He opened up the traffic footage from the day of Marie''s ident, the file he''d gotten from the police. On the screen, his mother''s car moved calmly down the road, keeping to the speed limit, just another ordinary drive. Then, out of nowhere, a huge truck barreled in from the right and smashed straight into her car.


    The truck didn''t slow down. It shoved the car across the street and into the side of


    a building. The front of the car crumpled, metal twisting in on itself, barely recognizable anymore.


    At first, the police called it a tragic ident, med it on Alex, the truck driver who''d been drunk behind the wheel.


    Now they knew. Grace had paid him off. The money she used was clearly meant to hire a killer.


    Was it just a coincidence, or was someone else working behind the scenes? Did Grace really kill his mother just because she was scared their parents might get back together? The questions wouldn''t stop circling in Hank''s mind. He pressed his lips together, thinking hard, then finally closed hisptop and leaned back in his leather chair. He let his eyes slide shut.


    Whatever the truth was, he had to figure it out. He couldn''t let Reese deal with this on her own anymore.


    His phone rang, the screen lighting up with "Dad." The word stung, making his eyes ache.


    Hank took a long breath and picked up, trying to keep his voice steady. "Dad."


    "How''s it going with Reese?" Bailey''s voice was sharp, cold, urgent. "You don''t have much time. Three days. You have to make her drop the case. If she doesn''t, she''ll have to deal with the consequences."


    Hank felt his heart drop.


    "Dad, Reese... she..." He faltered, stuck between not wanting to lie and being too scared to tell the truth. "She still won''t drop it. Mom was everything to her. How do you expect her to just walk away from this?"


    "She won''t?" Bailey''s voice went up, full of anger. "That''s not her decision to make."


    "The Meyer Group is barely surviving as it is. If Grace goes to jail, our whole family is finished!"


    "Dad, Grace has already confessed. This is a criminal case now. Whether or not Reese drops it, that''s not something she can control."


    Hank tried to get through to him.


    "Then she''d better find a way." Bailey''s shout was full of rage. "Listen to me, Hank. Three days Want to hear she dropped the case If you can''t do it, I will."


    The call ended. The dull beep in the receiver was almost painful.


    Hank set his phone down and walked over to the window. Outside, the sky was pitch ck, but the lights in the Meyer estate''s garden were bright as day it didn''t make a difference. The darkness inside him was worse.


    He knew exactly what his dad meant about "taking care of things himself." Bailey wouldn''t just have a talk with Reese. He''d use whatever he could, maybe even the evidence he had about problems in Reese''spany, or something even more extreme.


    After a long time, Hank made up his mind.


    He picked up his phone and called Reese. No matter what, she deserved to know.


    She answered fast, her voice cool. "What''s up?"


    "Reese, do you have a minute?" Hank tried to smile, but it came out tired.


    "No." Reese nced over at Matthew, asleep in the hospital bed.


    "I really need to talk to you. It''s about Mom''s ident." Hank''s voice grew serious.


    "I want to meet in person. There are things I can''t say over the phone."


    Reese''s heart skipped. She could tell, just from how he sounded. He wasn''t brushing off their mother''s death this time.


    She hesitated, then finally said, "Okay. Tomorrow morning, ten o''clock. Coffee shop by the hospital."


    "I''ll be there," Hank said, then hung up.


    He sat back down at his desk and opened hisptop, eyes sharper than before.


    He needed to find more proof before he met her tomorrow.