Chapter 28: The Timestamp

She held the photograph closer to the single bulb illuminating the attic. Sarah Vance—or the woman paid to play her—wasn’t dead in 2003. She was framing the shot. She was documenting the transfer of the asset.

Elena flipped the photo back to the front. The composition was professional. The lighting was deliberate. This wasn't a snapshot; it was evidence. Sarah had been hired to create a visual record of the pregnancy, a portfolio of proof for Vargas that his child was real and healthy.

But why erase her? Why kill the photographer?

Elena slipped the photo into her pocket. She had to assume Sarah was still alive. A loose end this significant wouldn't just vanish unless she was paid off or permanently silenced. If she was alive, she was leverage. If she was dead, her body was the smoking gun.

Elena heard the crunch of tires on gravel.

She froze. Mark wasn't due back for hours. Mia was still at David’s.

She moved to the small attic window, wiping the dust from the glass.

It wasn't Mark's Audi. It was a silver Porsche. Julianne.

Elena watched as her sister-in-law got out of the car. She wasn't alone. A man got out of the passenger side. He was dressed in black, carrying a heavy tool bag. Not a landscaper. Not a contractor.

He moved like someone who knew how to bypass security systems.

Elena backed away from the window. They were coming for the box. They knew Mark had been sloppy. They were doing a sweep.

She looked at the open "Tragedy Box." She couldn't put it back together. The lock was smashed. The false bottom was exposed.

She had minutes.

Elena grabbed the Trust Deed and the blueprints. She shoved them into her waistband, under her sweater. She took the photo of "The Team."

She looked around the attic. There was no other exit. The only way down was the pull-down stairs in the hallway, right where Julianne and her cleaner would be coming up.

Unless she didn't go down.

Elena looked at the chimney stack that ran through the center of the attic. There was a small maintenance hatch, barely two feet square, used for accessing the flue. It dropped down into the wall cavity behind the master bedroom closet.

It was tight. Dangerous. But it was invisible.

She heard the front door open downstairs. The beep of the alarm being disabled. Julianne had the code.

"Upstairs," Julianne’s voice drifted up, sharp and commanding. "Check the office first. Then the attic. I want every piece of paper with a date on it."

"And the woman?" the man asked. His voice was gravel.

"If she's here," Julianne said, "she's an intruder. Treat her accordingly."

Elena didn't hesitate. She pulled open the chimney hatch. The smell of soot and old brick hit her. It was a black void.

She climbed in, finding a foothold on the rough masonry. She pulled the hatch closed above her just as the attic stairs creaked downward.

She was inside the walls. It was dark, hot, and silent. She held her breath, listening.

Heavy footsteps on the attic floorboards above. The sound of things being thrown.

"The box is open," the man called out. "Lock's busted."

"Is it empty?" Julianne yelled from the hallway.

"Mostly. Just some old drawings. The deed is gone."

"Damn it," Julianne hissed. "She has it. Find her. Check the car tracker."

"Tracker's dead. Last signal was I-91 North."

"She went to David," Julianne said. Her voice was closer now, right outside the bedroom wall where Elena was hiding. "She went to the only person who knows enough to hurt us."

Elena pressed herself against the brick. She was three feet away from them, separated by drywall and insulation.

"What do we do?" the man asked.

"We flush them out," Julianne said. "Call the bank. Tell Sarah Jenkins there's been a security breach on the accounts. Freeze everything. Mark's, mine, the joint account. Even the custodial."

"And the girl?"

"Mia is the priority," Julianne said. "If Elena has her, she'll try to use her. We need to get to Mia before she talks."

"How?"

"We use the one thing Mia wants more than the truth," Julianne said.

There was a pause. Elena could hear the smile in Julianne's voice.

"We give her the mother she thinks is dead."