Chapter 3
Detective Victoria Vance arrived about an hour later. She told me officers had entered the house and found signs of a violent struggle in the kitchen, along with Elena’s phone smashed beneath a cabinet.
There was still no sign of Elena or Julian.
Then Detective Vance mentioned the swimming pool.
Officers had recovered the black bags.
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What was inside them?”
Detective Vance hesitated before answering because she knew what I had feared.
Detective Vance glanced at the door to make sure Maya couldn’t hear us before lowering her voice.
“They weren’t human remains, Mr. Vance,” she said quietly. “The bags contained heavy concrete blocks, Elena’s missing luggage, and several iron safe-deposit boxes that had been forced open. Julian dumped them in the pool to weigh them down and hide the evidence of financial theft before fleeing.”
A massive wave of relief washed over me, but it was immediately replaced by a fresh surge of dread.
“If my ex-wife wasn’t in those bags, where is she?” I asked, my voice shaking. “My daughter said her mother tried to stop him.”
“We found blood in the kitchen that matches Elena’s type,” Detective Vance revealed, her jaw tight. “A state-wide BOLO has been issued for Julian and his silver Ford Explorer. We believe he took Elena by force after she caught him raiding her family trust accounts and trying to lock Maya away to keep her quiet.”
At that moment, a specialized child advocate named Clara walked into the room. She spoke to Maya with incredible warmth and gentleness, gradually creating a safe space for my daughter to open her heart.
I sat beside the bed, holding Maya’s small, bruised hand as she finally began to tell her story.
“Mommy found out Julian was stealing money,” Maya whispered, tears welling up in her dark eyes. “They were screaming in the kitchen on Thursday night. Mommy told him she was taking me and leaving, but Julian got really mad. He hit her… and when I tried to run to help her, he grabbed me and locked me in the laundry room.”
Maya choked back a sob, and I squeezed her hand tighter, resisting the urge to punch a wall.
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“Mommy was hitting the door, telling him to let me go,” Maya continued softly. “Then I heard a loud crash… and then Mommy stopped making noise. Julian opened the laundry room, wrapped a heavy blanket around Mommy, and dragged her out to the garage. He told me if I said anything to anyone, he’d throw Mommy in the deep water and lock me in the cage forever.”
Every piece of the nightmare fell into place.
