The Boy Who Stopped Eating

Chapter 4 - The Rabbit Rebecca Left Behind

The three of them returned to Daniel's house.

Ethan immediately became quiet when they entered Rebecca's old bedroom.

The room had barely been used since her death.

Daniel opened the closet and removed a storage box.

Ethan saw the stuffed rabbit.

His face changed.

"Mommy's Bunny."

Daniel felt guilt hit him.

"I thought seeing it was making you sad."

Ethan hugged it.

"It makes me remember."

Daniel had no answer.

Maya sat beside him.

"It's okay to remember."

Ethan nodded.

Then Daniel found the tear in the rabbit's back.

Inside the stuffing was a small brass key.

Maya closed her eyes.

Rebecca had been telling the truth.

The key belonged to a private storage locker at the train station.

Inside they found a laptop, financial records, and photographs.

Rebecca had uncovered evidence that Michael Carter had been stealing from the Carter Family Foundation.

The foundation funded children's hospitals and grief counseling programs.

For five years, Michael had been redirecting donations through fake vendors.

Millions were missing.

But the most disturbing evidence was an email Rebecca printed three days before her death.

You should have stayed out of this. Think about Ethan before you ruin everyone's life.

Sent from Michael's private account.

Daniel stared at the sentence.

Think about Ethan.

Rebecca had been threatened using their son.

Maya touched his shoulder.

"We need the police."

Daniel nodded.

Investigators reopened Rebecca's accident.

The vehicle was examined again.

This time, technicians found evidence that a brake component had been deliberately damaged.

Michael was questioned.

He denied everything.

Then police recovered security footage from the parking garage at Daniel's office.

Michael's assistant had approached Rebecca's car hours before the crash.

The assistant eventually confessed.

Michael ordered the sabotage.

He claimed the intention was to frighten Rebecca, not kill her.

No one believed that mattered.

When Daniel returned home after Michael's arrest, he found Ethan sitting on the bedroom floor with Maya.

The boy was holding a photograph of Rebecca.

"Is Uncle Michael bad?" he asked.

Daniel sat down.

He wanted to protect his son from the truth.

Then he realized too many adults had already hidden too much.

"Uncle Michael did something very wrong."

Ethan looked at Rebecca's picture.

"Did he make Mommy die?"

Daniel could barely speak.

"Yes."

Ethan's eyes filled.

For a second, Daniel expected screaming.

Instead Ethan climbed into his father's lap.

It was the first time he had done that since the funeral.

Daniel wrapped both arms around him.

Ethan cried.

Daniel did not tell him to stop.

He did not say everything would be okay.

He simply cried with him.

Across the room, Maya quietly turned away.