Chapter 5 - The Mother Who Left
Elena Rivera entered wearing a cream coat over travel-wrinkled clothes.
Cameron did not rise.
For a moment, he seemed to stop breathing.
Elena’s eyes found him immediately. They moved over his pale face, the bent posture, the jacket pulled carefully away from his injured back.
Her hand flew to her mouth.
“Oh, God.”
Cameron turned away.
Gabriel stood, but there was no warmth in the movement.
“You said you were in California.”
Elena stopped halfway down the aisle.
“I was.”
“You picked up his backpack three days ago.”
Her eyes shifted to Holloway.
That single glance answered more than any words could.
Judge Hale ordered the bailiff to escort her to the witness chair.
Voss objected.
The judge overruled him.
Elena sat, clutching the strap of her purse with both hands. At thirty-nine, she still carried the polished composure that had once made strangers trust her quickly. Today, exhaustion had broken through it. Her makeup could not hide the bruised shadows beneath her eyes.
The clerk administered the oath.
Judge Hale began.
“Did Dunmore High contact you regarding Cameron Rivera’s belongings?”
“Yes.”
“Who called?”
“Principal Holloway.”
Holloway stared at the back of her head.
“When?”
“The afternoon after Cameron was hospitalized.”
“Why did he contact you rather than Captain Rivera?”
Elena swallowed.
“He said Gabriel was under investigation.”
Gabriel’s jaw moved.
“He said the school had been instructed not to release anything to him.”
“By whom?”
“He didn’t say.”
Judge Hale placed the locker note beside the military file.
“What did you retrieve?”
“A backpack, a jacket, and some books.”
“Was there a phone inside?”
Elena hesitated.
Cameron turned back toward her.
“Mom?”
Her face crumpled.
“There was.”
The word barely carried.
Cameron stared.
“You told me there wasn’t.”
“I was scared.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Elena closed her eyes.
Gabriel’s voice remained quiet. “What did you do with it?”
“Holloway was with me when I opened the locker. He saw the phone before I touched it.”
The principal stepped forward. “This is false.”
The bailiff blocked him.
Elena’s fingers twisted around the purse strap.
“He said it belonged to one of the injured seniors. He said keeping stolen property could make Cameron look guilty.”
“It wasn’t stolen,” Cameron said.
“I know that now.”
“You knew then.”
Elena flinched.
Cameron’s eyes filled with anger.
“You always believe the person with the nicer office.”
Gabriel looked at his son.
The words were not only about Holloway.
Elena heard it too.
Her shoulders sank.
“Holloway told me the police would arrest you if I didn’t cooperate,” she said to Gabriel.
“So you gave him the phone.”
“No.”
Holloway’s eyes widened.
Elena slowly opened her purse.
“I switched it.”
The entire courtroom went silent.
She removed a small padded mailing envelope.
“I worked in digital marketing for eight years. Companies sent us sample phones all the time. I had an old model in my car that looked nearly identical. I gave Holloway that one.”
Cameron sat straighter despite the pain.
Gabriel’s gaze locked on the envelope.
“You kept the original?”
Elena nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because two men followed me from the school.”
Richard Dunmore’s face hardened.
“Who?”
“I didn’t know then.”
“Do you know now?”
Elena looked toward Patrick Sloan and Walter Keene.
Patrick’s nostrils flared.
Walter lowered his chin.
“One of them was employed by Sloan Security.”
Patrick stepped forward.
“That is absurd.”
Elena reached into her purse again and removed a receipt.
“I paid cash at a gas station outside Richmond. The security camera caught their vehicle behind mine. I requested a copy.”
Voss leaned toward Patrick. “Did you authorize surveillance?”
“No.”
“Did your company?”
“I would know.”
Elena’s laugh held no humor.
“Your operations director signed the vehicle log.”
Patrick’s face drained.
Judge Hale held out his hand for the padded envelope.
Elena did not give it to him.
“Before I surrender this,” she said, “I need protection.”
Hale studied her. “From whom?”
She looked at Holloway.
Then Richard.
Then Patrick.
Then Walter.
“From the person who called me last night and described the room where I was sleeping.”
Cameron’s anger vanished.
Gabriel’s face became cold.
“Where is the phone now?” Hale asked.
Elena tightened her grip on the envelope.
“This isn’t the phone.”
Gabriel’s eyes narrowed.
“What is it?”
May you like
She looked at him.
“A message from the person who has it.”
