Chapter 2: What She Deleted
Alexander jerked his hand away before Vanessa could reach it.
“What are you doing?””
“Give me the phone!””
Her voice no longer sounded frightened.
It sounded desperate.
Alexander stepped back.
“Why?””
“The recordings are private.””
I almost laughed from disbelief.
“Private?””
Vanessa glared at me.
“Stay out of this.””
Alexander pointed toward the hallway.
“Rachel, take Noah downstairs.””
This time I obeyed.
I carried him into the family room and sat on the leather sofa.
His sobbing had weakened into exhausted hiccups.
“You’re okay,” I whispered.
“You’re safe.””
But I wasn’t sure that was true.
Not anymore.
Upstairs, voices rose.
“You’re overreacting!”” Vanessa shouted.
“My son could have been burned!””
“But he wasn’t!””
“That’s your defense?””
Then something crashed.
I stood immediately.
Noah whimpered.
“Rachel?””
I turned.
Mrs. Cooper, the Whitmores’ elderly cook, had appeared from the kitchen.
She looked at Noah, then toward the ceiling.
“What happened?””
“Call security.””
Her eyes widened.
“Rachel—”
“Please.””
She hurried toward the house phone.
A minute later Alexander came downstairs alone.
His tie was loose now.
“Where’s Vanessa?””
I asked.
“Bedroom. I told her not to leave.””
He sat beside Noah.
The billionaire businessman everyone in Dallas seemed afraid of suddenly looked like an exhausted father.
He touched Noah’s tiny hand.
“I should have known.””
“Sir—”
“I should have known.””
He looked at me.
“Has she done anything like this before?””
I hesitated.
That was enough.
Alexander’s eyes narrowed.
“Rachel.””
“I never saw her threaten him physically before today.””
“But?””
I looked down at Noah.
“She gets angry when he cries.””
“How angry?””
“She’s called him spoiled. She’s left him crying longer than I was comfortable with. Twice I found his monitor turned off.””
Alexander’s jaw tightened.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“I tried.””
His expression changed.
“When?””
“Last month. I asked if we could talk privately.””
He remembered.
“Vanessa interrupted.””
“She said Noah was fine and told you I was becoming too attached to him.””
Alexander rubbed his forehead.
I remembered the humiliation of that afternoon.
Vanessa had laughed while Alexander stood between us.
“You hired a nanny, darling,” she had told him.
“Not a replacement mother.””
After that, she made sure I was rarely alone with Alexander.
“I should have pushed harder,” I said.
“No.””
Alexander looked toward the staircase.
“You shouldn’t have needed to.””
Mrs. Cooper returned.
“Security is outside.””
“Have them stay at the front and back entrances,” Alexander said.
“Nobody leaves.””
His phone rang.
He answered immediately.
“Whitmore.””
A man spoke rapidly through the speaker.
Alexander stood.
“What do you mean remotely deleted?””
He walked toward the windows.
“Can you recover them?””
A pause.
“How long?””
Another pause.
“Do it.””
He hung up.
“The security company says someone with administrator access deleted twenty-seven nursery recordings.””
Twenty-seven.
My stomach tightened.
“Who has administrator access?””
“Me.””
He looked upstairs.
“And Vanessa.””
Mrs. Cooper covered her mouth.
Alexander called someone else.
“David, I need you at the house immediately.””
He listened.
“No. Cancel whatever you’re doing.””
Another pause.
“And bring someone from family law.””
He ended the call.
“Sir,” I said quietly, “shouldn’t we call the police?””
“We are.””
A voice came from the staircase.
“No, we are not.””
Vanessa stood halfway down.
She had changed clothes.
Jeans.
Sweater.
Handbag over one shoulder.
Alexander stared at her.
“I told you to stay upstairs.””
“You don’t control me.””
“You’re not leaving with Noah.””
“I don’t want Noah!””
The words came out too quickly.
Everyone went silent.
Vanessa realized what she had said.
She forced a laugh.
“That isn’t what I meant.””
Alexander’s voice became low.
“What did you mean?””
“I mean I’m leaving this ridiculous situation until you calm down.””
She continued downstairs.
One of the security guards appeared in the foyer.
“Mrs. Whitmore, Mr. Whitmore asked us—”
“Move.””
The guard looked toward Alexander.
Alexander shook his head.
Vanessa stopped.
“You’re holding me prisoner now?””
“I’m protecting evidence.””
“Evidence?””
She laughed.
Then she looked at me.
“This is what you wanted, isn’t it, Rachel?””
“No.””
“You’ve wanted my husband since the day I met you.””
“Vanessa,” Alexander warned.
“She thinks she belongs here!””
Vanessa marched toward me.
Alexander moved between us.
“Enough.””
Vanessa pointed around him.
“She’s poisoning you against me.””
“You were caught on camera.””
“She provoked me!””
“She was downstairs!””
Vanessa’s mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Then the doorbell rang.
Mrs. Cooper answered it.
A tall man in a navy suit entered carrying a laptop case.
Behind him was a woman I recognized as one of Alexander’s attorneys.
“Mr. Whitmore,” the man said.
“I’m Evan Price from the security company.””
Alexander nodded.
“You recovered the recordings?””
“Some.””
Vanessa’s face changed.
Evan opened his laptop on the dining table.
“We recovered eleven deleted clips so far.””
Alexander approached.
“What’s on them?””
Evan looked uncomfortable.
“You should probably see this yourself.””
He opened the first recovered video.
The timestamp was from twelve days earlier.
The nursery appeared on screen.
Noah was sleeping.
Vanessa entered quietly.
She looked directly at the camera.
Then she dragged a chair beneath it.
And reached up.
But before the screen went black, we saw something in her other hand.
A small medicine bottle.
Alexander leaned closer.
“What is that?””
Evan enlarged the image.
The label came into focus.
Mrs. Cooper gasped.
I felt my blood turn cold.
May you like
Alexander whispered the name printed on the bottle.
It wasn’t Noah’s medication.
