25. Riley
Chapter 25
Riley
T he detectives want to talk to me and Declan today, and I can’t help but feel a knot of anxiety tightening in my stomach. Now that Nicholas is home, my parents are here, and life seems to be settling down a bit, part of me just wants to forget that any of this ever happened. But there’s another part of me, a stronger part, that needs to understand how any of this could have happened in the first place. The guilt gnaws at me, a constant reminder that I didn’t realize sooner that the real estate agent, Roxanne Dawson, knew about my son without me ever telling her. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for that.
Declan has been incredible through all of this. He’s given up his room for my parents and has been sleeping on the couch every night since we brought Nicholas home. I’ve been staying in the spare bedroom next to Nicholas’s room, unable to stray too far from him. Bella has taken on the role of vigilant protector, rarely leaving Nicholas’s side. If he’s awake, so is she, her eyes never straying from him. She might not understand exactly what happened, but she knows something did, and like me, she’s become fiercely overprotective.
“The detectives are here,” Declan calls out from inside the house. I’m sitting on the patio, watching Nicholas play in the pool, with Bella stationed at the edge, her gaze fixed on him. She won’t go in, but she won’t leave his side, either.
Detective Kowalski and Detective Smith follow Declan through the sliding glass doors onto the patio. They nod at me before taking a seat next to my parents, who are quietly observing the scene. Declan walks over, his presence a comforting anchor, and gently picks me up, sitting down with me perched on his knee. It’s a simple gesture, but it speaks volumes about the support he’s offering me.
“How’s the little guy doing?” Detective Smith asks, nodding toward Nicholas, who’s now splashing happily in the pool.
“Really good,” Declan answers, his voice steady. “His temperature has been normal, and his last bloodwork shows no signs of infection.”
“That’s good. Does he remember anything? Any nightmares?” Detective Smith inquires, his tone gentle, almost fatherly.
I shake my head, grateful that Nicholas has been spared that particular trauma. “He doesn’t remember a thing, and I’m thankful for that. No nightmares yet, either.”
Detective Smith nods, a small smile of relief touching his lips. “That’s good. Real good.”
I take a deep breath, steeling myself for what’s to come. “So, what do you have? Did you figure out her motives for all this?” I ask, eager to rip off the band-aid and face whatever truths they’ve uncovered.
Detective Kowalski opens her notebook, her expression serious. “Yeah. We found a lot at her place. She kept a journal and was meticulous about the details. She was quite disturbed.”
“Wouldn’t you have to be to stalk a single mother and then kidnap her child?” my mom snarks, her voice dripping with the kind of protective anger only a mother can muster.
Detective Kowalski nods, “Yes, ma’am, you’re right. But this went beyond the pale.”
“How?” Declan asks, his arm tightening slightly around me, as if bracing himself for what’s to come.
“Well, for starters, she believed that Nicholas was her son and that Riley was the one who kidnapped him from her.”
“What?” I blurt out, utterly confused. “How did she figure that?”
“Apparently, about a year before you… how do I put this delicately,” Detective Kowalski hesitates, glancing between me and my parents.
“Just say it,” I urge her. “They know everything.”
She blushes slightly, but continues, “Okay. About a year before you and Nicholas’s father… were involved, he had visited Hibiscus Harbor and had a brief relationship with her.”
My stomach churns, the revelation hitting me like a punch to the gut. I had slept with the same man as the woman who kidnapped my son. The thought alone makes me feel sick.
“When she saw that you had posted your ultrasound on social media, she became infuriated and convinced herself that the baby was hers. She began to devise a plan to get him ‘back,’” Detective Kowalski says, using air quotes to emphasize the delusion.
“For five years, this woman stalked my daughter and grandson,” my dad states, his voice hard with anger and disbelief.
Detective Smith nods, his expression grim. “She was totally convinced that she was supposed to be the mother of Nick’s child. She even had photos around her house—stock images that come with the frames—but she had cut and pasted pictures of herself, Nicholas, and Nick onto them. She was living in a fantasy world, convinced it was real.”
“If she was living and working here, how did she terrorize my daughter in Atlanta?” Dad asks, his tone sharp, as if he’s piecing together the puzzle like one of the crime dramas he loves to watch.
“Well, it was very convenient that Riley lived in Atlanta because that’s where Roxanne’s parents lived. Whenever she visited them, she made sure to make her presence known to Riley, to remind her that she wanted Nicholas back. She was almost successful that one time at your last daycare,” Detective Smith explains, his voice tinged with regret.
“Fuck,” I mutter, trying to process the overwhelming amount of information. It’s a lot to take in.
“Do you think Nick knew she was crazy?” Mom asks, her voice trembling slightly.
“There’s no way to tell,” Detective Smith replies. “When we talked to his parents in Seattle, they said she would call and tell them stories about how much they loved each other and how much she missed him after he died in the Middle East. But they just assumed she was telling the truth. And to be honest, I think they wanted to hold onto those memories of their son, even if he had never mentioned her to them before.”
“Well, that’s about all we have for now,” Detective Kowalski says, closing her notebook. “We’ll be turning everything over to the district attorney so he can close the case. We just wanted to make sure you understand that none of this—none of it—was your fault, Riley. Had she not done this to you, she would have done it to someone else.”
I nod, swallowing hard. “Thank you. It helps to know that.”
Declan taps my thigh gently, signaling for me to stand up. “I’ll walk you guys out,” he offers, his tone kind but firm.
“Me too. I have more questions about procedures,” Dad adds, ever the inquisitive mind, and I have to smile at his persistence. He definitely watches too many crime dramas.
As the detectives, Declan, and Dad head back into the house, my mother and I remain on the patio, sitting in silence as we watch Nicholas splash around in the pool, oblivious to the turmoil that surrounds us.
“Are you okay, Riley?” Mom asks softly, her voice full of concern.
I take a moment to consider her question, letting the reality of everything settle over me like a heavy blanket. “I think so. I mean, she’s dead, Nicholas is healthy, and it turns out it wasn’t my fault. So, yeah… I’m good.”
“Okay, then I have another question,” she says, a teasing lilt in her voice that makes me look over at her.
“And that is?”
“What’s going on between you and Declan?” she asks, her eyes twinkling with a knowing look.
“What do you mean?” I stammer, suddenly feeling like a teenager caught sneaking out after curfew. I am so not ready to have this conversation with my mother, especially not after discussing the sordid details of my child’s father’s past.
“I’m not blind, Riley. I see how he looks at you and Nicholas. And I see how you look at him. So, what’s the deal?”
I chew on her question for a few moments, then finally meet her gaze. “I love him,” I admit, the words feeling both scary and liberating as they leave my lips.
She nods, a satisfied smile spreading across her face. “He loves you too. Both of you.”
“It’s just… there hasn’t been anyone since Nick. It’s always been just me and Nicholas,” I say, my voice wavering slightly.
“Riley, dear. There’s always been Declan,” she says softly, her hand reaching out to squeeze mine.
I look at her, realizing that she’s right. Declan has always been there, quietly supporting us, loving us from a distance. And now, maybe it’s time to close that distance and let him fully into our lives.