Thomas swiped to the next screenshot. “Gets worse.”
This one showed a different conversation with someone labeled “Lawyer B”:
Lawyer B:Documents are ready. Just need your signature
Maya:I’m not signing anything until I know Elias is protected
Lawyer B:Your boyfriend isn’t known for patience. Sign the papers
Maya:Those aren’t the papers I agreed to. This gives him full custody
Lawyer B:Things change. Sign them or face the consequences
“Beau Stanton,” I said. “Has to be.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.” Thomas scrolled further. “But here’s the real kicker. She saved voice recordings too.”
He tapped on a voice memo file. Maya’s voice came through the speaker, shaky and scared:
“I need to record this in case something happens to me. Colter’s been talking about selling Elias. I thought he was joking at first, but tonight I overheard him on the phone. He told someone that ‘the baby would bring fifty grand, easy.’ He said his stepsister wants to buy him, but if she can’t come up with the money, he knows other buyers. I can’t let this happen. I’m going to hide this phone where Cora can find it if… if something happens to me.”
The recording stopped. Thomas and I sat in silence.
“She knew,” I said finally. “She knew he was going to kill her.”
“There’s more.” Thomas opened another voice memo, this one dated just three days before Maya’s death:
“I found out what the packages are. It’s not just Elias. Colter’s running babies through Valle Perdido. That’s why Beau’s helping him—they’re both getting paid. I saw the ledger in Colter’s safe. Names, ages, prices. Some as young as newborns. What have I gotten myself into? I need to get Eliasout of here, but if I run, Colter will find us. If I go to the police, Beau will make it disappear. I don’t know what to do.”
My hands clenched into fists. “We’re looking at a trafficking ring.”
“It explains how Colter can afford Beau’s fees,” Thomas said. “And why they’re both so desperate to get Elias back.”
“What else is on there?”
Thomas showed me the call log. “Lots of calls to and from Colter, obviously. But look at this—she called the FBI field office in San Antonio four times in her last week. Never got through to anyone, though. Calls lasted less than thirty seconds each.”
“She was trying to report them.”
“And failing.” He scrolled through the browser history. “She’d been researching witness protection programs, how to report human trafficking, legal aid for domestic violence victims. She was planning to run.”
I stared at the phone. “This is all the justification we need.”
Thomas locked the phone. “No one’s going to question what happens to them after seeing this.”
“Exactly.” I stood up, pacing the small space. “First, we make copies of everything. Multiple backups.”
“For insurance?”
“So when Colter and Beau disappear, anyone who asks questions gets to hear Maya’s voice recordings.” I grabbed my towel.
“They’ll understand why it had to happen.”
“Good. But we keep this between us for now. If Cora knew what Maya was going through…”
“She’d blame herself even more than she already does.”
I nodded. “Maya was trying to protect Elias. We’re going to finish what she started.”
