Chapter 3 - The Report Filed Before Daniel Came HomeTwo police cruisers arrived twelve minutes later.
By then, Noah had eaten half a peanut-butter sandwich, a banana, and several spoonfuls of soup while sitting pressed against Daniel at the kitchen island.
He refused to let Daniel move more than a few feet away.
Linda sat in the living room.
Silent.
Officer Maria Torres interviewed Daniel first.
Then Noah.
A second officer photographed the broken lock, the lunchbox, and the hallway camera.
Linda eventually admitted locking the door.
But her explanation changed everything.
“I was protecting him.”
Daniel stared.
Officer Torres remained calm.
“From whom?”
“Daniel.”
Noah looked at his father.
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
Linda continued:
“My son has been under extreme stress since his wife died.”
“What does that have to do with locking Noah in a room?”
“I believed Daniel was coming home angry.”
Daniel laughed in disbelief.
“You didn’t even know I was coming home.”
Linda ignored him.
“I was afraid Noah might be unsafe.”
Officer Torres glanced at her notes.
“Then why deny him food?”
“I didn’t.”
“The child says he hasn’t eaten since yesterday.”
“He refused.”
Noah immediately shook his head.
“No, I didn’t.”
Linda looked toward him.
“Sweetheart—”
“Do not address him,” Daniel said.
Officer Torres raised one hand.
“Mr. Carter.”
Daniel forced himself silent.
The officer turned to Linda.
“Why was attorney Robert Lang here?”
Linda’s eyes flickered.
“He was helping me.”
“With what?”
“A custody issue.”
Daniel stared.
“What custody issue?”
Linda said nothing.
Officer Torres waited.
Finally, Linda whispered:
“I was concerned about Noah.”
Daniel stood.
“There is no custody issue.”
Officer Torres looked at him.
“Actually, Mr. Carter, there may be.”
She removed a document from her folder.
Daniel frowned.
“What is that?”
“A child-welfare report.”
Linda went pale.
Daniel took the page.
It had been filed electronically at 3:52 p.m. yesterday.
Twenty-five minutes before the security footage showed Linda locking Noah in the guest room.
Daniel read the allegations.
Repeated food deprivation.
Emotional abuse.
Unsafe confinement.
Child left alone while Daniel traveled for work.
Daniel stared at the report.
“These are describing what she did.”
Officer Torres nodded slowly.
“That appears significant.”
Daniel read further.
The anonymous caller claimed Noah had been locked inside the guest room by Daniel before Daniel left town.
The report recommended an emergency welfare check the following morning.
Tomorrow.
The same word Noah remembered hearing.
When they find him tomorrow, Daniel won’t have a chance.
Daniel looked at Linda.
“You were going to make it look like I did this.”
“No.”
“You filed the report before you locked him in.”
“I did not file anything.”
“Robert?”
Silence.
Daniel’s hands started shaking.
The plan became horrifyingly clear.
He was supposed to remain in Chicago until tomorrow evening.
A child-welfare worker would arrive.
Linda would somehow make sure they entered the guest room.
They would find Noah hungry, terrified, and locked inside.
Daniel would be hundreds of miles away.
Evidence would suggest he had confined his own son before leaving for a business trip.
His mother would appear horrified.
Concerned.
Helpful.
Perhaps she would claim she had only just arrived.
And Noah?
Noah had been frightened into silence with the threat of losing his father.
Daniel looked at the report again.
“Why?”
Linda whispered:
“You’re misunderstanding everything.”
“Why would you want Noah taken from me?”
“I don’t.”
“Then who does?”
Linda’s face collapsed.
For the first time, she looked old.
“Daniel, there are things Claire never told you.”
Daniel’s anger sharpened.
“Stop using my dead wife as a shield.”
“I’m trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
Linda looked toward the officers.
“I need an attorney.”
Officer Torres nodded.
“That’s your right.”
Daniel stared.
His mother had finally stopped denying.
That terrified him more than the lies.
Officer Torres spoke quietly with the second officer.
Then she told Linda she was being detained pending investigation into unlawful restraint and child endangerment.
Linda stood.
Noah watched from the kitchen.
As the officer approached her with handcuffs, Linda looked directly at Daniel.
“If you start digging into Claire’s estate, you are going to wish you hadn’t.”
Daniel felt something cold move through him.
“What does that mean?”
Linda looked at Noah.
Then back at her son.
“Ask Robert why Claire changed her will eleven days before she died.”
Daniel froze.
Claire had never changed her will.
At least not according to anything he had seen.
Linda was led toward the front door.
Daniel followed.
“Mom.”
She stopped.
“What did Claire change?”
Linda said nothing.
“Mom!”
Officer Torres guided her outside.
The door closed.
Daniel stood in the foyer.
Behind him, Noah approached quietly.
“Dad?”
Daniel turned.
Noah was holding something.
A torn piece of red paper.
“I took this before Grandma put me in the room.”
Daniel crouched.
“From those papers?”
Noah nodded.
“I thought maybe you needed it.”
Daniel unfolded the scrap.
Most of the page was missing.
But three lines remained.
SUCCESSOR GUARDIAN: LINDA CARTER
TRUST BENEFICIARY: NOAH CARTER
ESTIMATED CURRENT VALUE: $8,420,000
Daniel stared at the number.
Eight million four hundred twenty thousand dollars.
He had known Claire’s parents left money for Noah.
May you like
He had never known it was anywhere near that much.
And apparently, if Daniel lost custody of his son, the person positioned to take control was Linda.
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