Chapter 8: The Daughter Who Escaped Vanessa
Rachel agreed to meet us the following afternoon.
Dad had arranged for Grandma to stay with me while the hospital completed my treatment. He also contacted the attorney and requested that all documents connected to my inheritance be secured.
But I couldn't stop thinking about Rachel's words.
She's already done this to another family.
When Rachel arrived, she looked nothing like the person I'd imagined.
She wore jeans, a gray sweater, and carried a worn leather folder.
Her eyes immediately found mine.
"Emily?""
I nodded.
She approached slowly.
"Your mother was a good woman.""
My throat tightened.
"You knew her?""
"Only briefly. She contacted me before she died.""
Dad stood.
"Why didn't you contact me?""
Rachel looked down at her folder.
"Because I was afraid.""
"Of Vanessa?""
She nodded.
"She threatened me after I started asking questions about my father's estate.""
We sat around a small table in the hospital family room.
Rachel placed several documents in front of us.
"My father owned a construction company. When he died, he left everything to me in a trust.""
Dad studied the first document.
"What happened to the money?""
"Vanessa became my legal guardian. She said she would manage everything until I turned eighteen.""
Rachel gave a bitter laugh.
"By the time I turned eighteen, most of it was gone.""
"How much?"" Dad asked.
"Almost three hundred thousand dollars.""
I stared at her.
"She stole your inheritance, too?""
Rachel nodded.
"She used fake authorization forms. Some had my signature. Others had my father's.""
Dad looked at the documents again.
"Did you report it?""
"I tried.""
Rachel opened the folder and removed a photograph.
It showed a younger Vanessa standing beside a man in a dark suit.
Behind them was a large house.
"My father had just died. Vanessa told everyone the fire was an electrical accident. But the insurance investigator found that the electrical system had been inspected only two weeks earlier.""
Dad frowned.
"What did the investigator discover?""
"That the fire started in the study.""
Rachel placed another paper on the table.
"Someone had removed several financial documents before the fire. Documents showing that my father had discovered money missing from his business accounts.""
I felt sick.
"Was Vanessa responsible?""
Rachel shook her head.
"I can't prove that. The investigation never established that she started the fire. But I know she lied about several things.""
Dad rubbed his forehead.
"Why did you withdraw your complaint?""
Rachel looked directly at me.
"Because she sent me a photograph of my younger brother leaving school.""
Dad went still.
"You had a brother?""
"My half-brother. He was nine at the time.""
Her voice cracked.
"She said accidents happen. She said I should stop asking questions.""
Grandma covered her mouth.
Rachel continued.
"I left town. I thought that would end it.""
She turned toward me.
"Then I saw your mother's obituary.""
I looked down.
"How did you know about Vanessa?""
"Your mother contacted me two months before she died. She told me Vanessa had appeared in her life again.""
Dad leaned forward.
"What exactly did Laura say?""
Rachel opened the folder and removed a handwritten letter.
"She said she had found evidence that Vanessa was using another identity.""
Dad read the letter.
Then he looked up.
"Why didn't Laura tell me?""
Rachel's eyes softened.
"She wanted to. But she was worried about what would happen if Vanessa realized how much she knew.""
I remembered the last few months of my mother's life.
The quiet conversations.
The locked desk.
The way she sometimes watched Vanessa from across the kitchen.
I had thought she was simply tired.
Now I wondered how much fear she had been hiding.
Rachel pointed to a particular document.
"This is what your mother asked me to find.""
It was a property record.
The address was familiar.
Our house.
Dad leaned closer.
"Why is my wife's name on this document?""
Rachel explained.
"Because Laura's father had placed the property into a protected family trust before he died. Laura later transferred the beneficial interest to Emily.""
Dad stared.
"Emily owns the house?""
Rachel nodded.
"Yes. Your mother arranged it so the property couldn't be sold without the trustee's approval.""
I looked at Dad.
"Does that mean Vanessa can't sell it?""
"Not without authorization," Rachel replied.
Dad exhaled.
"Then how did she submit the application?""
Rachel opened another envelope.
"That's the part you need to understand.""
Inside was a copy of a document bearing my father's signature.
But this time, something was different.
The signature appeared to be genuine.
Dad stared at it.
"I didn't sign this.""
Rachel pointed to the date.
"Look at where it was witnessed.""
Dad read the name.
Then he stood abruptly.
"I know this person.""
"Who?"" Grandma asked.
Dad's voice became cold.
"Someone who worked for me.""
Rachel nodded.
"Vanessa didn't do everything alone. She had help.""
My stomach tightened.
"Who helped her?""
Dad looked at the signature beneath the witness statement.
Then he whispered a name.
"David.""
David was my father's business manager.
The man who had access to his office, financial records, and personal documents.
Dad reached for his phone.
Before he could dial, a message appeared.
It came from an unknown number.
There was a photograph attached.
It showed Vanessa standing outside our house.
Beside her was David.
And in his hand was a large brown envelope.
May you like
The message contained only one sentence:
*You have twenty-four hours to return what belongs to us, or Emily will learn what really happened to her mother.*
