Chapter 13 - The Woman in the Photographs
Sarah identified the woman Lily had seen in the kitchen as Victoria Kane.
Victoria had arrived with Whitcomb and insisted Sarah sign a release allowing them to move the twins into temporary guardianship.
Sarah refused, and Marcus struck her with the broken bottle during the confrontation.
Victoria had watched.
Lieutenant Bell was summoned shortly afterward to make the scene look like a domestic dispute in which Marcus was protecting himself.
Sarah's statement gave investigators a timeline they could test against messages, vehicle records, and calls from the house.
Nathan wanted Victoria arrested immediately, but Torres reminded him that a strong case required independently verifiable evidence.
The second key opened a small lockbox hidden in Sarah's old childhood room at the estate.
Rosa helped them locate it beneath a false back panel in the closet.
Inside were copies of letters Sarah had written to Nathan, all returned unopened through Whitcomb's office.
There were also recordings of Marcus threatening to take Lily unless Sarah signed documents.
Nathan sat on the bed where his sister had once read mystery novels and listened to her begging for help through the crackling audio.
In one recording Whitcomb called the girl 'an asset that must remain contained.'
Sarah had written the date on each file.
The earliest was seven years old.
The newest was the night before the blizzard.
One envelope held a photograph of Lily standing beside a red playhouse in a garden Nathan didn't recognize.
On the back Sarah had written, 'Ask her about the blue door.'
Torres enlarged the photograph and recognized the garden from an abandoned estate belonging to Whitcomb's former business partner.
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Before the search warrant could be executed, the estate's caretaker reported seeing lights inside the locked playhouse.
