Chapter 14 - Vanessa’s Price
Rebecca refused immediately.
“No.”
Adrian held up the note.
“She has the trust.”
“She claims she has it.”
“She sent Claire’s ring.”
“Which proves access to Claire’s property, not the trust.”
“She wants the memory card.”
“The police have it.”
“She may not know that.”
Rebecca paced.
“This is bait.”
“Obviously.”
“And you still want to go.”
“I want her talking.”
Detective Brooks wanted the same thing.
But legally.
Carefully.
The county prosecutor arranged a controlled meeting.
New Jersey permitted a participant to record a conversation without the other party’s consent.
Adrian would wear an audio device.
Police would be nearby.
No memory card would change hands.
The meeting location arrived through another message.
Claire’s lake house.
Rebecca almost laughed.
“She wants to control the terrain.”
Adrian replied, “Or destroy whatever is left there.”
Before he left, he visited Sophie.
He did not tell her where he was going.
But children noticed fear.
“You’re doing something bad.”
“No.”
“Dangerous?”
Adrian hesitated.
“A little.”
Sophie frowned.
“You always say not to lie.”
He smiled sadly.
“You’re right. I’m meeting someone who knows things about Mommy.”
“Vanessa?”
He said nothing.
Sophie knew.
“Don’t go.”
“I have police helping.”
“She lies.”
“I know.”
“She makes people believe her.”
“I know that too.”
Sophie took his hand.
“Mommy said Vanessa gets mad when people stop being scared.”
Adrian absorbed that.
“When did she say that?”
“At the blue house.”
He leaned closer.
“Anything else?”
Sophie thought.
“She said if Vanessa ever asked where something was, I should say I forgot.”
Adrian’s heart stopped.
The straightener.
Tell me where it is.
Claire had prepared Sophie.
Not because Claire expected torture.
Because she knew Vanessa might search for evidence.
Adrian kissed Sophie’s forehead.
“You did exactly what Mommy taught you.”
For the first time since the attack, Sophie looked proud instead of frightened.
The lake house was dark when Adrian arrived.
Snow gathered along the roofline.
He entered alone.
The recording device beneath his shirt transmitted continuously.
Vanessa stood in the blue room.
She wore a black coat.
Claire’s real wedding ring was no longer on her finger.
“You came.”
“You knew I would.”
She smiled.
“You always come when a woman makes the problem feel personal.”
“Where’s the trust?”
“Where’s the card?”
“Safe.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Not with you?”
“Do I look stupid?”
Vanessa laughed softly.
“That question answers itself.”
Adrian let the insult pass.
“You tied Sophie down.”
“She was never supposed to be hurt.”
“You held a burning straightener against her face.”
“I wanted her scared.”
“She is five.”
“I know how old she is.”
The coldness of that sentence made the police listening outside shift into action posture.
Adrian remained still.
“Why did you need the card?”
“Because Claire stole information.”
“From whom?”
“Grant.”
“Information about Ravenstone?”
Vanessa hesitated.
Adrian pressed.
“Or the trust?”
“The trust was Claire’s little revenge fantasy.”
“She protected her daughter.”
“She punished you.”
“She didn’t trust me.”
“She hated that you loved me.”
Adrian looked at her.
“I didn’t love you when Claire was alive.”
Vanessa’s face changed.
“Yes, you did.”
“I kissed you once.”
“You chose me every day you defended me against her.”
That was harder to deny.
Vanessa stepped closer.
“She knew it too.”
“Did you kill her?”
Vanessa stopped.
The room became still.
“No.”
“Did Grant?”
“I didn’t see him cut anything.”
Adrian’s heart pounded.
He had not asked about cutting.
Only killing.
Vanessa realized her mistake.
Too late.
“You knew about the brake hose.”
She recovered.
“I heard about it later.”
“When?”
“After the crash.”
“From Grant?”
Silence.
Adrian stepped closer.
“You knew he had been under the hood.”
Vanessa whispered, “Grant said he was only scaring her.”
“By sabotaging her brakes?”
“He said the leak would trigger a warning.”
“But you had already asked the mechanic about the warning system.”
Vanessa stared.
Adrian saw it.
Truth.
“He told you to check whether Claire would be alerted.”
“I didn’t know what he planned.”
“You went back to Briar Automotive to ask about cameras.”
“To protect my brother.”
“After Claire died.”
Vanessa’s eyes filled.
“I panicked.”
“You helped cover it up.”
“I did not kill Claire.”
“No. You just helped Grant understand whether she’d know her brakes were failing.”
“I thought he wanted to delay her.”
Adrian’s voice shook with rage.
“Delay her?”
“Stop her from reaching you before the NorthStar meeting.”
“What meeting?”
Vanessa suddenly realized she had said too much.
Adrian pressed.
“What NorthStar meeting?”
She stepped backward.
“Give me the card.”
“Where is the trust?”
Vanessa pointed toward the ceiling.
“Three stars.”
Adrian looked up.
Sophie’s painted stars.
Three larger gold stars formed a triangle above the bed.
Adrian dragged a chair beneath them and pressed the center star.
A wooden panel clicked open.
Inside was a document envelope.
Claire’s third cache.
Adrian reached for it.
Vanessa pulled a lighter from her pocket.
Police surged toward the house.
Vanessa lit the flame.
“Touch it and I burn everything.”
Adrian froze.
She smiled.
Then a second door opened behind her.
Grant stepped out of the hidden passage.
He held a gun.
May you like
And he looked at his sister with pure fury.
“You talk too much.”
