PART 8 — THE MAN IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS

I stared at Nolan.
“You found photographs of me?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“Enough.”
That answer made my stomach twist.
He placed several printed copies on Rebecca’s desk.
I recognized every moment.
Me walking out of the courthouse.
Me standing beside my truck outside the bank.
Me entering Rebecca’s office.
Me buying groceries.
Me opening my mailbox.
Someone had been following me for days.
Maybe longer.
Then I noticed something.
“Wait.”
I picked up one photograph.
It showed me standing outside Daddy’s workshop.
The angle was strange.
Too close.
“This wasn’t taken from the road.”
Nolan looked at it.
“You’re right.”
My skin went cold.
“Whoever took this was on my property.”
Rebecca leaned over.
The picture had been taken from somewhere near the oak trees.
Maybe fifty yards away.
I whispered, “They were watching me at home.”
Nolan collected the photographs.
“We’re having them processed.”
“For fingerprints?”
“Everything we can.”
Then Michael pointed to one corner of another photograph.
“Zoom that.”
Nolan enlarged the digital copy.
Behind me, reflected faintly in the window of my truck, was a man.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Gray beard.
Black jacket.
Nobody said anything.
Then Rebecca whispered:
“Marcus.”
I looked at Nolan.
“Is that him?”
“We need confirmation.”
Michael opened the old industry article showing Marcus Vane.
Same face.
Same beard.
Same build.
It wasn’t proof by itself.
But it was close enough to make my hands shake.
Then Nolan’s phone buzzed.
He read the message.
“The abandoned GMC is registered to Vane Consulting Group.”
Michael exhaled slowly.
“Marcus’s company.”
“Yes.”
“Any sign of him?”
“No.”
That scared me more.
A truck could be abandoned.
A man could disappear.
And a man who had been watching me could be anywhere.
Nolan turned toward me.
“You’re leaving with an officer.”
“Where?”
“A secure location.”
Rebecca nodded.
“Go.”
I wanted to argue.
I wanted my house.
My bed.
Daddy’s land.
But then I looked at the photograph taken from inside my property.
“Okay.”
Before we left, Michael stopped me.
“June.”
I turned.
He held up another document.
“What?”
“I found something tied to Marcus.”
“Another company?”
“No.”
“A payment.”
I almost laughed.
Of course.
“From who?”
“Travis.”
That surprised me.
Michael showed us.
Three months earlier, Travis transferred $15,000 to Marcus Vane personally.
Memo:
CONSULTING.
“What was Marcus consulting on?”
Michael shook his head.
“No invoice.”
“Anything after that?”

“Yes.”
Another transfer.
$10,000.
Then another.
$20,000.
Over six months.
Total:
$45,000.
Rebecca frowned.
“That looks personal.”
Nolan asked, “From Travis’s private account?”
“Yes.”
“And that account received money from Parker Land?”
Michael nodded.
“So money goes Parker Land to Travis, then Travis to Marcus.”
“Yes.”
Nolan wrote it down.
I whispered, “Was Travis paying him to watch me?”
Nobody answered.
But the question stayed in the room.
That evening, I was taken to a small hotel under arrangements made through Rebecca and law enforcement.
The room was plain.
Beige carpet.
One bed.
One chair.
Curtains that didn’t quite close.
An officer remained nearby.
For the first time in years, I had nowhere to clean.
No fence to repair.
No washing machine to listen to.
Nothing to distract me.
So I sat on the edge of the bed and cried.
Not because I wanted Travis.
I didn’t.
I cried for the years.
The version of myself who had believed being careful with groceries made her a good wife.
The woman who had accepted every “no” because she thought sacrifice was love.
The daughter who had let a man use her father’s name because she trusted him more than herself.
My phone rang.
Amanda.
I answered.
“Are you okay?”
“I think so.”
“Eli?”
“With my sister.”
“Good.”
She was quiet for a moment.
Then said, “June, I need to tell you something.”
My chest tightened.
“What now?”
“I remembered where I saw Marcus before.”
I sat upright.
“You met him?”
“Once.”
“When?”
“About two years ago.”
“Where?”
“At the Lafayette house.”
My pulse increased.
“What happened?”
“He came over late.”
“With Travis?”
“No. Travis was already there.”
“What did they talk about?”
“I didn’t hear everything.”
“Anything helps.”
Amanda took a breath.
“They argued in the garage.”
“About?”
“Money.”
Of course.
“Then Marcus said something strange.”
“What?”
“He told Travis, ‘You’re getting soft because of the women.’”
I gripped the phone.
“Women?”
“Yes.”
“You and me?”
“I think so.”
“What did Travis say?”
“He told Marcus to keep you out of it.”
I froze.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Exactly what did he say?”
Amanda thought.
“He said, ‘June doesn’t know anything. Leave her alone.’”
I stared at the wall.
That didn’t sound like the Travis who had threatened me.
Or maybe it did.
Maybe I had misunderstood something.
Amanda continued.
“Marcus laughed.”
“What did he say?”
“He said, ‘Then make sure she stays that way.’”
My skin prickled.
That line stayed with me.
Make sure she stays that way.
Ignorant.
Dependent.
Controlled.
Maybe Travis hadn’t restricted me only because he liked power.
Maybe keeping me financially blind served another purpose.
If I never saw statements, I never saw transfers.
If I never opened accounts, I never found Parker Land.
If I never understood the paperwork, I never noticed my dead father was running a company.
“Amanda.”
“Yes?”
“Did Travis ever seem afraid of Marcus?”
Long pause.
“Yes.”
That surprised me.
“When?”
“Whenever Marcus called unexpectedly.”
“Did Travis ever say why?”
“No.”
“But after Marcus left that night, Travis told me something.”
“What?”
“He said, ‘I made one bad decision years ago and now I can’t get out.’”
I closed my eyes.
“What decision?”
“He wouldn’t tell me.”
We hung up twenty minutes later.
At 10:36 p.m., Rebecca called.
“We found Travis.”
My heart jumped.
“Where?”
“Police located him at a motel outside Lafayette.”
“Was he arrested?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“There isn’t enough yet for an arrest based solely on what we have.”
I hated that answer.
“Did they question him?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Rebecca paused.
“He asked to speak with you.”
“No.”
“That was my answer too.”
“Did he say anything useful?”
“Yes.”
I stood.
“What?”
“He said Marcus is dangerous.”
My stomach tightened.
“And?”
“He said you need protection.”
“That’s convenient.”
“I know.”
“What else?”
Rebecca hesitated.
“He says he wants to cooperate.”
I laughed.
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Marcus is missing.”
I stopped.
That changed something.
Rebecca continued.
“Travis claims he believed the photographs were meant to scare him, not you.”
“Scare him how?”
“He says Marcus sent one to him yesterday.”
I went cold.
“One of the pictures of me?”
“Yes.”
“What message?”
Rebecca read it.
CONTROL YOUR PROBLEM.
I sat down slowly.
Maybe Travis hadn’t ordered the surveillance.
Maybe he had.
I didn’t know what to believe anymore.
“Is he lying?”
“I don’t know.”
“What does Nolan think?”
“He thinks we listen and verify.”
So the next morning, Travis agreed to be interviewed with attorneys present.
I didn’t attend.
But Rebecca did.
Three hours later, she returned.
Her face looked exhausted.
“Well?”
“He talked.”
“About everything?”
“Not everything.”
“Enough?”
Rebecca put a recorder on the table.
“Enough to change the story again.”
I stared at her.
“What did he admit?”
“Parker Land.”
My stomach tightened.
“He admitted creating it?”
“Yes.”
“Using my signature?”
Silence.
“Rebecca.”
“Yes.”
My heart dropped.
“He admitted forging me?”
“He admitted signing your name on the initial business filing.”
I looked down.
Even though I knew it, hearing the confession hurt differently.
“What about Daddy?”
“He says Darren created the Bluewater filings.”
“Did Travis know?”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
“Why?”
Rebecca sat across from me.
“According to Travis, Parker Land began as a way to receive side payments from vendors.”
“Kickbacks.”
“He didn’t use that word.”
“I will.”
She continued.
“Travis says Darren approached him years ago. They would inflate certain supply costs. Travis helped steer purchases. Money came back through outside entities.”
“How much?”
“He claims he doesn’t know.”
“Lie.”
“Probably incomplete.”
“What about Marcus?”
Rebecca’s expression darkened.
“According to Travis, Marcus joined later.”
“Doing what?”
“Expanding it.”
“How?”
“More vendors. More companies. Larger contracts.”
“And my father?”
“Travis says Marcus wanted people attached to the companies who wouldn’t ask questions.”
My stomach turned.
“So they used a dead man.”
“Yes.”
“And me.”
“Yes.”
I stood and walked toward the window.
“Why did Travis let them?”
Rebecca answered quietly.
“Because he was making money.”
There it was.
No complicated explanation.
No noble reason.
Money.
Then I turned.
“The insurance policy.”
Rebecca’s face changed.
“What did he say?”
“He claims he didn’t know about it.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You believe him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he know Marcus was watching me?”
“He says no.”
“What about the forty-five thousand?”
“Travis says those payments were because Marcus was threatening to expose the whole scheme.”
“Blackmail.”
“That’s what Travis claims.”
I stared at her.
“So Travis was paying Marcus to stay quiet.”
“Yes.”
“And Marcus was still watching me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“That’s the question.”
Then Rebecca opened a folder.
“Travis gave us something.”
“What?”
“A password.”
“For?”
“A cloud storage account.”
I frowned.
“Whose?”
“Darren’s.”
“How does Travis know it?”
“They shared records.”
Michael entered behind her carrying a laptop.
“We accessed files lawfully with investigators present.”
“And?”
Michael sat down.
“There are spreadsheets.”
My stomach tightened.
“How bad?”
“Very.”
He opened one.
Rows.
Hundreds of them.
Company names.
Invoice numbers.
Percentages.
Payments.
Initials.
Then I saw:
T.H.
Travis Hale.
D.P.
Darren Pike.
M.V.
Marcus Vane.
C.B.
Carl Bennett.
And dozens more.
“This is everyone involved?”
“Possibly many of them.”
Then I saw a column titled STATUS.
Most said ACTIVE.
Some said CLOSED.
Some said CLEAN.
One row made my skin go cold.
PARKER, JUNE.
STATUS:
EXPOSURE.
Next to it:
RESOLUTION REQUIRED.
I looked at Michael.
“What does resolution required mean?”
“We don’t know.”
Then he scrolled.
A note was attached.
M.V. HANDLING.
My stomach dropped.
Marcus.
Below it:
DATE MOVED FORWARD IF NECESSARY.
I whispered, “Moved forward.”
Rebecca looked at me.
The text messages.
Three weeks was generous.
Someone had moved the date.
Michael clicked another attachment.
A schedule.
Dates.
Locations.
Vehicle information.
And one line:
JUNE HALE — THURSDAY — 8:30 A.M. — HWY 27 SOUTH.
My heart stopped.
Thursday.
Tomorrow.
I looked at Nolan, who had just entered the room.
“What is Highway 27 South?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
I already knew.
It was the road I took every Thursday morning to visit my father’s grave.
For nine years.
Same route.
Same time.
Almost every week.
Marcus hadn’t only been watching me.
He knew my routine.
And whatever “policy event” meant, it had apparently been scheduled for tomorrow morning.

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PART 9 — My husband secretly removed me from our accounts, then laughed