Chapter 14 - The Contract.
Ryan claimed the contract was only a proposal.
The company said otherwise.
Rachel contacted the sponsor through its legal department after confirming the document's authenticity.
By the next morning, the company had suspended all negotiations with Cole Family Moments.
Its attorney also confirmed one devastating detail.
Ryan had pitched the concept himself.
Not Patricia.
Ryan.
His email described a "real-time family rescue moment" involving a rolling stroller, a grandfather, and a dramatic but safe backyard setup.
Emily read the email in Rachel's office.
Every line made Ryan's porch confession look smaller.
He had blamed Patricia for pushing the stunt forward.
Yet he had invented the concept.
He had sold it.
He had signed his name beneath it.
"He said Patricia wanted the video."
Rachel nodded.
"She did."
"But he created the pitch."
"Yes."
Emily laughed without humor.
"Everyone keeps confessing only to the part I can already prove."
Rachel gave a small nod.
"That's common."
The company provided one more email.
Ryan had promised delivery by Sunday evening.
The garden party was Sunday afternoon.
There was no doubt anymore that the event was planned around Sophie.
The only remaining question was how much danger Ryan expected.
Emily requested to speak with him through their attorneys.
Rachel advised against an emotional confrontation.
Emily asked for a written answer instead.
One question.
Did you know the fire pit would be lit when you signed the contract?
Ryan responded two hours later.
No.
Emily believed that part.
Then he added something she did not expect.
Mark was never supposed to be the grandfather in the video.
Emily read the sentence twice.
She called Rachel.
"What does this mean?"
Rachel forwarded the message to Morales.
Then she told Emily not to speculate.
Emily speculated anyway.
Mark was Sophie's grandfather.
Who else could Ryan have meant?
Patricia was a grandmother, not a grandfather.
Ryan's father, Thomas Cole, had died five years earlier.
At least, that was what Emily had always been told.
She called Ryan before Rachel could stop her.
"Who was supposed to be the grandfather?"
Ryan answered quietly.
"I can't talk about that."
"You brought it up."
"Because you need to understand the stunt changed."
"Who was supposed to save Sophie?"
Ryan sighed.
"A performer."
Emily froze.
"What?"
"A retired stunt coordinator Patricia knew through the production company."
"You hired an actor to pretend to be Sophie's grandfather?"
"Not exactly."
"Then exactly what?"
"He was going to be an uncle in the caption."
Emily stared at the wall.
The absurdity was almost worse than the danger.
"So none of it was real."
Ryan sounded desperate.
"The reactions were supposed to be real."
"That's your defense?"
"No."
"You planned to scare me with my newborn so my panic would look authentic."
"I know how it sounds."
"It sounds exactly like what you did."
Ryan was silent.
Emily lowered her voice.
"Why did Mark end up in the shot?"
"The performer canceled that morning."
"So you decided Dad would do."
"I thought if the stroller moved slowly, Mark would grab it naturally."
Emily's stomach turned.
"You used my father too."
"I wasn't thinking."
"You were thinking enough to sign a quarter-million-dollar contract."
Ryan had no answer.
Emily hung up.
That evening, Mark sat on the back porch while Sophie slept against his chest.
He had been quieter since learning he had unknowingly become part of Ryan's planned scene.
"You saved her because you saw her."
Emily sat beside him.
"Not because Ryan planned anything."
Mark looked down at Sophie.
"I know."
"Then what's wrong?"
"I keep thinking about half a second."
Emily knew exactly what he meant.
Half a second later and the story could have been different.
She put her hand on his arm.
"But it wasn't."
Mark nodded.
His phone rang.
Detective Morales.
He answered.
She did not waste time.
"We found the person in the black SUV outside Nora's house."
Emily stood.
"Who?"
Morales's answer stunned both of them.
"The stunt coordinator Ryan hired."
"His name is Victor Shaw."
"And according to him, he didn't cancel because he was unavailable."
Mark tightened his grip on the phone.
"Why did he cancel?"
May you like
Morales paused.
"Because when he arrived early and saw the lawn, he told Ryan the setup was unsafe."
