Raymond Price lived in a modest house behind a row of tall pine trees.
He answered the door himself.
He was in his seventies, with white hair and a cane, but his eyes were sharp.
When I gave him my name, his expression changed.
“Teagan's mother.”
“Yes.”
He looked at Daniel.
Then at Lucas.
“I wondered whether someone would eventually come.”
My stomach tightened.
“You knew she was coming?”
“I knew she might.”
“Did she hire you?”
“No.”
“Then why did you investigate Daniel's family?”
Raymond looked toward the street.
“Come inside.”
The house smelled of coffee and old books.
He led us into a study filled with filing cabinets.
“I can't give you confidential information about other clients,” he said.
“We're not asking about your clients. We're asking about my daughter.”
He nodded.
“She came to me because she was frightened.”
“When?”
“About two weeks before she died.”
“Why?”
“She believed someone was trying to find out whether she intended to keep the baby.”
I felt Lucas stiffen beside me.
“Who?”
“She didn't know.”
“Did she mention Victor Hale?”
“Yes.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“What did she say?”
“She said Victor had spoken to her.”
“Where?”
“Outside her school.”
Daniel looked stunned.
“Why would he do that?”
Raymond shrugged.
“That's what she wanted me to determine.”
“You were investigating him?”
“Yes.”
“Did you find anything?”
“I found that Victor had been asking questions.”
“What questions?”
“About Teagan. About you. About Daniel. About the pregnancy.”
My hands curled into fists.
“Why?”
“That was never established.”
“Then what did you tell Teagan?”
“That I needed time.”
“How much?”
“More than she had.”
The room went quiet.
Raymond walked toward a filing cabinet.
He removed a thin folder.
“I kept this because I couldn't bring myself to destroy it.”
He placed it on the desk.
The folder contained copies of photographs.
Victor outside a restaurant.
Victor entering Daniel's father's office.
Victor speaking with a woman I didn't recognize.
Then I saw Teagan.
She was standing outside Raymond's office.
Alone.
Holding a folder against her chest.
“When was this?”
“Two days before she died.”
I looked at the photograph.
“Why was she here?”
“She wanted me to hold something.”
“What?”
Raymond opened the folder.
Inside was a photocopy of a legal document.
My name appeared at the top.
I stared at it.
“What is this?”
“An emergency guardianship document.”
I felt dizzy.
“Guardianship?”
“For Lucas.”
“Why?”
“Teagan believed there was a possibility someone would try to challenge your custody of the baby after her death.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Did she know who?”
“No.”
Raymond pointed to another page.
“She wanted you to have full authority.”
I read the document.
It had been prepared before Lucas was born.
My daughter had been planning for a future in which she might not survive.
That realization hurt more than I expected.
“She knew,” I whispered.
Raymond nodded.
“She was preparing.”
“Did she know she was dying?”
“No. She knew she was at risk.”
“Because of her health?”
“Yes.”
“Did she tell you about the headaches?”
“She mentioned them.”
“What did you tell her?”
“To return to the hospital.”
“She did.”
“I know.”
Raymond looked toward Daniel.
“She also told me something about you.”
Daniel's face tightened.
“What?”
“She said she loved you.”
He looked away.
“But she didn't trust your family.”
Daniel swallowed.
“Did she think my parents wanted the baby?”
“She thought they wanted control.”
“Why?”
“Because someone had shown her documents.”
“What documents?”
Raymond's expression changed.
“She said there was a plan to move the baby after birth.”
My heart stopped.
“Move him where?”
“She didn't know.”
“Then why didn't she go to the police?”
“Because she wasn't sure whether the documents were genuine.”
Daniel asked, “What did they look like?”
“Custody papers. Private agreements. Financial arrangements.”
“Financial arrangements?”
“Yes.”
Raymond looked at me.
“Someone had apparently been discussing money connected to the baby.”
The room went silent.
Lucas looked confused.
“Why would anyone pay for me?”
Raymond immediately softened.
“I don't know whether anyone intended to pay for you.”
“Then what does the money mean?”
“I don't know.”
He opened another file.
“This is what Teagan left.”
Inside was a handwritten list.
Names.
Dates.
Amounts.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Victor Hale.
Another was Daniel's father.
Then there was a third name.
Sarah Miller.
I recognized it.
The storage unit.
The woman whose name had been used to rent it.
“Who is Sarah Miller?”
Raymond shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Daniel stared at the list.
“Could she have been someone working for my father?”
“Possibly.”
“Did Teagan know her?”
Raymond pointed to the bottom of the page.
There was one sentence.
Sarah knows where the original documents are.
My pulse quickened.
“Where?”
Raymond looked at me.
“That is what I never found out.”
I thought about the storage unit.
The phone.
The messages.
The photograph.
Then I remembered something.
The old phone had contained a saved number without a name.
I showed it to Raymond.
He studied it.
“I recognize the area code.”
“Where?”
“An office building downtown.”
“Whose office?”
Raymond didn't answer.
He simply looked at Daniel.
“Your father's old company.”
Daniel stood.
“We're going there.”
Raymond shook his head.
“Not tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because if someone is watching you, they may expect that.”
I looked at him.
“What should we do?”
“Wait.”
“For what?”
“A man who has spent ten years hiding something doesn't suddenly become careless.”
That night, I received another message.
You found Raymond.
I showed it to everyone.
Then another arrived.
He lied about Sarah.
Raymond's face changed when I showed him.
“What does it mean?”
He shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“You recognize the name.”
“I recognize many names.”
“Not like this.”
He stood.
“There's something I didn't tell you.”
Daniel stared at him.
“What?”
Raymond walked to the filing cabinet.
He removed a small envelope.
“Teagan gave me this the day she came here.”
I took it.
My name was written across the front.
I opened it.
Inside was a key.
Nothing else.
I turned it over in my palm.
“What does it open?”
Raymond looked at me.
“I don't know.”
Then he added, “But Teagan told me that if anything happened to her, I was to give it to you only after you found the truth about Victor.”
I stared at the key.
“We haven't found the truth.”
Raymond nodded.
“I know.”
“So why give it to me now?”
His expression was grave.
“Because someone else already knows you have it.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 11: The Key Teagan Hid for Ten Years Opened a Place None of Us Expected, and Inside We Found Proof Someone Had Followed Her Final Plans
The Baby Survived, But the Doctor’s First Words Left Me Realizing My Daughter Was Never Coming Home
Part 10 of 20
