Mallory appeared at the top of the stairs wearing the same calm expression I had seen at family dinners.
There was no panic on her face.
No apology.
No embarrassment.
She looked almost relieved.
“Mallory,” Colin said.
She smiled faintly.
“You finally found Ethan.”
Ethan stepped backward.
“You shouldn't be here.”
She ignored him.
Her eyes moved to Brynn.
“I told you not to come here.”
Brynn tightened her grip on my hand.
“You lied to me.”
Mallory looked at her.
“Yes.”
The admission was so casual that it frightened me.
Colin moved forward.
“You used my daughter.”
Mallory's expression changed.
“I used information.”
“You paid for cosmetic injections.”
“I gave her money.”
“You knew she was sixteen.”
“Yes.”
“You knew she was vulnerable.”
“Yes.”
His voice rose.
“Why?”
Mallory looked at me.
“Because your daughter was the easiest way to reach you.”
I felt something inside me harden.
“You could have asked me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you would have said no.”
“To what?”
“To the truth.”
I stared at her.
“You think I deserved this?”
“No.”
She looked at Brynn.
“She deserved better.”
That startled me.
“What does that mean?”
Mallory sighed.
“I never wanted her hurt.”
“You let someone bully her.”
“I didn't create the account.”
“But you knew about it.”
“Yes.”
“You watched it happen.”
“I couldn't stop it.”
“You could have told us.”
“I did.”
Colin stared at her.
“You never told me.”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“You didn't listen.”
He shook his head.
“You're lying.”
Mallory reached into her coat.
Ethan immediately stepped forward.
“Don't.”
She stopped.
Then slowly removed a small flash drive.
“I have proof.”
“Of what?” Marcus asked.
“That David wasn't the person giving orders.”
Colin looked at her.
“You worked for him.”
“I did.”
“So did Ethan.”
“I never worked for David,” Ethan said.
Mallory looked at him.
“You did.”
“I was trying to expose him.”
“You were trying to save yourself.”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“Maybe both.”
Marcus held out his hand.
“Give me the drive.”
Mallory didn't move.
“First, I want protection.”
“You're not negotiating.”
“I am.”
She looked at me.
“Because I'm the only person here who knows where the remaining records are.”
Colin stepped forward.
“Where?”
She smiled.
“In the place you never searched.”
I felt a chill.
“My house.”
“No.”
“The office.”
“No.”
“The old house?”
Mallory nodded.
“That's where the original is.”
Colin stared.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Because David told me.”
“Then why haven't you taken it?”
“Because I couldn't get inside.”
I frowned.
“Why not?”
She looked at me.
“Because you changed the locks.”
I remembered.
After the divorce, I had replaced every lock.
For the first time in years, that decision suddenly felt important.
“What does David want?”
“The original agreement.”
“Why?”
“Because it proves the research group violated the settlement.”
“And that would expose them.”
“Yes.”
“Then why would they want it destroyed?”
“Because it would expose everyone who took money.”
I looked at Mallory.
“Yourself included.”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
That was the first honest thing she had said.
Marcus stepped forward.
“You're still part of the crime.”
“I know.”
“You manipulated a minor.”
“I know.”
“You entered her mother's house.”
“I know.”
“You helped steal documents.”
Mallory looked at him.
“I know.”
Her calmness began to crack.
“I also spent three years trying to get evidence against people who would kill me if they knew what I had.”
The basement went silent.
Colin stared at her.
“You expect sympathy?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Survival.”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“That's what you always say.”
Mallory looked at him.
“You weren't there when David threatened my sister.”
“You used Brynn.”
“I know.”
“Then stop pretending you're different.”
She looked at Brynn.
“I am sorry.”
Brynn's eyes filled.
“You should be.”
Mallory nodded.
“I am.”
Marcus took the flash drive.
“What's on it?”
“Payment records.”
“From David?”
“From the research group.”
“Names?”
“Yes.”
“Dates?”
“Yes.”
“Proof?”
“Yes.”
He inserted it into his laptop.
Files appeared.
Bank transfers.
Emails.
Contracts.
Photographs.
Then one file made everyone stop.
A scanned document labeled:
BRYNN REYNOLDS — MEDICAL CONSENT.
My heart stopped.
“I never signed that.”
“You didn't,” Mallory said.
“Who did?”
She looked at Colin.
He looked horrified.
“My signature.”
Colin stepped closer.
“That's not mine.”
“It was copied from your divorce papers.”
I looked at the screen.
The document stated that I had consented to the use of Brynn's medical information.
I had never seen it.
“Who submitted this?”
“David.”
“Why?”
“To activate the trust.”
Marcus scrolled.
“There are more.”
A second document.
A payment authorization.
A third.
An account transfer.
Then an email.
The sender was David.
The recipient was Mallory.
The subject line was simple.
Keep the girl distracted.
My stomach twisted.
The message contained instructions to encourage Brynn to focus on her appearance.
Not hurt her.
Not threaten her.
Distract her.
It was exactly what had happened.
Colin stared at the screen.
“She was the bait.”
Mallory nodded.
“Yes.”
“And you knew.”
“Yes.”
He looked at her with disgust.
“I hate you.”
“I know.”
Then another file opened.
It was a photograph of the old house.
The house where Colin and I had lived before our divorce.
The basement wall.
A section marked with a red circle.
Mallory pointed.
“The original is there.”
I looked at Colin.
“You said you hid it.”
“I did.”
“Why didn't you ever go back?”
“Because after the divorce, I thought the house was being watched.”
Mallory nodded.
“It was.”
“By whom?”
“David.”
Marcus closed the laptop.
“We're going there.”
“No,” Mallory said.
Everyone looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because David knows.”
“Knows what?”
“That you found the drive.”
The lights above us flickered.
Ethan looked toward the ceiling.
“He's here.”
A sound came from the floor above.
A door opening.
Then footsteps.
Not hurried.
Not cautious.
Someone was walking through the office as though they owned it.
Colin looked at me.
“Take Brynn and go.”
“No.”
“You need to.”
“No.”
Mallory suddenly grabbed Brynn's wrist.
I reacted instantly.
“Let go of her.”
Mallory released her.
“I was trying to move her away from the stairs.”
Brynn backed into me.
The footsteps stopped.
Then David's voice came from above.
“You've all made this much harder than it needed to be.”
Marcus reached for his phone.
David continued.
“Call the police if you want.”
A pause.
“They won't get here before I do.”
Colin looked at Ethan.
Ethan whispered:
“He knows the basement.”
The lights went out.
Brynn screamed.
Then something heavy crashed upstairs.
Marcus shouted, “Move!”
We ran toward the secondary exit.
Behind us, Mallory yelled.
“Not that way!”
I stopped.
“What?”
“The door is wired.”
She pointed toward the exit.
“David knew we'd use it.”
Colin pulled us toward another corridor.
A second crash shook the ceiling.
Someone was coming downstairs.
And this time, there was nowhere left to hide.
Click here to continue reading: PART 11: David Had Planned the Escape Route Before We Arrived, but Mallory’s One Decision Gave Us a Chance He Never Expected
My Daughter Came Home Hiding Her Face, and One Sentence About Her Father’s New Wife Changed Everything I Thought I Knew
Part 10 of 20
