Chapter 12 - Nobody Is Taking You.Cole crossed the room immediately.
“Nobody is taking you.”
Ben backed up one stair.
“You said me.”
Cole crouched.
“I said your name.”
“Why?”
Cole searched for words a four-year-old could understand.
“Because a grown-up made some bad choices.”
Maggie came closer.
Ben looked at her.
“Boston?”
“No.”
Maggie shook her head.
“This isn't about Boston.”
Ben looked at Cole.
“Grandma?”
Cole closed his eyes briefly.
Children remembered everything.
“Grandma loves you.”
“She wants me at her house.”
“She wants you to visit.”
Ben frowned.
Cole chose honesty.
“She also worried I wasn't home enough.”
“Were you?”
Cole almost smiled.
“No.”
“I wasn't.”
Ben sat on the step.
“So Grandma was right?”
“About some things.”
Cole sat two steps below him.
“She was wrong about others.”
Ben rubbed his blanket between his fingers.
“Can she take me?”
“No.”
“Can Evan?”
“No.”
“Can Boston?”
Maggie covered a smile.
“No.”
Ben considered this.
“Can a tornado?”
Cole paused.
“Let's not invite a tornado into the conversation.”
Ben finally smiled.
The tension eased.
Cole held out his hand.
“Back to bed?”
Ben took it.
Upstairs, Cole sat beside the crib.
Maggie lingered at the door.
Ben looked at both adults.
“Tell me where everybody is tomorrow.”
Cole nodded.
“Morning.”
“I take you to preschool.”
“Then I go to the office.”
“Maggie is here.”
“Grandma comes for lunch.”
Ben interrupted.
“Why?”
“Because we need to talk.”
“About me?”
“Partly.”
Ben frowned.
“Adults talk too much.”
Maggie laughed.
“That is absolutely true.”
Cole continued.
“At three, I pick you up.”
“Write it.”
Cole had brought sticky notes upstairs.
He wrote the promise and attached it to the crib.
Ben touched the paper.
“Okay.”
After Ben fell asleep, Cole and Maggie went downstairs.
Maggie opened her laptop.
They downloaded every message from Evan.
Cole's attorney called.
The financial investigation had found shell companies connected to Evan.
Millions had been moved.
Some could potentially be recovered.
The bank had agreed to a temporary extension.
Cole listened quietly.
There would have been a time when he stayed awake all night coordinating the response.
Instead he said.
“Send me the summary.”
“Cole, there are decisions—”
“Tomorrow.”
His attorney hesitated.
“All right.”
Cole ended the call.
Maggie raised an eyebrow.
“You just postponed work.”
“Yes.”
“Voluntarily.”
“Don't make it weird.”
“It is weird.”
Cole smiled faintly.
Then the smile disappeared.
“Why didn't you tell me about Evan?”
Maggie leaned back.
“Because I thought you had enough.”
“That isn't an answer.”
She looked at him.
“The real answer?”
“Yes.”
“I didn't trust you to react rationally.”
Cole's eyes narrowed.
“That sounds flattering.”
“You were barely sleeping.”
“You were angry all the time.”
“You worked sixteen-hour days.”
“And every conversation about Natalie ended with you leaving the room.”
Cole looked away.
Maggie continued.
“I thought if I told you Evan was asking questions about your parenting, you'd destroy the partnership before we knew why.”
“I might have.”
“Yes.”
“So you protected me.”
“I protected Ben.”
Cole looked at her.
She sighed.
“Again.”
The word hit.
Again.
Maggie had become the barrier between Cole's chaos and his child.
That could not continue forever.
He leaned forward.
“You were right about Boston.”
Maggie's expression shifted.
“I was?”
“You can't stay just because I'm bad at being home.”
“I didn't say you were bad.”
“You implied it very creatively.”
She smiled.
Cole continued.
“If you want the job, you should take it.”
Maggie looked toward the stairs.
“And Ben?”
“I'll figure it out.”
“That's not enough.”
“I know.”
Cole nodded.
“I'll make an actual plan.”
Maggie's eyes softened.
“You're serious.”
“Yes.”
“You know I haven't accepted it.”
“I know.”
“And Boston is two hours by plane.”
Cole looked at her.
“Don't say plane around Ben.”
She laughed.
For the first time in days, the house felt lighter.
Then Cole's phone buzzed.
A news alert appeared.
LOCAL BUSINESS EXECUTIVE UNDER INVESTIGATION.
Below the headline was a photograph.
Not Evan.
Cole.
The article claimed Mercer Response Group had mismanaged millions.
It said sources questioned Cole's leadership.
And near the bottom was one sentence that made his blood run cold.
According to a person familiar with the family, concerns have also been raised about Mercer's stability as a single father.
Maggie read over his shoulder.
“Oh no.”
Cole opened the article.
The source was anonymous.
But he knew exactly who had planted it.
May you like
Evan had stopped trying to save himself quietly.
Now he was coming directly for Cole.
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