Chapter 2 - Unmasking the Serpent
The tablet speaker hissed with static, then Dorothy’s voice sliced through the small, airless FBI interrogation room. It wasn’t her usual soft, fragile cadence. It was sharp, cold, and cruel.
"Get in, or Mommy never gets you back."
On the screen, nine-year-old Skylar’s camera stayed steady. The video showed Dorothy grabbing seven-year-old Brody by his upper arm. Brody was crying, trying to pull away, but Dorothy pushed him hard into the wide trunk of her vintage white Cadillac. She slammed the heavy lid down, locked it with her key fob, got into the driver’s seat, and sped down the long gravel driveway toward the main highway.
The silence that followed in the room was deafening.
Agent Rivera’s eyes shifted slowly from the screen to Dorothy. The sympathy that had been in his posture seconds ago evaporated, replaced by the lethal focus of a seasoned federal agent.
"Philip..." Dorothy whimpered, her hands flying to her throat as she tried to force her soft, victim tone back into her voice. "Philip, darling, you know that’s not what it looks like. I was... I was playing a game with him! I was protecting him from Jenna!"
"Shut up," I whispered. My voice didn't sound like mine. It sounded like cracked ice.
Philip stared at his mother as if he had never seen her before in his life. His face went entirely drained of blood. "Mom... what did you do?"
"Agent Rivera!" Dorothy shrieked as Rivera reached into his belt and pulled out a pair of silver handcuffs. "This is absurd! My granddaughter tampered with that video! Jenna made her do it! Jenna is mentally unstable!"
"Dorothy Vance, you are under arrest for federal kidnapping and obstruction of justice," Agent Rivera said coldly, slamming her arms behind her back. The metallic clack of the cuffs locking echoed through the room. "You have the right to remain silent..."
"Philip! Do something! Call our lawyer! Tell them she's lying!" Dorothy screamed as two other agents barged into the room, lifting her up from the chair.
Philip didn't move. He sat frozen, looking between his mother, the tablet, and me.
I ignored both of them. I dropped to my knees in front of Skylar, gathering my brave, trembling girl into my arms. "You did so good, baby. You were so brave," I sobbed into her hair.
"I hid the tablet in my backpack, Mom," Skylar whispered, her voice cracking. "Grandma told me to stay in the bedroom at the lake house, but I saw her drive back thirty minutes later without Brody. I knew she did something bad."
Agent Rivera bent down next to us. "Jenna, we need to locate that Cadillac immediately. Do you know where she could have taken him?"
"She was gone for thirty minutes before returning to the lake house," I said, my mind racing as adrenaline surged through my veins. "Thirty minutes out, thirty minutes back. Brody wasn't in the car when she came back. Whatever location he's at, it's within a fifteen-minute drive of the lake house!"
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Philip finally blinked, standing up on shaky legs. "The old boathouse... on the north ridge. It belonged to her father. It’s about ten minutes up the dirt road."
Agent Rivera barked orders into his shoulder radio. "All units, prioritize the north ridge boathouse property. Subject Dorothy Vance is in custody. Victim Brody Miller is believed to be held at that location. Move, move, move!"
