Chapter 7 - THE BRIDE’S SECOND FACE
Vanessa was found before midnight.
A groundskeeper discovered her near the abandoned chapel at the edge of the Vale estate. She had removed her wedding gown and changed into clothes hidden beneath the chapel floor.
She did not resist arrest.
She did not ask for her father.
She asked to speak with Lucas.
Alone.
By then, police from another district had taken control of the investigation. Detective Reed was placed under guard at a secure hospital after suffering a concussion during the struggle.
The wedding guests had been sent home. Reporters gathered outside the gates. News helicopters circled above the estate.
Lucas sat across from Vanessa in the mansion’s old library.
She wore black trousers, a gray sweater, and no makeup. Without the tiara and gown, she looked younger and more tired.
Two officers waited outside the closed doors.
Lucas placed the photograph on the table.
“You met Grace two weeks ago.”
Vanessa looked at it.
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“She chose the place. She arrived in a hired car. She left before I did.”
“Why were you meeting her?”
“To receive instructions.”
Lucas stared at her.
“You were working for Grace.”
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“Sometimes.”
“You locked Lily in a wardrobe.”
“I know.”
“You hurt her.”
“I know.”
“Grace told you to do that?”
Vanessa looked up sharply.
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because I panicked.”
“That is not an answer.”
“She was about to tell one of the bridesmaids about the woman who visited her bedroom. If anyone heard Grace was alive, the entire plan would collapse.”
“So you terrified a child to protect a plan.”
“I was trying to move her away from the cameras and guests.”
“You put her inside the one place Grace had prepared.”
“I didn’t know the wardrobe contained a recording system.”
“Grace’s message predicted you would hide Lily there.”
Vanessa’s face tightened.
“Then she used both of us.”
Lucas leaned forward.
“What was the plan?”
Vanessa looked toward the doors.
“To get Reed into the east tower.”
“Why?”
“Because the tower could only be opened with two things. Reed’s key and a living Vale family member inside the house.”
“What does that mean?”
“The security system recognizes bloodline access through sensors built into the door.”
“That technology did not exist when the tower was sealed.”
“The system was installed later.”
“By whom?”
“Grace.”
Lucas thought about the cameras, the hidden speaker, the automated recordings.
“She manipulated the entire wedding.”
Vanessa nodded.
“She knew Reed would come if her voice played publicly. She knew he would believe the tower contained the original files.”
“And the metal case?”
“Decoy evidence.”
“The photographs of Grace?”
“Real.”
Lucas’s anger returned.
“You knew she was alive while you shared my home. While you let me grieve.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Grace believed you were being watched. Anyone close to you had to appear loyal to the network.”
“So you pretended to love me.”
Vanessa said nothing.
The silence hurt more than he expected.
“Was any of it real?” Lucas asked.
Her eyes lowered.
“That was not supposed to matter.”
“But did it?”
Vanessa’s voice broke for the first time.
“Yes.”
Lucas stood and walked to the window.
Outside, floodlights moved across the wet gardens where the wedding chairs still stood in perfect rows. White flowers bent beneath the rain.
“What happened at Blackwater Bridge?”
Vanessa came closer but remained on the opposite side of the table.
“My father ordered Reed to stop Grace’s car. Reed was supposed to frighten her and recover a drive. Grace fought back. The car went through the barrier.”
“And then?”
“Margaret found her at the Bellweather Hotel.”
“I know that.”
“No, you know what Margaret told you.”
Lucas turned.
Vanessa’s expression was serious.
“Margaret did not go there alone.”
“Who was with her?”
“Adrian.”
Lucas felt the floor shift beneath him.
“My brother?”
“He was twenty-three and drowning in gambling debt. Charles Crowe had been paying him for information.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Grace believed Adrian revealed the hotel location.”
“Then why is he helping me?”
“Maybe he regrets it.”
“Or maybe you are trying to divide us.”
Vanessa reached into her pocket.
The officers had searched her, but she removed no weapon.
Instead, she placed a small brass key on the table.
“Room 17,” she said.
“The Bellweather Hotel?”
“Yes.”
“What will I find there?”
“The part of Grace’s message Margaret never heard.”
Lucas picked up the key.
Vanessa moved closer.
“Do not tell Adrian you are going.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn’t.”
She looked toward the library doors.
“But you should ask yourself why your brother knew exactly how to open Grace’s files in the hidden chamber.”
“He watched me enter the password.”
“No. Before that. He knew which floorboard Lily had opened.”
Lucas remembered.
Adrian had gone directly to the loose panel.
At the time, Lucas had been too shocked to notice.
Vanessa whispered, “Grace did not disappear because she feared Samuel Reed.”
“Then who did she fear?”
May you like
Vanessa looked him in the eyes.
“She feared the person sleeping in your house after she was gone.”
