Chapter 3 - THE LOCKED DRAWER
Madeline waited until Liam fell asleep.
It took nearly an hour.
He refused to let go of her hand.
Every time she moved, his eyes opened.
So she stayed beside him.
At midnight, she finally slipped her hand away.
Liam stirred.
“Mommy?”
“I'm here.”
He relaxed.
Madeline left the room.
She walked downstairs barefoot.
The mansion was silent.
Too silent.
Jeffrey and Cynthia had gone to the guest wing.
Noelle had taken Austin upstairs.
Madeline stood outside Jeffrey's office.
The door was locked.
She tried the handle.
Nothing.
She remembered the message.
Locked drawer.
Not locked office.
She entered using the spare key hidden inside the hallway cabinet.
Jeffrey had always kept important documents in a walnut desk.
Madeline opened the drawers.
Contracts.
Bank statements.
Travel documents.
Nothing.
Then she noticed one drawer had a new lock.
She touched it.
A small metallic click came from inside.
Locked.
She searched the desk.
No key.
Then she remembered something.
Jeffrey had once joked that his father taught him to keep emergency keys inside books.
She scanned the shelves.
One book looked newer than the others.
She pulled it.
A tiny key fell onto the carpet.
Madeline picked it up.
Her heart began racing.
She opened the drawer.
Inside was a thick brown envelope.
Her name was written on it.
MADELINE CARTER.
She froze.
She opened it.
The first document was a medical report.
LIAM CARTER — DEVELOPMENTAL ASSESSMENT.
Madeline's hands shook.
She read the date.
Twenty months earlier.
She read the next line.
“Child demonstrates severe regression consistent with prolonged psychological trauma.”
Her vision blurred.
“No…”
She kept reading.
“Possible causes include neglect, isolation, repeated intimidation, deprivation of normal social interaction…”
Madeline covered her mouth.
There were photographs.
Liam sitting alone.
Liam sleeping on the floor.
Liam standing in a bathroom.
Liam staring at a wall.
All taken secretly.
Her stomach turned.
Then she saw a second document.
A custody agreement.
Prepared by an attorney.
It proposed that Madeline be declared an unfit parent because of her extended absence.
Madeline's breathing stopped.
There was a signature.
Her signature.
Except she had never signed it.
Forgery.
Then she found a bank statement.
A transfer of $250,000.
From Jeffrey's company.
To Cynthia.
Description:
CHILDCARE CONSULTING SERVICES.
Madeline laughed bitterly.
“Childcare?”
A sound came from behind her.
She spun around.
Jeffrey stood in the doorway.
His face was pale.
“What are you doing in my office?”
Madeline held up the medical report.
“What is this?”
Jeffrey stared at it.
“You weren't supposed to find that.”
Madeline's blood ran cold.
“You knew.”
He said nothing.
“You knew our son was being abused.”
“I didn't abuse him.”
“You knew.”
“I thought my mother was handling everything.”
“Your mother?”
“She said Liam needed discipline.”
Madeline stepped closer.
“And you believed her?”
Jeffrey's voice cracked.
“I was working.”
“I was working too.”
“You left.”
“I left to save this company!”
“You chose your career.”
“No.”
Madeline shook her head.
“I chose our family. You chose your comfort.”
Jeffrey looked away.
Madeline held up the forged custody document.
“Did you make this?”
“No.”
“Did Cynthia?”
He didn't answer.
“Did your mother?”
Silence.
Madeline's voice became colder.
“Who forged my signature?”
Jeffrey whispered,
“I don't know.”
“Then why was it in your drawer?”
He looked at her.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That you'd come back.”
Madeline stared at him.
“You were afraid I'd come back to my own son?”
Jeffrey didn't answer.
Her phone suddenly buzzed.
A video had been sent from the same unknown number.
Madeline pressed play.
The screen showed Liam's bedroom.
The date was eighteen months earlier.
Liam was sitting on the floor.
Cynthia entered.
She was holding a plate.
She placed it outside the door.
“Eat.”
Liam reached for it.
Cynthia kicked the plate away.
“No table.”
Liam began crying.
Then Cynthia crouched.
“You want Mommy?”
Liam nodded.
“She doesn't want you.”
Madeline's entire body went numb.
The video continued.
Cynthia whispered,
“She chose London.”
Madeline stopped the video.
She couldn't breathe.
Jeffrey stepped toward her.
“Madeline…”
She slapped him.
The sound echoed through the office.
Jeffrey touched his cheek.
Madeline's eyes were full of tears.
“You let her tell my son I abandoned him.”
“I didn't know she said that.”
“You didn't care enough to know.”
Then she heard footsteps.
Noelle appeared.
She looked at the papers.
Her expression changed.
“What did you find?”
Madeline looked at her.
Everything suddenly made sense.
The fear.
The lies.
The forged signature.
The secret payments.
The isolation.
Madeline lifted her phone.
“I found enough.”
Noelle's face hardened.
“You have no idea what you're dealing with.”
Madeline smiled faintly.
“Then explain it.”
Noelle stared at her.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Finally she whispered,
“Your husband isn't the only man in this family who has something to lose.”
Madeline frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Noelle turned to leave.
Then stopped.
“Ask Jeffrey who Austin's father really is.”
She disappeared.
Madeline slowly turned toward her husband.
Jeffrey looked terrified.
“Who is Austin?”
Jeffrey swallowed.
“I can't tell you.”
May you like
Madeline raised her phone.
“Then I'll find out myself.”
