Chapter 1 - The Audio File
The silence in the backyard was heavy enough to crush stone.
Everyone stared at the small screen glowing in my outstretched hand.
Vanessa lowered her arm, the red wine stain on her blouse suddenly looking like a fresh wound.
"You are lying," she stammered, though her voice lacked its usual arrogant venom.
I pressed the play button on the audio file I had saved and hidden for three long years.
The scratchy sound of a recorded phone call echoed through the Bluetooth speaker sitting on the patio table.
Marcus, Claire's ex-husband, spoke first, his voice slurred and completely desperate.
"I need fifty grand, Vanessa, or I am taking the kids back and fighting the adoption."
Then came Vanessa's voice, crystal clear and chillingly calm.
"I will get you the money from their college fund, but you have to give me a ten percent cut for handling Claire."
A collective gasp rippled through the assembled relatives standing on the lawn.
Claire's mother, Eleanor, dropped her plastic cup of lemonade onto the green grass.
"You stole from your own niece and nephew?" Eleanor whispered, clutching her chest in horror.
Vanessa backed away, her eyes darting around the yard as if searching for an escape route.
"He threatened me, Mom, I had to do it to protect the family!" she cried out.
I stepped forward, closing the distance between us and locking my eyes onto hers.
"You didn't protect anyone, Vanessa, you bought a new sports car two weeks after that bank transfer."
Claire walked over and put her arm around Owen and Lily, pulling them safely close to her side.
"Get out of my house right now," Claire said, her voice shaking with absolute rage.
Vanessa grabbed her designer purse and ran toward the side wooden gate.
Before she reached the street, she stopped and turned around with a vicious, triumphant smile spreading across her face.
"You think you won, Daniel, but you don't even know what Claire did to keep those kids."
My wife's face drained of all color as she suddenly grabbed my arm tightly.
Vanessa laughed and yelled, "Ask your perfect wife why the real adoption papers were sealed by a federal judge."
Just as I turned to look at Claire, my cell phone vibrated violently in my hand.
I looked down at the glowing screen and saw a text message from an unknown number.
The message read, "Did you like the show, Daniel, because I am sitting in your driveway right now."
I sprinted toward the front of the house, my heart pounding against my ribs like a hammer.
May you like
When I threw the front door open, Marcus was standing on my porch with a wicked grin.
He held a thick manila envelope in his hand and whispered, "I want my kids back."
