“And I’m next,” Ethan said. “She wants me to disappear like Paul.”
“That’s not going to happen,” I said firmly, taking his hand. “Because now we know who she is. And we are going to stop her.”
“How?” Ethan asked. “My dad won’t believe us. He thinks you just want to separate them.”
“I don’t need your father to believe me,” I replied. “I need evidence—evidence that neither he nor any judge can ignore.”
Linda leaned back in her chair.
“Commander, what are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that Chelsea is smart, but not as smart as she thinks. She made a mistake by attacking Ethan that night. She became overconfident. She thought that her word and the fake bruises would be enough, but she left loose ends.”
“Like what?” Linda asked.
“The candlestick. Ethan says she hid it. It has to be somewhere in that house with Chelsea’s fingerprints and probably with Ethan’s blood. That is physical evidence.”
“But we can’t go in to look for it without a warrant,” Linda said.
I smiled slightly.
“No, but Ethan can. Legally, that house is still his home. He has the right to be there and retrieve his things.”
Ethan looked at me with wide eyes.
“You want me to go back?”
“Only for a couple of hours, with a pretext. You say you need your clothes, your school supplies, and while you’re there, you look for the candlestick. But you’re not going alone.”
“What do you mean I’m not?”
I took out my phone and searched for something in an app. Then I showed the screen to Linda.
“Spy cameras. Button-size. They can be sewn into clothing. They transmit a real-time video to a cell phone.”
Linda smiled.
“Commander, you haven’t lost your touch.”
“I never lost it. It was just dormant.”
We spent the rest of the morning planning every detail. Linda would get the spy cameras. I would call Rob to ask him to let Ethan pick up his things. And while Ethan was inside, we would be outside, recording every second.
But there was a risk. If Chelsea suspected anything, she could act. She could hurt Ethan again—or worse.
“Grandma,” Ethan said, reading my concern. “I want to do it. I have to do it. Not just for me—also for Paul, for the other children, for everyone she hurt.”
