Chapter 13 - THE PASSWORD
My mother refused to speak.
She sat in federal custody for two days.
Then she finally asked for me.
“The password is Perrin's birthday.”
I stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because your father wanted you to remember that your son was the reason he changed.”
I entered the numbers.
The file opened.
Inside was a list of names.
At the top was a single name.
Judge Arthur Kane.
The man who had signed the original death certificate for Elise.
The man who had closed the investigation.
The man who had declared her legally dead.
He was still alive.
And still a judge.
We brought the evidence to federal prosecutors.
They opened an investigation.
But Judge Kane disappeared before they could arrest him.
He fled the country.
For weeks, the case dominated the news.
The conspiracy became national news.
Banks froze accounts.
Executives resigned.
Politicians denied involvement.
Rhea pleaded guilty.
Daniel cooperated.
My mother confessed.
Richard was sentenced.
But Elise and I didn't care about headlines.
We cared about Perrin.
He woke from nightmares every night.
Sometimes he asked if the walls were still there.
Sometimes he asked if his mother would disappear again.
Elise would sit beside him until morning.
One night he asked me:
“Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you going to leave again?”
I swallowed.
“No.”
“Promise?”
I held his hand.
“I promise.”
He looked at his mother.
“Both of you?”
Elise smiled through tears.
“Both of us.”
For the first time, Perrin smiled.
Then he hugged us.
It was the first normal family moment we had shared in six years.
But the next morning, someone left an envelope on our doorstep.
Inside was a passport.
A photograph.
And a note.
KANE IS NOT RUNNING.
May you like
HE IS COMING HOME.
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