Fiona’s tone shifted. “You are overreacting. You have always been overprotective. You are too emotional about him. Maybe he needs firmer boundaries.”
“I am coming to speak to you in person,” Calvin said. “Do not leave your house.”
He hung up. His hands trembled with adrenaline. He stared at a framed photograph on his desk. His late wife, June, smiling on the beach with Reese in her lap. Sea foam around their feet. Joy in their expressions. June had died years ago. Complications from pneumonia. The memory still hurt like a bruise.
He touched the photograph. “Would you forgive me for missing the signs? I should have known.” His reflection in the glass looked like a stranger.
The doorbell rang.
Calvin tensed. He checked the monitor. A woman stood outside. Petite. Nervous. A tote bag slung over her shoulder. He recognized her. Marisol Ortega. Reese’s speech therapist.
He opened the door. “Marisol. Now is not a good time.”
“I know. I know. I came because I heard Talia was gone. Someone at the clinic told me. I need to speak to you. There is something I should have said earlier.”
Calvin gestured her inside. She clasped her hands. “Talia threatened me. She said if I reported anything, she would tell social services I was abusive. I believed her. I am ashamed. But I recorded some of our sessions. Audio. You need to hear them.”
She placed a flash drive on the table. Calvin stared at it. His stomach twisted.
“If you listen to it,” Marisol said, “do not do it alone. You might break something. Or someone.”
Calvin nodded once. “Thank you for your courage. I will make sure nothing happens to you.”
After she left, Calvin retrieved the flash drive and sat in the study. He pressed play. The first recording crackled.
Reese’s voice. Small. Scared. “Please. I do not want the rope again.”
Talia sighed. “Then stop whining. Stop disappointing him. I could make him choose me, you know. A real mother. One who is not dead. You think he cares about you? He would trade you for a healthy child tomorrow.”
Calvin slammed his fist into the desk. Pain shot up his arm. He paused the recording. He stared at the wall until his breathing was steady again. Then he copied the files. Transferred them to multiple drives. He would take them to law enforcement first thing tomorrow.