Chapter 28 Chapter 28

Chapter 28 Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT~

"That's impossible," I said immediately. "Catherine came to me over a year ago. She apologized for what Victoria did. She said her family wanted nothing to do with the situation."

"She lied," Jake said simply. "Or maybe she meant it at the time, but changed her mind. Either way, I have proof that she's been funding Victoria's operations from the outside."

"What proof?"

"Bank records showing regular deposits from Catherine to various anonymous accounts," Jake said. "Communication between Catherine and the woman who planted the tracking devices. Photos of Catherine meeting with known criminals who could be hired to hurt you."

"How did you get all this?" I asked suspiciously.

"I've been investigating," Jake said. "After I left, I realized I couldn't just walk away completely. Not when there were still people trying to hurt you. So I've been digging, following money trails, tracking connections. And everything led back to Catherine."

I didn't know whether to believe him. Jake had betrayed us before. What if this was another manipulation?

"Send me the proof," I said. "If you really have evidence, send it to Detective Morrison."

"I will," Jake promised. "But Anita, you need to be careful. Catherine isn't working alone. She's hired professionals—people who won't hesitate to hurt you or your children if they're paid enough."

"When is she planning to make her move?" I asked.

"I don't know exactly," Jake admitted. "But soon. She's been ramping up her operations. More money moving around, more people being hired. Something big is coming."

After I hung up, I immediately called Detective Morrison and told him everything.

"I'll look into it," he said. "But Anita, I have to warn you—Jake Turner isn't exactly a reliable source. He could be feeding you false information for his own reasons."

"What reasons?" I asked. "He's living in another country. What would he gain from lying about this?"

"I don't know," Detective Morrison admitted. "But I've learned not to trust anyone completely in this situation. Everyone has their own agenda."

Within hours, Jake sent Detective Morrison the promised evidence. Bank records, photos, communication logs—all pointing to Catherine Reynolds as the mastermind behind Victoria's continued harassment.

"It's compelling," Detective Morrison said after reviewing everything. "But I need to verify it independently before we can make any arrests."

"How long will that take?" I asked.

"A few days, maybe a week," he said.

"We might not have that long," I said, thinking about Jake's warning that something big was coming.

"Then we increase your security immediately," Detective Morrison said. "Around-the-clock protection for you and your family until we can either confirm or disprove Jake's claims."

Declan wasn't happy about having armed guards following us everywhere, but he agreed it was necessary.

"I can't believe Catherine would do this," he said. "She seemed so genuine when she came to visit Anita in the hospital."

"Maybe she was genuine then," I said. "But people change. Maybe seeing Victoria locked up, seeing her daughter's life destroyed, changed Catherine's perspective."

"Or maybe she was always planning this," Declan said darkly. "Maybe the hospital visit was reconnaissance. A way to study us, learn our weaknesses."

I hated that we'd become so suspicious of everyone. But given our history, how could we not be?

The next few days were tense. We stayed home as much as possible, only going out when absolutely necessary. The kids could sense something was wrong—Liam started having nightmares again, and the twins became clingy.

"We're scaring them," I told Declan one night after Liam woke up crying for the third time.

"I know," Declan said. "But what choice do we have? If Catherine really is planning something, we need to be ready."

"Or maybe we need to confront her," I said. "Straight on. No more hiding, no more waiting for her to make the first move."

"That's too dangerous," Declan said immediately.

"Is it?" I challenged. "We're already living like prisoners in our own home. How is that any safer?"

Before Declan could answer, my phone rang. Detective Morrison.

"We verified Jake's information," he said. "It's all legitimate. Catherine Reynolds has been funding operations against your family for at least six months."

"Can you arrest her?" I asked.

"We're working on it," Detective Morrison said. "But Catherine is smart. She's covered her tracks well. The evidence Jake provided is enough to investigate, but not quite enough for an arrest warrant yet."

"So what do we do?" I asked, frustrated.

"We keep digging," Detective Morrison said. "And in the meantime, you stay vigilant."

That night, I couldn't sleep. I lay in bed, listening to every creak and groan of the house, wondering if Catherine was out there somewhere, planning our destruction.

Around 3 AM, my phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.

Tomorrow. Central Park. Noon. Come alone if you want to know the truth. - C

Catherine was finally making contact.

I showed Declan the message.

"It's obviously a trap," he said immediately. "You can't go."

"Maybe," I said. "Or maybe she actually wants to talk. To explain why she's doing this."

"Or maybe she wants to lure you somewhere public where her hired thugs can grab you," Declan countered.

"Then we tell Detective Morrison," I said. "Let him set up surveillance. I'll go, but I won't really be alone."

Declan looked like he wanted to argue more, but he knew me well enough to know I'd already made up my mind.

"Fine," he said. "But I'm going to be nearby. Not close enough for Catherine to see me, but close enough to help if something goes wrong."

The next morning, Detective Morrison assembled a team. Undercover officers would be positioned all around the meeting spot. Declan would watch from a distance. I would wear a wire so they could hear everything.

"If at any point you feel unsafe, just say the word 'umbrella,'" Detective Morrison instructed. "That will signal us to move in immediately."

At 11:45 AM, I entered Central Park. It was a beautiful spring day, and the park was crowded with people enjoying the sunshine.

I found the bench Catherine had specified and sat down to wait.

At exactly noon, Catherine Reynolds appeared.

She looked older than when I'd last seen her, more tired. But her eyes were sharp and calculating.

"Anita," she said, sitting down beside me. "Thank you for coming."

"What do you want?" I asked bluntly.

"To explain," Catherine said. "I know you must think I'm a monster. Funding Victoria's harassment, hiring people to scare you. But I want you to understand why."

"Try me," I said.

"My daughter is in prison for the rest of her productive life," Catherine said. "Thirty years. By the time she gets out, she'll be an old woman. Her whole life has been destroyed."

"Because of choices she made," I pointed out. "She tried to kill me. Multiple times."

"Because she loved Declan," Catherine said. "Obsessively, yes. Unhealthily, yes. But it was love. And you took him from her."

"I didn't take anyone," I said, keeping my voice calm even though I was angry. "Declan chose me. Victoria needs to accept that and move on."

"How can she move on from prison?" Catherine asked. "How can she build a life when her life is over?"

"That's not my problem," I said. "I'm sorry Victoria is suffering, but that doesn't give you the right to terrorize my family."

"Doesn't it?" Catherine asked, her voice hardening. "You destroyed my daughter's life. Turnabout is fair play."

"So what's your endgame?" I asked. "Scare us forever? Kill us? What exactly are you hoping to achieve?"

Catherine looked at me for a long moment. "I want you to know what it feels like to lose everything. To watch helplessly as your world crumbles. That's what you did to Victoria."

"I didn't do anything to Victoria except exist," I said. "Everything that happened to her was a result of her own actions."

"You're delusional," Catherine said. "But that's okay. Soon you'll understand."

She stood up to leave.

"Wait," I said. "What do you mean, soon I'll understand?"

Catherine smiled coldly. "You'll find out. Very soon."

She walked away before I could stop her.

Detective Morrison and his team tried to follow her, but she disappeared into the crowd.

"What did she mean?" Declan asked when I met up with him. "What's coming soon?"

"I don't know," I said, fear creeping into my voice. "But whatever it is, we need to be ready."

That night, we doubled security at the house. Guards patrolled the perimeter. Every window and door was locked and alarmed. We didn't let the kids outside.

"This is no way to live," I said to Declan as we watched the kids play inside. "We can't keep them locked up forever."

"Just until we figure out what Catherine is planning," Declan said.

But what if we never figured it out? What if Catherine was smart enough to stay one step ahead of us forever?

The next morning, I woke up to sirens.

I ran to the window and saw fire trucks surrounding our neighbor's house.

"What happened?" I asked one of our security guards.

"Fire," he said grimly. "Started around 4 AM. The family got out okay, but the house is a total loss."

I felt sick. "Was it an accident?"

The guard looked uncomfortable. "Fire marshal is investigating. But between you and me, it looks like arson."

Arson. In our neighborhood. At a house right next to ours.

"This was a warning," I said to Declan. "Catherine is showing us how close she can get."

"Or it really was just an accident," Declan said, though he didn't sound convinced.

Detective Morrison came by later that day with an update.

"The fire was definitely arson," he confirmed. "Someone poured accelerant around the foundation and lit it. The family is lucky they got out."

"Was it meant for us?" I asked.

"We don't know," Detective Morrison said. "It could have been a warning. Or a mistake—maybe they hit the wrong house."

"Either way, Catherine is escalating," Declan said. "We need to do something. We can't just wait for her next move."

"We're trying to locate her," Detective Morrison said. "But she's gone to ground. Not at her home, not at any of her known properties. She's hiding."

"Planning," I corrected. "She's planning whatever comes next."

That night, I barely slept. Every sound made me jump. Every shadow looked like a threat.

Around 2 AM, I heard something that made my blood run cold.

Maya crying. But not the normal baby crying. A scared, panicked crying.

I ran to the nursery and found all three kids awake and terrified.

"What's wrong?" I asked, scanning the room for threats.

Liam pointed to the window. "I saw someone. A lady looking at us."

My heart stopped. "What lady? What did she look like?"

"Old," Liam said. "With gray hair. She was smiling, but it was a scary smile."

Catherine had been outside our children's window.

I immediately hit the panic button. Guards rushed in, searched the perimeter, but found nothing.

"She was here," I insisted. "Liam saw her."

"We believe you," one of the guards said. "But she's gone now. We'll increase patrols, add more lights around that side of the house."

But I knew it wouldn't be enough. Catherine had proven she could get past our security whenever she wanted.

The next morning, Detective Morrison called with news that made everything worse.

"Victoria escaped from prison last night," he said.

"What? How?"

"During a medical transport," Detective Morrison explained. "She claimed to be having chest pains. They took her to the hospital, and she overpowered a guard and fled."

"So now both Victoria and Catherine are out there," I said, feeling panic rising. "Working together to hurt us."

"We have every available officer looking for them," Detective Morrison promised. "But Anita, I think you need to consider leaving town until we find them."

"Where would we go?" I asked. "They found us at a resort in the Caribbean. They can find us anywhere."

"Then we set a trap," Declan said suddenly. "We make them think we're vulnerable, and when they come for us, the police grab them."

"Using your family as bait is too dangerous," Detective Morrison said.

"We're already in danger," Declan pointed out. "A
t least this way, we're in control of when and where they make their move."

I didn't like the plan, but I couldn't think of a better one.

"Okay," I said finally. "Let's do it."

But I had a terrible feeling this wasn't going to end well.