Chapter 6 - Megan's First Warning
Megan woke properly the next morning.
The first thing she asked was whether Eli was alive.
Thomas told her he was awake, stable, and already complaining about hospital oatmeal.
Megan closed her eyes and cried without making a sound.
Thomas took her hand carefully.
"He's okay."
"You both are going to be okay."
Her fingers tightened around his.
"Where is my mother?"
Thomas glanced toward the closed door.
"Not in here."
Megan's breathing slowed.
"Keep it that way."
A nurse came in and reminded them Megan could only handle a few minutes of conversation.
Thomas nodded, but Megan would not let go of his hand.
"The lemonade," he said softly.
Her eyes opened.
"Do you remember it?"
Megan stared at the ceiling.
"Some of it."
"Your mom was there."
"I know."
"Eli remembers her too."
Megan's face tightened.
"Did he drink from my cup?"
Thomas felt his stomach drop.
"Why would you ask that?"
She tried to sit up, and the monitor beside her accelerated.
"Did he?"
Thomas pressed the call button.
"He drank lemonade, but the doctors said he had much less exposure than you."
Megan covered her mouth.
"Oh, God."
"Megan, what happened?"
Her gaze moved to the door again.
"Mom came over around lunch."
"She said we needed to talk before I made a mistake I couldn't undo."
Thomas remained silent.
"She brought cookies and acted like everything was normal."
"Then Nathan showed up."
Thomas leaned closer.
"Nathan was inside the house?"
"For maybe twenty minutes."
"Why?"
"He wanted the documents."
Megan swallowed painfully.
"I told him I had copies."
"I told both of them I was meeting an auditor at four."
Thomas suddenly understood the timing.
Megan had been found shortly after four.
"Did they threaten you?"
"Not exactly."
"Mom kept saying I needed to rest and think clearly."
"Nathan kept saying there were explanations for the transfers."
"Then he left."
Thomas waited.
"What happened after he left?"
Megan's eyes closed as she searched her memory.
"Mom poured lemonade."
Thomas felt a chill.
"You saw her?"
"I saw her near the pitcher."
"I don't know what she did."
"She gave me a blue cup."
Thomas remembered Eli's first words.
Blue cup.
"Did you drink it?"
Megan nodded slowly.
"One sip."
"It tasted wrong."
"Bitter?"
"No."
"Just different."
"I put it down."
"Mom got angry and told me I was being dramatic."
Thomas felt his jaw clench.
"Then Eli came downstairs."
Megan's eyes filled again.
"He had been playing in his room."
"He asked for lemonade."
"I told him no."
"Mom told him I was overreacting and poured another cup."
Thomas could barely breathe.
"Did he drink it?"
"I don't remember."
The nurse entered with a doctor, and the conversation stopped.
Megan drifted in and out of sleep for the next several hours.
Ortiz arrived before noon.
She listened to Megan's account twice.
Then she asked the question Thomas had been avoiding.
"Mrs. Reed, why were you investigating the trust without telling your husband?"
Megan looked at Thomas.
"Because his company was in the records."
"I was afraid if I told him before I knew the truth, he'd confront Nathan."
Thomas almost objected.
Then he realized she was right.
"I also knew Nathan had helped Thomas with financing."
"I didn't know whether Thomas had signed something years ago that Nathan was abusing now."
Thomas looked down.
The idea that Megan had briefly wondered whether he was involved hurt more than he expected.
Megan saw it.
"I stopped thinking that months ago."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was trying to protect you."
Thomas laughed bitterly.
"That worked out well."
Megan flinched.
He immediately regretted it.
"I'm sorry."
Ortiz interrupted before the argument could grow.
"Mrs. Reed, did your mother know about the second phone?"
Megan nodded.
"She knew I had something."
"Not where it was."
"Eli knew I sometimes hid birthday gifts in the flour canister, so I used the same place."
Thomas remembered Judith asking Eli about it.
Ortiz wrote something down.
"Did Nathan know?"
"No."
"Did anyone else?"
Megan thought.
"Marissa knew I had a backup phone."
Thomas looked up.
"Our neighbor?"
Megan nodded.
"I asked her to keep a copy of one recording if anything happened to me."
Ortiz's expression sharpened.
"What recording?"
Megan looked toward Thomas.
"The one where Nathan admitted the transfers were never authorized by my father."
Thomas stood.
"Marissa has that?"
"She should."
Ortiz immediately called another officer.
They reached Marissa's house thirty minutes later.
No one answered.
Her car was gone.
Her children's bicycles were gone from the side yard.
A neighbor said Marissa had packed hurriedly before sunrise.
Thomas called her three times.
No answer.
At one-thirty, he received a text from an unknown number.
STOP LOOKING FOR WHAT MEGAN SAVED.
The second message arrived before he could show Ortiz.
YOU ALREADY ALMOST LOST THEM ONCE.
Thomas stared at the screen until the letters blurred.
May you like
Then a third message appeared.
NEXT TIME, THERE WON'T BE A FINGER MOVING.
