Chapter 2 - THE PHOTOGRAPH IN THE DRAWER
Vanessa crossed the room and reached for the photograph.
Evelyn held it against her chest.
“That belongs to me.”
“I was only going to put it away.”
“You were going to take it.”
Daniel stood.
“Why does this picture bother you?”
“It doesn’t.”
“Then why are your hands shaking?”
Vanessa looked down as though surprised to find that they were.
“I’m exhausted, Daniel. I’ve been managing the house, your mother’s appointments, her medication, the bills, everything.”
“I never asked you to manage her bills.”
“Someone had to.”
“No. Someone chose to.”
Vanessa’s eyes narrowed.
Evelyn slipped the photograph into the drawer of her bedside table.
Daniel walked Vanessa into the hallway and closed the bedroom door behind them.
“I want to see every financial document you’ve handled for Mom.”
Vanessa folded the towels against her chest.
“Are you accusing me of something?”
“I’m asking a question.”
“You sound exactly like her.”
“What does that mean?”
“She has spent months filling your head with suspicion.”
Daniel stared at his wife.
“My mother barely talks to me when you are in the room.”
Vanessa’s expression softened instantly.
“That is because she resents me.”
“For what?”
“For replacing her.”
Daniel almost laughed.
“You didn’t replace her. You are my wife. She is my mother.”
“She doesn’t see it that way.”
“No, Vanessa. You don’t.”
He left her in the hallway and went downstairs.
By evening, Vanessa had become warm and apologetic. She made Daniel’s favorite meal, opened an expensive bottle of wine, and spoke gently to Evelyn.
The performance was so complete that Daniel nearly questioned his instincts.
Nearly.
At dinner, Evelyn reached for her water and knocked over the glass.
Vanessa caught it before it spilled.
“Careful,” she said.
Evelyn flinched as though expecting to be struck.
Daniel saw it.
Vanessa saw him see it.
The rest of dinner passed in silence.
At eleven, Daniel pretended to go to bed. When Vanessa entered the bathroom, he slipped out and went to his mother’s room.
Evelyn was awake.
“I need the photograph,” he whispered.
She pointed toward the drawer.
It was empty.
Daniel searched beneath the books, inside the wardrobe, and behind the framed pictures. The photograph was gone.
“Did Vanessa come back?”
Evelyn nodded.
“When?”
“While you were downstairs.”
“What did she say?”
“She asked where the original was.”
“The original photograph?”
Evelyn looked confused for only a moment.
Then she shook her head.
“The original letter.”
“What letter?”
Her eyes moved toward the air vent above the wardrobe.
Daniel pulled a chair across the carpet and removed the vent cover. Inside, beneath a layer of dust, he found a thin envelope sealed with yellowed tape.
His name was written across the front in Jonathan Mercer’s handwriting.
Daniel had seen that handwriting only a few times, on birthday cards stored in an old box.
He sat on the edge of the bed and opened the envelope.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Daniel,
If you are reading this, the story they told you has already replaced the truth.
Do not blame your mother.
Do not trust the accident report.
Find the photograph taken at Lake Marrow.
The man standing beside us knows what happened.
Before Daniel could read the next line, footsteps approached in the hallway.
He folded the letter and placed it inside his shirt.
The door opened.
Vanessa stood there.
She looked at the chair beneath the vent and then at the open drawer.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking the air vent.”
“At midnight?”
“It’s making a noise.”
Vanessa looked at Evelyn.
Evelyn stared at the blanket.
“I’ll call someone tomorrow,” Vanessa said.
Daniel stepped around her.
As he passed, she touched his chest.
Her fingertips stopped directly above the hidden letter.
For one terrible second, neither of them moved.
Then Vanessa smiled.
“Come to bed.”
Daniel nodded.
In their bedroom, he waited until Vanessa fell asleep before reading the rest of the letter in the bathroom.
The final lines were written with heavier pressure.
If Marcus Vale is still alive, he will try to find the key.
Your mother knows where it is, but she may never remember until she sees the blue room again.
Never let them sell the house.
The walls are holding more than memories.
Daniel read the name again.
Marcus Vale.
May you like
He searched it on his phone.
The first result was a photograph of a respected property developer standing at a charity event beside Vanessa.
