Chapter 3 - The Call That Froze the Air
The phone call arrived on a crisp Tuesday afternoon while David was still at the office and the kids were at school. The caller ID flashed an unknown local number, but assuming it was the pediatrician’s office following up on Josie’s routine physical, I swiped the screen and answered with a bright, cheerful greeting.
“Hello, this is Sarah.”
For a second, there was only static on the line, accompanied by the faint, muffled hum of traffic. Then a woman’s voice spoke—sharp, professional, and laced with a strange, jittery edge that immediately set my nerves on high alert.
“Sarah Vance?”
“Yes, speaking. Who is this?” I asked, my smile faltering slightly.
“My name is Evelyn Cross,” the voice replied. “I was Jace and Josie’s foster mother for eight months, right before they were transferred to the emergency shelter downtown.”
A cold prickle of apprehension swept down my spine. Evelyn Cross. I remembered seeing her name buried deep within the agency’s introductory case files—a brief, two-paragraph notation indicating that the placement had been ‘mutually terminated due to household incompatibility.’ I had never thought much of it, assuming it was just another casualty of the overburdened foster care system.
“Oh, right,” I said cautiously, shifting the phone to my other ear. “The kids have settled in wonderfully. They’re doing so well, and—is everything alright with their file?”
Instead of sounding relieved, pleased, or even mildly conversational, Evelyn let out a harsh, abrupt laugh that sounded like dry leaves scraping across pavement. Then, the line went dead silent for three agonizing seconds.
When she spoke again, her voice dropped to a low, conspiratorial whisper that made the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up.
“They still haven't told you why they picked you?”
My breath caught in my throat. The cheerful suburban kitchen around me suddenly felt freezing cold, the hum of the refrigerator sounding like a distant freight train.
“What… what are you talking about?” I stammered, my fingers tightening around the plastic receiver until my knuckles turned white. “What do you mean, why they picked us? We applied through the state agency. Matchmaking is handled by the social workers based on profile compatibility.”
“Oh, honey,” Evelyn scoffed, her tone dripping with a dark, bitter amusement. “The state agency handles the paperwork, sure. But Jace? That boy is smarter than every single social worker in that building combined. He didn't just stumble into your lap by accident. You were selected. Systematically, meticulously selected.”
My heart began to hammer violently against my ribs, each beat echoing in my ears like a drum of war. My mind raced backward through every interaction, every interview, every paperwork packet we had filled out over the past year.
“That’s impossible,” I whispered, though my voice lacked any real conviction. “We were vetted. We were just a couple looking to adopt.”
“Are you?” Evelyn challenged sharply. “Did you ever wonder why out of the twelve families on the waiting list—families with bigger houses, newer cars, and higher incomes—Jace threw a legendary, furniture-breaking tantrum in the caseworker’s office the moment your file was mentioned? Did you ever wonder why he practically begged them to send you and David to their intake interview?”
The kitchen seemed to tilt on its axis. Memories of our first meeting with Brenda flashed before my eyes—how Brenda had smiled and remarked how unusual it was for Jace to show any interest in prospective parents at all, how he had calmly walked into the conference room, looked us dead in the eye for ten full seconds, and simply nodded to his caseworker.
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“Tell me right now,” I demanded, my voice shaking with a sudden, overwhelming surge of terror. “What aren't you telling me?”
Evelyn paused, drawing a sharp breath on the other end of the line. “Because you think you rescued them, Mrs. Vance. But you have no idea what walked through your front door. Jace didn't pick you because you wanted a family. He picked you because of what your husband does for a living... and because of a secret your family buried ten years ago that is about to blow your entire world apart.”
