Chapter 9: The Woman Who Knew My Daughter Before Me
I read Emily's letter twice.
Vanessa had been watching our family before James introduced us.
That meant the relationship I'd believed was built on chance might have been carefully arranged from the beginning.
I sat on the concrete floor of the storage unit.
Daniel crouched beside me.
"Keep reading.""
I unfolded the remaining pages.
Michael, I know how much you want to believe people are good. That's one of the reasons I fell in love with you.
But you need to stop confusing kindness with loyalty.
James has been using the company to move money. Vanessa has been helping him. I don't know whether she understands everything he's planning, but she knows more than she admits.
I discovered that she had been asking questions about Lily's inheritance months before she met you.
Please don't let her become Lily's legal guardian.
My hands began to tremble.
Daniel took the letter and photographed each page.
"There's more," he said.
At the bottom, Emily had written another paragraph.
If James tells you I was planning to leave, don't believe him. I was preparing to take Lily somewhere safe until the investigation was finished. I intended to come back to you with proof.
I closed my eyes.
She hadn't wanted to abandon us.
She'd been trying to protect us.
I remembered the last argument we'd had.
It had been about James.
Emily had accused him of hiding company transactions. I'd defended my brother and told her she was becoming paranoid.
She'd looked at me for a long time.
Then she'd said, "One day, Michael, you'll understand why I was afraid.""
I'd walked away.
Those were the last serious words we exchanged.
I pressed the letter against my forehead.
"I'm sorry, Emily.""
Daniel remained quiet.
After a moment, he picked up the digital recorder.
"Let's see what's on this.""
He connected it to his laptop.
A file appeared.
The recording began with Emily's voice.
"Test. November seventeenth.""
Then another voice spoke.
A woman.
Vanessa.
"Emily, I don't want any trouble. I just want to know what you've found.""
Emily answered.
"Then stop asking questions about my daughter's trust fund.""
Vanessa laughed softly.
"You make it sound like I'm trying to steal from a child.""
"You're discussing guardianship arrangements with my brother. What else am I supposed to think?""
There was a pause.
Then Vanessa said something that made my blood run cold.
"James says Michael will eventually understand. He just needs the right woman beside him.""
Emily responded sharply.
"You're not the right woman.""
Vanessa's voice became colder.
"You don't get to decide that.""
"I decide who gets near my daughter.""
Then came the sound of a chair moving.
Vanessa spoke again.
"Do you know what happens to women who interfere with James's plans?""
The recording stopped.
I stared at the screen.
Daniel immediately saved a copy.
"That's evidence of a threat," he said.
I nodded.
But I was focused on something else.
Vanessa had met Emily.
Before I knew her.
I had believed Vanessa was a stranger who happened to understand the pain of a widowed father.
Now I wondered whether she'd approached me because she'd already studied my life.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Vanessa.
*Michael, please. I need to see you. There's something James doesn't know.*
I showed Daniel.
"Don't respond," he said.
Another message arrived.
*I know you found the storage unit. I can explain everything about Emily.*
Then a third.
*But you need to meet me before James gets to me.*
I stared at the messages.
"She's afraid of him.""
Daniel shook his head.
"Or she's trying to make you think she is.""
He was right.
But I needed to know what she knew.
We arranged a meeting at a police station, with Daniel and an investigator present.
Vanessa arrived twenty minutes later.
She wasn't wearing makeup.
Her hair was tied back, and her wedding dress had been replaced by jeans and a gray sweater.
For the first time, she looked less like the woman I'd almost married and more like someone who hadn't slept in days.
She sat across from me.
"Thank you for coming.""
"Don't thank me. Tell me why you knew Emily.""
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
"James introduced us.""
"When?""
"Three months before I met you.""
I leaned forward.
"Why?""
"He wanted me to understand your family.""
"Understand?""
"Your routines. Your finances. Lily's needs. Your relationship with Emily.""
I felt disgusted.
"You were studying us?""
She nodded.
"At first, I thought James was trying to help you find someone. He said you were lonely and needed a woman who could care for Lily.""
"And then?""
"Then he showed me the trust documents.""
I stared at her.
"He told you about my daughter's inheritance?""
"Yes.""
"Before you ever met her?""
Vanessa nodded again.
I pushed my chair backward.
"Why would you agree to that?""
She began crying.
"Because I was in debt. I owed money to people who weren't going to wait forever. James promised to pay everything off if I helped him.""
"How much?""
"Almost three hundred thousand dollars.""
I shook my head.
"So you sold yourself into a marriage?""
"I thought I could manage it.""
"Manage what?""
"James said you'd eventually sign the documents. He said after the adoption, he could access Lily's trust through the guardianship arrangement.""
I stared at her.
"And what about loving me?""
She looked up.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered, "Some of it was real.""
That answer hurt more than I expected.
I looked away.
"Tell me what happened to Emily.""
Vanessa's face changed.
"James told me he was only going to frighten her.""
"Frighten her how?""
"He said he needed the documents and wanted her to stop investigating.""
"Was he with her the morning she died?""
Vanessa nodded.
"He told me they argued in the car.""
My hands tightened.
"Did he tell you what happened?""
She looked toward the door.
Then she reached into her purse and removed a small folded photograph.
"Emily gave me this the last time we met.""
I unfolded it.
It showed a woman standing outside a hospital.
A nurse.
On the back, Emily had written:
*If anything happens to me, find Nurse Patricia Cole. She witnessed what James did.*
I looked at Vanessa.
"Why didn't you give this to the police?""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Because James told me Patricia was dead.""
"Was she?""
Vanessa shook her head.
"No.""
She leaned across the table and whispered:
"She's alive. And she's Lily's biological aunt.""
I stared at her.
"What?""
Vanessa swallowed.
"Michael, Emily had a sister. Her name was Patricia Cole. James made everyone believe she died years ago.""
My entire body went cold.
I had never heard of Emily having a sister.
Not once.
Vanessa looked directly into my eyes.
"And she's the only person who knows what really happened after the accident.""
Before I could ask another question, the door opened.
An investigator entered and handed Daniel a piece of paper.
Daniel read it.
His expression changed immediately.
"Michael, we have a problem.""
"What?""
He turned the paper toward me.
It was a hospital visitor log from the night Emily died.
And beside Patricia Cole's name was a handwritten note:
May you like
*Patient requested protection. Visitor refused access.*
The signature beneath it belonged to James Carter.
