Chapter 5 - the blue file
Mrs. Bell found the spare key inside a kitchen drawer.
By the time she unlocked the service cupboard, Ethan was less than ten minutes from the house.
Sophie sat in the darkness with her knees pulled against her chest.
She was not injured, but she was shaking so badly Mrs. Bell could barely lift her.
The cupboard was narrow and lined with old wooden panels. It had once provided access to wiring and water pipes before the house was renovated.
Ethan had believed the space was empty.
Sophie had found something else.
She held a blue file against her chest.
Mrs. Bell carried her into the living room and wrapped her in a blanket.
“Where is Mrs. Mercer?” she asked.
Sophie pointed toward the back garden.
“She left with the man.”
“What man?”
“The one with no face.”
Mrs. Bell called the police.
Before she could describe the situation, Vanessa’s car entered the driveway.
Vanessa came through the front door carrying two grocery bags.
She stopped when she saw Sophie on the sofa.
“What happened?”
Mrs. Bell stood between them.
“Why was this child locked in the cupboard?”
Vanessa’s face showed convincing confusion.
“Locked?”
“You heard me.”
“I left Sophie in her room.”
“She was beneath the stairs.”
Vanessa set down the groceries.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
She moved toward Sophie.
The child screamed.
It was not loud, but the raw fear in it stopped everyone.
Vanessa lifted her hands.
“Sophie, it’s me.”
“Don’t take the file.”
Vanessa’s eyes dropped to the blue folder.
Only for a second.
Mrs. Bell saw it.
“What is that?” she asked.
Vanessa’s expression changed.
“It belongs to Ethan.”
Sophie held it tighter.
“You said it was Mommy’s.”
Vanessa glanced toward the front windows.
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
Vanessa took another step.
Mrs. Bell blocked her.
“You stay where you are.”
Vanessa’s voice became cold.
“This is my house.”
“It is Mr. Mercer’s house.”
“I am his wife.”
“And she is his daughter.”
The two women stared at each other.
Then Vanessa smiled.
“You’ve always resented me.”
Mrs. Bell did not move.
“I have worked for this family since Sophie was born.”
“Which means you are far too emotionally involved.”
Vanessa removed her phone.
“I’m calling Ethan.”
“You told him Sophie was in the bath.”
For the first time, Vanessa lost control of her face.
Mrs. Bell continued.
“He told me.”
Vanessa looked at Sophie again.
The blue file remained pressed against the child’s chest.
Vanessa stepped back.
“I made a mistake. I thought she was upstairs.”
“You also made a mistake when you locked that door.”
“I did not lock anything.”
A siren sounded in the distance.
Vanessa’s eyes widened.
“You called the police?”
Mrs. Bell did not answer.
Vanessa grabbed her car keys from the table.
Sophie began to cry.
“She’s going to get him.”
“Get who?” Mrs. Bell asked.
Vanessa hurried toward the garage.
Before she reached it, Ethan entered through the front door.
He saw Sophie on the sofa and crossed the room in seconds.
“Soph.”
She threw herself into his arms.
He held her tightly.
“I’m here.”
Vanessa stopped near the kitchen.
Ethan looked at her over Sophie’s shoulder.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Vanessa said. “Mrs. Bell found her hiding.”
“Locked inside the service cupboard.”
“I didn’t put her there.”
Sophie lifted her face.
“Yes, you did.”
Vanessa’s eyes filled with tears.
“Ethan, she is confused.”
Ethan carried Sophie to the sofa.
“Why were the cameras disabled?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why did you tell me she was taking a bath?”
“I thought she was.”
“You thought our four-year-old daughter was alone in a bathtub?”
Vanessa flinched at the word our.
Ethan noticed.
She recovered quickly.
“I had a headache. I went to the pharmacy.”
“With a man?”
Vanessa stared at Sophie.
“There was no man.”
Sophie held up the blue file.
“He wanted this.”
Ethan reached for it.
Vanessa moved forward.
“Don’t open that.”
The room went silent.
Vanessa stopped.
Ethan’s voice lowered.
“You just said you didn’t know what it was.”
Vanessa looked toward the windows.
The approaching sirens grew louder.
Then she began crying.
“It contains photographs from Claire’s accident.”
Ethan’s hand froze.
“How would you know that?”
Vanessa pressed both hands against her mouth, as though she had accidentally revealed something painful.
“Claire gave it to me.”
Ethan stared at her.
“You told me you never met Claire.”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“Because she made me promise.”
Sophie shook her head.
“Mommy didn’t know you.”
Vanessa’s tears continued.
“She did.”
Ethan opened the file.
The first page contained a photograph of Claire standing beside a black sedan outside Halcyon Trust.
Adrian Hale stood beside her.
On the back, someone had written a date.
It was three days before Adrian disappeared.
Beneath the photograph lay copies of bank transfers, insurance records and a handwritten note.
Ethan recognized Claire’s writing.
If anything happens to me, do not trust the woman calling herself Vanessa Hale.
The police arrived as Ethan read the final line.
When he looked up, Vanessa was no longer crying.
She was staring at Sophie.
May you like
Not with anger.
With the expression of someone who had just realized a witness had survived.
