Chapter 12 - HER SMILE IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR
The emergency restraining order served on Victoria had clearly specified five hundred yards from Daniel, Claire, Noah, and their school zones. But paper did not stop a predator who knew the architecture of their lives down to the second.
At 8:15 the next morning, Daniel stood in the kitchen, gripping the kitchen counter with knuckles bleached white. The cassette tape Claire had found sat between them on the granite, next to an unopened mug of black coffee.
"She’s playing games, Claire," Daniel rasped, his voice raw with a dangerous mixture of rage and terror. "She’s trying to dismantle us from the outside because she knows she lost control on the inside. We don't listen to this. We hand it directly to Detective Miller."
"Dad, look at the date on the tape," Claire demanded, pointing to the faded handwriting. "March 14th. Mom died on March 12th. Victoria wasn't supposed to even know who you were until October of that year! Why does she have something dated two days after Mom’s funeral?"
Before Daniel could answer, his phone buzzed violently on the counter. It wasn't the police. It was Noah’s kindergarten principal.
"Mr. Hartwell? I’m calling to confirm if there was a change in Noah’s emergency pickup protocol. A woman identifying herself as Noah’s godmother just attempted to sign him out for an early dental appointment."
Daniel’s blood turned to ice. "Keep him in the office. Lock the perimeter doors. Call the police right now! I’m three minutes away!"
He grabbed his keys and sprinted toward the garage, Claire running hard on his heels. They didn't even put on winter coats. The SUV roared to life, tires screeching against the frozen asphalt as Daniel tore down the winding private road toward St. Jude’s Elementary.
Claire stared frantically out the passenger window, scouring every cross street. As they blew through a flashing yellow light two blocks from the school, Claire glanced up into the side mirror.
A sleek silver sedan was trailing them three car-lengths behind. Through the tinted windshield, Claire caught the unmistakable outline of high cheekbones, perfectly pinned blonde hair, and dark sunglasses. Victoria wasn't at the school trying to take Noah.
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She was right behind them, using the school as bait to pull Daniel out into the open. And as Claire locked eyes with the reflection, the woman behind the wheel slowly raised one leather-gloved finger to her lips, smiled, and made a sharp, illegal U-turn, disappearing into the morning traffic.
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