eyes filled.
“Because Rachel came?”
“Because you need to learn that actions have consequences.”
He walked away.
Aubrey waited until his footsteps disappeared.
Then she crouched near the door.
“I’m sorry.”
Dylan whispered from inside.
“It’s not your fault.”
She closed her eyes.
Downstairs, Mitchell opened his laptop.
He did not know that Rachel had driven only two blocks away before pulling over.
She immediately called Lena Brooks, the child welfare caseworker assigned to the emergency custody transition.
“I saw Aubrey.”
Rachel’s voice shook.
“Something is wrong.”
“What did you observe?”
Rachel forced herself to be precise.
“Aubrey was wearing what looked like a maid’s uniform. She was terrified. Dylan was nowhere visible. There was a locked interior door upstairs, and when I asked where Dylan was, Aubrey looked directly at it.”
Lena went silent.
“Did you hear anything?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“A movement from behind the door.”
Rachel gripped the steering wheel.
“And Mitchell lied about where Dylan was.”
Lena wrote everything down.
“I’m going to review the placement file tonight.”
Rachel looked back toward Mitchell’s distant house.
“Please don’t call him first.”
“Why?”
“Because if I’m wrong, he’ll be angry.”
May you like
Rachel’s voice dropped.
“And if I’m right, he’ll move whatever he doesn’t want us to see.”
