Chapter 7: Someone Was Coming to Destroy the Evidence
“Who is coming to my house?”” I demanded.
Officer Daniels spoke quickly.
“We don't have a confirmed identity yet. The foundation director received a message claiming someone would retrieve materials related to the scholarship dispute. She contacted us because she believes it may be connected to the threats.””
I looked at the receipt on Vanessa's desk.
“Do you think it's my wife?””
“We're not making that assumption. Listen carefully, Mr. Bennett.
Don't touch anything else in the study. Don't confront anyone who arrives. If you believe someone is attempting to enter your property, call emergency services immediately.””
I ended the call and went straight to the kitchen.
Zoria was sitting at the table with Hannah. Two untouched mugs of tea sat between them, and Zoria had finally taken the college sweatshirts out of their cardboard box.
She had spread them across the table as if she were reminding herself that her future still existed.
“Dad?”” she asked when she saw my face.
“What's wrong?””
I closed the kitchen door.
“Someone may be coming here tonight to collect evidence connected to the scholarship investigation.””
Hannah went pale.
“Mom?””
“I don't know.””
“But you think it could be her.””
I couldn't lie to them.
“I think we need to be careful.””
Zoria stood.
“Should we leave?””
“No. We're not going to panic, and we're not going to investigate this ourselves. I'm calling the police again, and we're staying together until they tell us what to do.””
Hannah looked down at her hands.
“There's something I haven't told you.””
I turned toward her.
“What is it?””
“Mom asked me to go into the study tomorrow morning and delete something from her computer.””
Zoria stopped moving.
“What?””
Hannah's voice shook.
“She said there were old scholarship documents mixed in with her work files. She told me to clear them out before anyone came asking questions.””
“When did she tell you this?”” I asked.
“Yesterday. Before the officer arrived.””
“Did you agree?””
Hannah shook her head.
“I said I'd think about it. She told me I owed her because she'd spent so much money helping me.””
I pulled out a chair.
“Did she tell you which files?””
“No. But she said the foundation's director had a copy of something that could ruin all of us.””
That explained the note beside Rebecca Shaw's name.
It also made me wonder whether Vanessa had been planning to destroy evidence before the police ever knocked on our door.
I called Officer Daniels again and gave him Hannah's statement. He told us not to access Vanessa's computer or attempt to recover deleted files ourselves.
Then he asked whether we had received any direct threats.
“Not yet,” I replied.
“Keep your doors locked. If anyone arrives, don't open the door until you've verified who they are. We'll have an officer check the area.””
After I hung up, I checked every exterior door and turned on the porch light.
At 9:46 p.m., headlights swept across the living room wall.
A dark SUV pulled into our driveway.
Hannah rose so quickly that her chair tipped backward.
“That's Mom's car.””
I moved to the window and looked through the curtains.
It was Vanessa's SUV.
She remained behind the steering wheel for several seconds, staring at the house. Then she opened the door and stepped out, carrying a large black bag.
Zoria whispered, “Dad, what is she doing?””
“I don't know.””
Vanessa walked toward the porch.
Then she stopped and looked directly at the window.
She knew we were watching.
My phone vibrated.
A text from Vanessa appeared on the screen.
Open the door. We need to talk before the police make everything worse.
I didn't answer.
A second message arrived.
I know you found the receipt. Don't make a mistake you can't undo.
I showed the screen to Hannah.
She covered her mouth.
“She knows you found it.””
Vanessa knocked.
Three firm knocks, followed by two more.
“Marcus!”” she called through the door.
“I know you're in there.””
I stayed back.
“Go home, Vanessa.””
“We need to discuss this privately.””
“There's nothing private left to discuss.””
Her voice sharpened.
“You have no idea what Rebecca Shaw is planning to do to our family.””
I looked at Zoria.
She was standing beside the hallway, clutching the sweatshirt she had bought for college.
I turned back toward the door.
“Then explain it to the police.””
Vanessa struck the door with the flat of her hand.
“You think those people care about your daughter? They care about protecting their foundation. They'll sacrifice her just as easily as I tried to help Hannah.””
Hannah flinched.
Vanessa heard the movement inside.
“Hannah, sweetheart, come talk to me.””
Hannah stepped forward, but I gently touched her shoulder.
She stopped.
“No,” she called.
“Not until you tell us the truth.””
For a moment, there was silence.
Then Vanessa said something I never expected to hear.
“I didn't send the threat.””
Hannah stared at the door.
“Then who did?””
“I tried to stop it from going further.””
My grip tightened around my phone.
“Vanessa, what does that mean?””
She lowered her voice.
“The first email wasn't supposed to threaten anyone. It was supposed to make the foundation reconsider the award. Someone changed the wording after I sent it.””
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
I heard something scrape against the porch.
Then a sharp metallic click.
I stepped away from the door.
“Vanessa, what are you doing?””
“I'm getting the files I left inside.””
“You're not coming in.””
She rattled the handle.
Hannah began crying.
“Mom, stop!””
Vanessa hit the door again.
“Marcus, if you don't let me in, you'll never understand what really happened!””
A siren sounded somewhere down the street.
Vanessa froze.
She looked toward the road, then back at the door.
For a moment, I thought she might leave.
Instead, she leaned close to the glass.
“You have until tomorrow morning,” she whispered.
“After that, someone else will decide what happens to Zoria.””
She hurried back to her SUV and drove away just as a police cruiser turned into the neighborhood.
Officer Daniels called moments later.
“We saw the vehicle leave your property. Are you and the girls safe?””
“Yes.””
“Did Mrs. Bennett attempt to enter the house?””
“She tried the handle. She also said someone else changed the wording of the threatening email.””
There was a pause.
“Did she identify that person?””
“No.””
“Stay inside. An officer will come by to document what happened.””
After I ended the call, I turned toward the girls.
Hannah was crying into her hands.
Zoria sat beside her, rubbing her back.
I walked to the front window and watched the empty road.
Vanessa had claimed she was trying to stop something.
But if she hadn't written the threat, why had she lied about everything else?
And why had she been so desperate to retrieve the files?
My phone vibrated again.
This time, the message came from an unknown number.
Your wife is telling the truth about one thing. She didn't write the original threat.
A second message appeared before I could respond.
But she knows who did.
Then came a photograph of the note I had found in Vanessa's study.
The handwriting was identical.
Beneath Rebecca Shaw's name, someone had added a new line.
Ask Hannah what happened at the foundation interview.
I turned slowly toward the kitchen.
Hannah had stopped crying.
She was staring at the photograph on my phone, her face drained of color.
“Dad,” she whispered, “I never told Mom about that interview.””
I felt the room grow cold.
“What happened at the interview, Hannah?””
May you like
She looked at Zoria, then back at me.
“Someone offered me the scholarship before the committee announced the winner.””
