What Blake Needed Her to Sign
Chapter 05 - What Blake Needed Her to Sign
Madison did not delete the message.
She locked her phone.
"Why?"
Blake leaned against the counter.
"Because you're building a story in your head that isn't real."
"You said you'd take Noah."
"I was going to."
"Then why was he in the car?"
Blake rubbed both hands over his face.
"Because your father called. The investors arrived early. I had to go inside."
"So you left him?"
"For a minute."
"How many minutes?"
"I don't know."
Madison felt sick.
"You told the police two."
Blake's eyes hardened.
"Be careful."
"About what?"
"About turning a family mistake into something that destroys all of us."
That word stayed with her.
Family.
Blake always used it when he meant himself.
The papers Madison had gone inside to sign were part of a restructuring agreement for Cole Automotive Group, the business her father had built over thirty-five years.
Her father, Walter, had recently suffered a mild stroke.
Blake had stepped in to "help."
He had become indispensable almost overnight.
That morning, Blake had insisted Madison sign temporary voting authority over her shares so major decisions could continue while she focused on Noah.
She had almost signed.
Then the baby incident happened.
Now the documents sat unsigned in her bag.
Across town, Ethan tried to find work.
Three detailing shops turned him away.
A delivery company canceled his interview after recognizing his name.
At a gas station, a man stared at him too long.
"Aren't you that baby guy?"
Ethan left without buying anything.
When he got home, June handed him an envelope.
It was from the community college.
FINAL NOTICE — PARAMEDIC PROGRAM TUITION BALANCE.
Ethan had seven days to pay.
He laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because something inside him had run out of room.
That evening, his former coworker Rosa Alvarez called.
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"I saw Blake that morning."
Ethan sat up.
"What do you mean?"
"I saw him leave the SUV."
"With Noah inside?"
Rosa was silent.
Then she said, "He looked right at me."
Ethan stood.
"Rosa, you have to tell the police."
"I can't."
"Why?"
Her answer came quickly.
May you like
"Because Blake already knows I saw him."
Then the line went dead.
