Chapter 6 - Daniel’s Suspicion
Daniel never reached the final day of his conference.
During a meeting, his assistant entered and whispered that someone had repeatedly called the office asking for him.
It was Lila.
Daniel stepped into the corridor.
“Your wife dismissed me,” Lila said. “She took Mrs. Whitmore’s phone. Mr. Reeves told me to contact you directly.”
Daniel’s stomach tightened.
“Why didn’t my mother call me?”
“She couldn’t.”
Daniel tried calling Vanessa.
No answer.
He called the villa’s landline.
Disconnected.
He checked the home security application on his phone. Most cameras were offline, supposedly due to maintenance, but one exterior camera still operated near the garden gate.
The image showed Vanessa pushing Eleanor’s wheelchair toward the rose garden.
There was something bright in Vanessa’s hand.
Daniel enlarged the image.
Scissors.
He left the conference without explanation.
On the flight home, memories rearranged themselves.
His mother’s missing phone.
Margaret’s sudden dismissal.
Vanessa’s insistence on medical evaluations.
The bruised hedge where the wheelchair had nearly rolled away.
He remembered Eleanor trying to speak during dinner while Vanessa repeatedly interrupted.
He remembered choosing silence because he was tired.
Daniel felt sick.
His driver met him at the airport, but traffic stalled near the highway. Daniel abandoned the car two streets from the villa and ran the remaining distance.
He called Vanessa again.
This time she answered.
“Daniel, darling. How is Chicago?”
“I’m still in a meeting,” he lied. “How is my mother?”
A pause followed.
“She’s sleeping.”
Daniel could hear wind through the phone.
Then he heard his mother crying.
Vanessa ended the call.
Daniel reached the side gate.
It was locked.
May you like
He climbed over it, tearing the sleeve of his suit, and ran toward the garden.
A metallic snap echoed beyond the hedge.
