Chapter 13 - Patricia's Reason.
Patricia did not deny the messages.
That surprised everyone.
She came to the police station with an attorney and admitted that she had wanted the staged rescue to continue after Ryan backed out.
But she denied intending any real danger.
"I made a terrible judgment," she said through her lawyer.
"That is not the same as wanting a child harmed."
Emily heard the statement from Rachel afterward.
It made her furious because it was carefully true.
Intent mattered legally.
Consequences mattered emotionally.
And Patricia seemed determined to separate them.
"Why?"
Emily asked Rachel.
"Why would she risk any of this for a social media page?"
Rachel hesitated.
"It wasn't just the page."
Emily stared at her.
"What else?"
Rachel slid a financial document across the desk.
Patricia's house had a second mortgage.
The Cole Family Moments account had taken out a business loan nine months earlier.
Ryan had personally guaranteed part of it.
Together, they owed more than one hundred eighty thousand dollars.
"How?"
"Failed merchandise launch."
"Advertising costs."
"A production contract they couldn't cover."
Emily read the numbers again.
"Ryan never told me."
"Apparently not."
"He talked about buying a house with me."
Rachel gave her a sympathetic look.
"He may have been planning to solve one problem before telling you about another."
Emily remembered every conversation about their future.
Ryan had pushed for a bigger wedding.
He had suggested they could turn family life into "something that pays for itself."
Emily had thought he meant occasional brand deals.
She had never imagined he and Patricia were already drowning in debt.
"Would one video fix that?"
"No."
Rachel tapped the account analytics Jenna had provided.
"But a viral rescue clip could attract sponsorships, press attention, and a huge audience spike."
"So they needed fear."
"They needed attention."
Emily looked out the office window.
"Same thing, apparently."
That afternoon, Mark received a call from Detective Morales.
The anonymous number had finally produced a lead.
The messages were routed through a prepaid service.
The account had been created using public Wi-Fi at a library.
Security footage showed a person wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses at a computer terminal.
The face was mostly hidden.
But the person walked with a slight limp.
Emily thought of everyone at the party.
Nobody came to mind.
Mark did.
"Diane."
Emily stared at him.
"Aunt Diane?"
"She twisted her ankle last month."
"No."
"I'm not saying it's her."
"She wasn't even at the party."
"Exactly."
Emily's confusion deepened.
Diane had been the safest person in the entire mess.
She had cared for Sophie while Emily went to Nora's.
She had pushed Mark to document everything.
Why would she send anonymous messages?
They drove to Diane's house that evening.
She opened the door before they knocked.
"You found out."
Emily stopped on the porch.
"It was you?"
Diane looked tired.
"Come inside."
Mark did not move.
"You sent the texts?"
"Yes."
Emily felt a rush of anger.
"Why hide your name?"
Diane looked at her.
"Because I didn't want Patricia to know what I knew."
"How did you know anything?"
Diane walked to the dining table and opened a manila envelope.
Inside were printed screenshots of messages from the Cole family account.
"Patricia asked me for money two weeks ago."
Mark stared at her.
"You never told me."
"She asked me not to."
"How much?"
"Fifty thousand dollars."
Emily sat down.
"Why would Patricia ask you?"
"Because she knew I had the money from selling my old house."
"Did she tell you about the debt?"
"Part of it."
Diane pushed the screenshots toward Emily.
"Then she accidentally sent me a message intended for Ryan."
Emily read it.
If the rescue lands right, the sponsorship deal is back on.
Diane continued.
"I confronted her."
"She said it was just a harmless staged family moment."
"I told her not to involve Sophie."
Emily stared at the date.
The message was sent three days before the party.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Diane's eyes filled with shame.
"Because Patricia swore they'd dropped the idea."
Mark's voice became hard.
"And you believed her."
"Yes."
Emily looked at the anonymous texts again.
"Why did you tell me to stop digging?"
Diane swallowed.
"That first message wasn't meant to scare you."
"It did."
"I know."
"Why not just say, 'It's Diane. I know something'?"
Diane looked toward the window.
"Because I was already afraid Patricia had access to Ryan's phone."
"I thought if she knew I was helping you, she'd destroy the account records."
Mark folded his arms.
"You should've trusted us."
"I should have."
Then Diane pushed one final document across the table.
"But the messages aren't the worst thing I found."
It was an unsigned sponsorship contract.
The campaign name was printed at the top.
Real Family Heroes.
The proposed payment was $250,000 if the campaign video reached agreed engagement targets.
Emily looked at the signature line.
May you like
Ryan Cole had already signed.
The date was four days before the party.
