Page 37 of The Sound of Secrets

This time he didn’t flinch away when I reached for one of his hands. “All he cares about is money. He won’t hurt her while she’s useful to him.” Once she wasn’t, that was a different story. One I didn’t want to think about.

“So, my dad came to your PT appointments and started talking to you about building a relationship with Winnie. How did he know where to go? Where else did you see him? What else did he ask you about? Did he mention where he was staying?” My father burned bridges for fun, so it wasn’t like he had an extended network of friends and family he could reach out to when he had half the city’s law enforcement looking for him. And he was clearly desperate for a payday, which meant he didn’t have the funds to carry out this type of plan with no fault. We simply needed to figure out where he made a misstep, and Winnie would be home safe and sound.

“He came to the care facility to see your mother. Win’s security wouldn’t let him in. Not even after I intervened and asked them to let him see her for five minutes. I felt bad. I told him I was going to PT, and if he wanted to talk, he could meet me there. The security isn’t as tight. We started getting together before my appointments to catch up. We never met anywhere else, but I gave him my cell phone number to keep in touch. I already gave it to Win. Paul was friendly and seemed deeply invested in making amends for the past. I know he wasn’t a great father to you and your sister. I honestly believed Willow would’ve wanted me to make amends with her family if possible.”

I bit my lip and looked at Win across the room. He was surrounded by federal agents and staring at his phone, willing it to ring so he could ask if Winnie was all right. He already planned on getting rid of all of his money. I knew he wouldn’t hesitate to hand my father his entire fortune to get Winnie back unharmed. I’d never seen him look so stressed or so angry. He was like a thundercloud waiting to unleash the storm of a century. One capable of unlimited destruction.

“Why didn’t my dad give you the cell phone to pass to my mother? You had a relationship with both of them. Why involve Goldie?”

He shook his head and the bandana around his mouth fell and showed the badly scarred lower half of his face. “I refused. I’ve spent time with Georgie. I know how fragile her state of mind is. If he wanted to see her in person, under observation, that’s one thing. I thought her having a phone and talking to him in private sounded too dangerous. Your mom has been good to me even when it’s difficult for her. She doesn’t see the way I look now. She still sees me as Willow’s husband.” He rubbed his palms together and glanced at his brother anxiously. “I should’ve told Win about everything. This is all my fault for trusting someone other than my brother. I should’ve known he had no interest in stealing my life like Paul led me to believe. Not when he’s the one who fought so hard to give it back to me. Win has always insulated me from so much. I was an inconsiderate fool, and now my daughter is in danger.”

I sighed heavily. “Fortunately for us, Win has a soft spot for inconsiderate fools. You need to tell himeverything. He can see things others can’t. Maybe he can take everything you’ve been through with my father and figure out where he took Winnie.”

Archie stiffly nodded. I helped him from the couch and watched as he slowly walked toward his brother.

Thinking about my father showing up at the facility to harass my mother, and unexpectedly ending up with an even bigger fish on the hook, caused me to turn over other coincidences in my mind. The way my dad managed to charm people and misdirect motivations was reminiscent of the way he handled the loss of my baby. The man was a magician, managing to trick an audience into believing one thing while covertly making another thing happen. All he needed was a top hat and a cape to take his devious act on the road.

Ky looked exactly like Parker, and my father used that to his advantage to treat me like a puppet on a string. He knew all I wanted from my tragic past was the knowledge that my lost baby was alive somewhere, doing fine without me. He twisted that fruitless desire so I would dance to his tune. He had to have tracked Ky down at some point after crossing paths with him randomly. Just like he stumbled over Archie and used that unplanned meeting to his advantage so he could twist father and daughter into a tangled knot. My old man was quick on his feet.

I needed to speak to Ky. I sensed he was the key to figuring out where my father took Winnie, even if he wasn’t aware of it. I wanted to know exactly where my father found him.

The feds had my phone in case my father called to demand money. Win was in the middle of the chaos, demanding surveillance footage from every security camera in the city. Rocco watched everything happening in a daze. And Archie was trying his best to make himself as small as possible while answering the questions that were fired at him from all directions. I didn’t know where the kid lived, and it was too late to stumble upon him in the park. Winnie’s phone was also in the hands of the authorities, but her laptop was in her backpack that Rocco threw on the couch when he brought it in. I snatched the device and dashed up the stairs. It took a while to figure out her password. Fortunately, there were only a couple of things she was fond of enough to use. Once I got into her inner world, I muttered an apology for invading her privacy and started combing through her social media messages until I found a back-and-forth thread with Ky. Winnie was an obedient child, but my instincts told me she ignored all the warnings to stay away from Ky from the beginning. She always sounded starstruck when she spoke of the handsome teenager. As if he was already a soccer star and she was his number one fan. There was definitely a bit of hero worship happening on my niece’s end.

It was a relief they weren’t cousins, because I never wanted Winnie’s first crush to end in such a tragic way.

The conversation between the two was innocent enough. Just like they both asserted, there was no discussion of Winnie’s complicated security matters or private family happenings. Winnie never mentioned the longshot that the two of them might be cousins, andneither did Ky. They chatted about school and sports. Winnie was trying to find common ground. I’d never seen her watch a single soccer game, but now she was calling itfootballand seemed familiar with a handful of players from different teams. I was surprised to see that he told her repeatedly he felt her grandfather wasn’t a nice person, and she should be careful if he came around. I really needed to make amends with the young man. I clearly got him all wrong because of my bias and pain. He was never the villain I made him out to be. He was just a kid. A kid doing his best to make sure my niece wasn’t blinded by family ties and could spot a threat, even if it came in the form of affection.

Crossing my fingers that he would respond, I sent a message telling him Winnie was in trouble, and I was using her account to contact him for help. I asked him where he met my father and if he knew where the older man might take Winnie.

The response was slow in coming. When it did, I could tell Ky was confused and upset even through the simple black and white text.

~WDYM? Winnie is missing? She was kidnapped? Why are you asking me about her grandpa? Shouldn’t you focus on finding her? This is insane. I feel like this is a terrible prank.

I gritted my teeth and shook the laptop as if it were the stubborn boy on the other end.

~I’m trying to find her. Her grandfather took her. To find her, I need to find him first.

~ I just tried to call her, and the FBI answered the phone. You’re not fucking with me, are you?

~ I’m not. This is very serious. I can’t call you because the police have my phone. And I can’t meet up with you because the police don’t want us to leave in case my father calls with demands.

Ky quit being difficult and started answering my previous questions in a rush.

~ He was hanging around my mom’s restaurant. I thought he was interested in her at first. I fill in as a busboy when they’re really busy. I didn’t realize he was sticking around for me until he told me I looked like someone he used to know. I always thought he was a creep.

~ Did you see him coming in and out of anywhere near there?

~ No. He always said the city was too noisy and crowded. He mentioned it took him a long time to get his land legs after being on a boat for so long.

I nearly threw the laptop across the room.

The answer should’ve been obvious from the jump. The place my father was most comfortable was on a fishing boat. He was used to going out to sea and pretending like everything he left behind on land was inconsequential.

I typed a hasty thank you to Ky and bolted back down to the kitchen, nearly tripping myself in the rush. Win caught me before I face planted in front of everyone. He opened his mouth to ask if I was okay, but I blurted out, “They’re on a boat! My dad took her back to the cove and they’re on his fishing boat somewhere.”

The chaos in the space stilled, and every eye in the place landed on me. I grabbed the front of Win’s shirtand pleaded, “You have to believe me. It’s where he feels the safest and where he’s always had the upper hand.”

“Channing.” He held my shoulders and set me away from him so he could look at my face. “Your dad just called. He wants to exchange Winnie for five-million dollars. He’s demanding you be the one who does the swap.”

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