Chapter 5 - SOPHIE'S NOTEBOOKEthan didn't go to Santa Barbara immediately.
Every instinct screamed at him to drive.
But Sophie came first.
Mrs. Rivera brought her home as Vanessa carried a suitcase toward her car.
Not the black suitcase from the living room.
A smaller one.
Sophie stopped on the front walkway.
Vanessa looked at her.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Vanessa smiled.
It was the same soft smile she used when Ethan was home.
"Sweetheart—"
Sophie stepped behind Mrs. Rivera.
Ethan saw everything he needed.
"Don't talk to her."
Vanessa's eyes hardened.
"I have rights too."
"No, Vanessa. You have consequences."
She looked at him.
"You'll regret this."
Ethan almost laughed.
"Get in your car."
Vanessa did.
Sophie watched until the car disappeared.
Then she ran to Ethan.
He held her.
Not too tightly.
Just enough for her to feel that he wasn't letting go.
Inside, Ethan sat with her on the sofa.
The black suitcase remained against the wall.
He should have removed it.
He hadn't thought.
Sophie saw it.
Her body stiffened.
Ethan immediately carried it into the garage.
When he returned, Sophie was holding the old photograph of Grace.
"Is Mommy really alive?"
He sat beside her.
"Yes."
Sophie stared at the picture.
"Why didn't she come home?"
Ethan swallowed.
"She was hurt."
"Vanessa knew."
"Yes."
"Did you know?"
The question broke him.
"No."
Sophie studied his face.
Then nodded.
She believed him.
That trust felt more precious than anything Ethan owned.
He wanted to ask about Vanessa.
He didn't want to interrogate his daughter.
So he said:
"I need to understand what happened when I wasn't here."
Sophie looked down.
"Am I in trouble?"
"No."
"Even if I did bad things?"
"What bad things?"
"I went through Vanessa's phone."
Ethan felt rage toward Vanessa all over again.
She had convinced Sophie that finding evidence of abuse made her guilty.
"No. You're not in trouble."
Sophie hesitated.
"She said you'd be mad."
"I'm not."
"She said you always choose your wife."
Ethan closed his eyes.
That one hurt.
"Did it feel like I did?"
Sophie didn't answer.
He forced himself not to defend.
"Tell me the truth."
"Sometimes."
Ethan nodded slowly.
"Then I should have noticed more."
Sophie leaned against him.
After a minute she whispered:
"I wrote things down."
"What things?"
She stood.
"Wait."
She ran upstairs.
Ethan sat alone.
Five minutes later Sophie returned holding a pink notebook covered in stickers.
She handed it over.
"Mrs. Rivera said if something scares you, writing it helps."
Ethan opened it.
The first pages contained drawings.
Dogs.
Houses.
School friends.
Then the handwriting changed.
Short entries.
Vanessa grabbed my arm because I spilled juice.
Another.
Vanessa said Mommy left because I cried too much.
Ethan stopped breathing.
Another.
She locked my bedroom door from outside when Dad was in San Diego.
Another.
She threw away Mommy's blue sweater because I hugged it.
His hands began shaking.
Another.
She said Dad will have a new baby someday and maybe he won't need me so much.
Ethan closed the notebook.
He couldn't continue.
Sophie watched him carefully.
"Are you mad?"
"Yes."
She shrank.
"Not at you."
He pulled her close.
"Never at you for telling me."
Her voice was muffled against his chest.
"She said you'd think I was jealous."
Ethan looked toward the front door Vanessa had walked through.
"Did she ever hit you?"
Sophie thought.
"Not like punching."
His stomach tightened.
"What did she do?"
"She slapped my hand."
"Anything else?"
"She squeezed."
"Where?"
"My arms."
"Did she leave marks?"
"Sometimes."
Ethan nearly stopped breathing.
"Did anyone see?"
"Mrs. Rivera asked once."
"What did Vanessa say?"
"That I fell."
Of course.
Sophie turned pages herself.
Then pointed to an entry Ethan hadn't read.
Vanessa cried in the garage and said Grace should have stayed gone.
"When was this?"
"Last month."
"What happened?"
"I was getting my scooter."
"Did she know you heard?"
"No."
Another entry.
Vanessa has another phone in the car.
Ethan looked up.
"What?"
Sophie nodded.
"She hides it under the seat."
His pulse accelerated.
"How do you know?"
"I dropped my water bottle. I saw her put it there."
"Did you ever touch it?"
"No."
Ethan immediately called his attorney.
Then police.
He described the suitcase.
Sophie's statements.
The hidden phone.
They advised him not to search Vanessa's car without consent if it wasn't his property.
But the child abuse allegation could be documented immediately.
A deputy arrived.
Sophie spoke with a female child-services investigator later that evening.
Ethan stayed nearby.
He hated every second his daughter had to repeat what happened.
Afterward she fell asleep on the sofa.
Her hand still held Grace's photograph.
Ethan sat beside her.
He called Bellora again.
Dr. Levin answered.
"I need to come tomorrow."
The doctor paused.
"Grace agreed."
Ethan's heart jumped.
"She knows?"
"She knows you're asking to see her."
"What did she say?"
"She cried."
Ethan closed his eyes.
"Does she want me there?"
"Yes."
Relief almost crushed him.
Then Dr. Levin continued.
"She asked if Sophie would come."
Ethan looked at his sleeping daughter.
"Not yet."
"I think that's wise."
Ethan hesitated.
"What does Grace remember about Vanessa?"
"We need to discuss that in person."
"Please."
Dr. Levin sighed.
"She remembers arguing."
"Before the crash?"
"Yes."
"Anything else?"
"Headlights."
Ethan waited.
"And?"
"Vanessa standing beside Grace's car."
His stomach tightened.
"What was she doing?"
Dr. Levin's answer chilled him.
"According to Grace, Vanessa was holding Grace's phone."
Ethan looked toward the empty driveway.
Grace's phone had never been recovered.
Vanessa had spent six years saying she'd never seen Grace that night.
Now Grace remembered Vanessa with the one object investigators had always believed disappeared into the Pacific.
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And suddenly Ethan knew the crash wasn't the first mystery he needed answered.
The missing phone was.
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