Page 32 of Not Our Daughter

Cole reflected on the terrifying moments after they’d watched the live security feed while sitting in their SUV. They’d wrestled immensely with what to do next. The practical side of them had screamed to immediately call the police and tell them what had just happened. But the emotional side had them absolutely paralyzed. Jade’s mother was already dead. There was nothing they could do to save her. And Cole knew ifthey called the police, Jade would be instantly snatched away from them by child protective services. There was no way CPS would allow her to remain with Cole and Lisa, considering the horrific situation inside their home. That thought had scared the hell out of them. They had no idea what had just happened to her mother, but they certainly believed Candace’s claims that Jade was not safe and needed to be rescued from whatever situation had developed. If they handed Jade over to CPS, they might be putting her right back in danger. There was no way they were going to do that.

So they chose not to do anything until they spoke with their attorney and got his legal guidance. They knew the matter with Jade needed to be handled with the utmost care and caution, especially because it would undoubtedly involve the courts again. They wanted to legally protect both Jade and themselves. They certainly didn’t want to risk a second chance at becoming her real parents. But that opportunity never came. Their lawyer hadn’t answered their multiple calls that night and didn’t immediately return their frantic voicemails. By early the next morning, their whole world was rocked, as their faces began showing up on every local media outlet with the most staggering headlines.

Local couple suspected of murdering 21-year-old mother and kidnapping her 9-month-old baby girl

Twenty-One

Jade jolted awake. She was breathing hard and even sweating. For a moment, she felt relieved. It was just a nightmare. It wasn’t real. The frightened look on her mom’s face when telling her they had to immediately leave the house. The scrambling to pack a travel bag. The hiding on top of Rendezvous Mountain watching police cars parked outside their home. Her dad getting his head shaved. Evading police stops while listening to her mom pray they could somehow get away safely. All of it.

But as her eyes slowly adjusted in the dark, she realized she was not in her bed at home. She could feel the beanbag beneath her. She could make out the multiple duffel bags. The truth hit her hard and again stole her breath. This was real. She was in the back of an old van. She put a trembling hand to her mouth to keep herself from crying. What was happening? Why were her parents in trouble? Why was the FBI trying to find them?

She’d fallen asleep to these questions, and now they were right back in front of her. She trusted her parents, but this was impossible for her to process. Her thoughts immediately shifted to Tyler, as they’d been doing throughout the night. What was he thinking right now? He’d probably been texting her all night and wondering why she hadn’t responded. He might be sitting there thinking he’d done something wrong. That she no longer liked him for some reason. It broke herheart because this couldn’t be further from the truth. She needed to somehow let him know what had happened. That she was okay, and her silence wasn’t his fault. But she felt helpless. Her mom had destroyed her phone.

Then she noticed her mom’s purse sitting on the van floor next to the duffel bags at her feet. Was her mom’s new phone inside it? Jade glanced up front. She knew her mom had moved into the passenger seat at some point during the drive. She could see the back of her shoulder poking out from the seat. They were stopped somewhere. She peered straight through the windshield. Gas station? Her dad was not currently in the driver’s seat. She scooted off the beanbag, pulled her mom’s purse over toward her, and began quietly reaching around inside it. She felt her mom’s wallet, a hairbrush, a set of keys ... and then her fingers wrapped around a familiar device.

Jade pulled it out. The phone. Not her mom’s usual phone but one she’d begun using earlier that night. Jade could feel her adrenaline kick into high gear and her heart rate pick up speed. If she was going to do this, she had to get moving. Her dad would probably be back soon. She stuck the phone in the back pocket of her blue jeans. Then she eased up into the gap between the cargo area and the front seats.

“Where are we?” she said.

Her mom glanced over. “Hey. You get some sleep?”

“A little.”

“We’re getting gas.”

“Are we still in Colorado?”

“Yes. A town called Alamosa.”

“Oh. Well, I really need to go to the bathroom.”

“Okay, but be super quick. Your dad just went inside to pay.”

“I’ll be quick.”

Jade pulled on the handle in the back and slid the big van door open. She climbed out, shut it behind her, and glanced around. If her dad was inside the gas station, she wasn’t going in there. He’d probably kill her if he found what she was doing. But she had to talk to Tyler.It was so cruel to just disappear on him without a word. She had no idea when she would see him again. She was determined to keep their relationship going, even if she had to do it from a distance. But the thought of that made her want to cry again.

Jade stepped around the gas pumps, slowly moved toward the building. She could now see her dad standing up near the front counter. He was staring down. What was he doing? It looked like he was working on a laptop or something. She didn’t see a gas station employee anywhere. After taking another deep breath, Jade veered off toward the side of the building. She turned a corner and stepped into a dark part of the parking lot that was blocked from the main lights. Her heart racing, she pulled the phone from her back pocket. The phone screen was unlocked. Her mom hadn’t set up a security code. Not that it would’ve stopped her—her mom always used Jade’s birthday as her passcode. The phone was nothing fancy, which was fine. She just needed to make a phone call.

She began pecking out the numbers with her thumb. Her dad had threatened to confiscate her phone last week for not finishing a school assignment, so she’d memorized Tyler’s phone number in case she had to reach him from one of her friends’ phones. She pressed “Call.” It was nearly three in the morning. Would he even be awake? Would he answer a phone call this late from a random number? When the phone got to the fourth ring, she found herself audibly begging for him to answer.

Please! Please!And then he did. Thank God.

“Uh . . . hello?”

He sounded like he’d been sleeping.

“Tyler, it’s me,” she whispered, her voice spiking.

“Jade?”

“Yes!”

He was alert now. “Are you okay? I’ve been texting you all night.”

“I’m so sorry. I don’t have my phone. It’s been an insane night!”

“For me, too! The FBI came to my house earlier asking about you.”

---