Chapter 6 - The Call From the Caribbean
I stared at Jenna's messages until the words blurred.
Then I typed:
“Call me. Now.”
Thirty seconds later, my phone rang.
I stepped into the hospital hallway, away from Lily's room, and answered.
“Jenna?”
Her voice was barely audible.
“Hannah, I'm sorry.”
In the background, I heard distant music and the low hum of a ship's ventilation system.
“Where are you?”
“In my cabin.”
“Does Derek know you're calling?”
“No.”
“Does Patricia?”
A long silence followed.
“Jenna, answer me.”
“No. And she can't find out.”
I leaned against the wall.
“Then start talking. What have you been doing?”
She began crying quietly.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just the exhausted sound of someone who had been carrying a secret for too long.
“I knew some of the reimbursement claims weren't real.”
I closed my eyes.
“Some?”
“More than some.”
“How many families?”
“I don't know the final number. Mom controlled the main accounts. Derek handled payments to outside vendors.”
“And you?”
“I prepared documents. I processed reports. I kept telling myself there was an explanation.”
“Were you signing my name?”
“No. Derek was. But I knew the approvals weren't right.”
Anger rose through me.
“You knew someone was using my identity, and you didn't tell me?”
“I tried to stop it.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
She went silent.
Finally, she whispered, “Yes. I knew.”
I pressed a hand against my forehead.
There it was.
The truth.
Jenna hadn't been an innocent observer.
She had helped keep Patricia's organization running while money disappeared and families suffered.
“Why are you calling now?”
“Because of Lily.”
My entire body tightened.
“What about her?”
Jenna hesitated.
“Hannah, Derek told us he had arranged childcare before we left. Mom said everything was handled.”
“But it wasn't.”
“No.”
“Then why didn't any of you come home?”
“I didn't know she was alone until Wednesday.”
I remembered the photograph.
The yellow pajamas.
The upstairs window.
“What happened Wednesday?”
“Mom got a message from Derek. The sitter had canceled. He said Evelyn would check on Lily.”
“And Patricia accepted that?”
Jenna's silence answered before her words did.
“She called Tessa.”
I shut my eyes.
“Why?”
“She told Tessa to go to your house and document the situation.”
“Document it?”
“Take photographs.”
My voice became dangerously quiet.
“Jenna, my daughter needed food.”
“I know.”
“She needed water. She needed someone to hold her and tell her she was safe.”
“I know, Hannah.”
“Then why did Patricia send a photographer instead of a caregiver?”
Jenna began breathing unevenly.
“Because Mom had already planned a campaign.”
I gripped the phone.
“What campaign?”
“The Homefront Haven Family Rescue Initiative.”
I stared at the blank wall.
Jenna continued.
“Mom wanted to announce a new program at Sunday's fundraising reception. She'd been looking for a powerful story about a child needing emergency intervention.”
My stomach turned.
“And she chose Lily?”
“She said the situation could demonstrate why military families needed Homefront Haven.”
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“She wanted to use my daughter's neglect to raise donations?”
“She said Derek had made a terrible mistake, but that we could turn it into something positive.”
“Positive?”
The word tasted bitter.
“She knew Lily was alone, Jenna.”
“I know.”
“And she left her there?”
Jenna started crying again.
“I told her we needed to call someone. She said Derek had assured her Evelyn was checking on Lily and that there was no real emergency.”
“Did you believe that?”
“I wanted to.”
I looked through the window into Lily's room.
My daughter was sleeping peacefully for the first time in days.
I lowered my voice.
“Jenna, wanting something to be true doesn't make it true.”
She didn't argue.
After a moment, she said, “I have copies of the messages.”
I straightened.
“What messages?”
“Mom's instructions to Tessa. Derek's discussion about the childcare arrangement. Emails about the emergency custody petition.”
My heart accelerated.
“Why did you save them?”
“Because I was afraid she would blame everything on me.”
That answer felt brutally honest.
“Have you shown anyone?”
“No.”
“You need an attorney, Jenna. And you need to contact Detective Mercer.”
“Will I go to prison?”
I paused.
“I don't know.”
“Hannah, please—”
“I'm not going to promise you protection I can't give. You helped them. People were hurt.”
“I know.”
“But telling the truth now matters.”
She breathed shakily.
Then she said, “There's something else you should understand.”
I waited.
“Mom wasn't supposed to file the custody petition while you were home.”
My blood went cold.
“What do you mean?”
“She expected you to remain overseas another three weeks. Derek was supposed to cooperate with her temporary guardianship request.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because Mom said you were difficult to control when you were home.”
I remembered Patricia's endless complaints about my military career.
How she called it selfish.
How she insisted Lily needed a grandmother more than a mother who traveled.
How she smiled whenever Derek suggested I should resign my commission.
“What was the plan?” I asked.
“Derek would claim he couldn't manage Lily alone. Mom would present herself as the stable caregiver. Once the petition was filed, she'd pressure you to accept the arrangement.”
“And the photographs?”
“They were supposed to show why Lily needed someone to rescue her.”
I couldn't speak.
They hadn't necessarily planned to starve Lily.
But when Derek failed to arrange care, they saw an opportunity.
An emergency that should have triggered a rescue became material for a fundraising campaign and a custody argument.
My own daughter had become a prop in their plan.
“Jenna, listen carefully. Don't destroy anything. Don't alter anything. Contact your attorney and the investigators.”
“I will.”
“Go somewhere safe on the ship. Speak with security if you feel threatened.”
She took a trembling breath.
“Hannah?”
“Yes?”
“I'm sorry I didn't have the courage to stop this sooner.”
I looked toward Lily.
“Then find the courage now.”
The call ended.
I immediately contacted Detective Mercer and passed along Jenna's information.
She said investigators would coordinate with the appropriate authorities and arrange to receive the evidence.
I returned to Lily's bedside.
She stirred.
“Mommy?”
“I'm here.”
“Did Grandma call?”
I froze.
“No, sweetheart.”
Lily opened her eyes.
“Grandma said she was going to come get me.”
My heart sank.
“When did she say that?”
“On Daddy's phone. Before he went on the boat.”
I sat very still.
“What else did she say?”
Lily thought for a moment.
May you like
Then she whispered:
“She said I could live with her when you went away forever.”
