Chapter 3 - The Woman in the Photograph
Lucas drove to Graham Voss’s office before sunrise.
Voss occupied the top floor of a glass building overlooking the city. At seventy-two, he had spent nearly four decades managing legal affairs for the Hale family. He had attended Lucas’s graduation, his first board meeting, Mara’s funeral, and every birthday Ellie had celebrated.
Lucas entered without an appointment.
Voss’s assistant tried to stop him.
He did not slow down.
Voss sat behind a wide mahogany desk, wearing a charcoal suit and the expression of a man who had expected the confrontation.
“You saw the email,” Voss said.
Lucas closed the office door.
“What custody transition?”
Voss removed his glasses.
“A poor choice of words.”
“Whose custody is transitioning?”
“No one’s, unless circumstances require it.”
“You arranged a psychological evaluation for Ellie.”
“Vanessa expressed concerns.”
“Vanessa is not her parent.”
“She will be tomorrow month.”
“The wedding is in three weeks.”
“Exactly. These matters should be addressed before the household changes.”
Lucas placed a printed copy of Schedule G on the desk.
“Did you add this?”
Voss looked down but did not touch the paper.
“You signed it.”
“I asked whether you added it.”
“I prepared the agreement according to the instructions provided.”
“Whose instructions?”
“Yours.”
Lucas leaned forward.
“If you forge one more answer, Graham, I will have every file you have handled for my family examined by criminal investigators.”
For the first time, Voss appeared unsettled.
“You are emotional.”
“My daughter’s medical records were fabricated.”
“The language was exaggerated to secure a prompt appointment.”
“By whom?”
Voss rose.
“You should ask your future wife.”
“I’m asking you.”
“Then ask yourself why Mara created a second guardianship plan before she died.”
The name struck the room like a bell.
Lucas stared at him.
“What second plan?”
Voss walked to a locked cabinet and removed a thin black folder.
He placed one photograph on the desk.
It showed Mara standing outside a small house. Her hair was longer than Lucas remembered. She was holding an infant wrapped in a yellow blanket.
Ellie.
Beside Mara stood a woman Lucas had never seen.
The woman’s face had been partially scratched away with a sharp object.
A date was printed on the back.
Three days before Mara’s fatal accident.
“Who is she?” Lucas asked.
Voss returned the photograph to the folder.
“I cannot discuss a sealed matter.”
“You brought it up.”
“To make you understand that Mara withheld things from you.”
“Mara is dead.”
Voss looked at him with an expression Lucas could not read.
“That is what the certificate says.”
Lucas moved around the desk.
Voss pressed a button beneath the edge. Two security officers appeared at the door.
Lucas stopped.
“You’ve known me since I was a child,” he said. “And now you’re calling security because I asked about my dead wife?”
“I’m protecting you from a decision you may regret.”
“The wedding?”
“Vanessa is trying to preserve what Mara nearly destroyed.”
Lucas glanced at the black folder.
“What did Mara destroy?”
Voss said nothing.
Lucas left, but not before taking a photograph of the reference number printed on the folder’s spine.
Outside the building, he called Claire.
“I need you to find everything connected to file M-17-44.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Where are you going?”
“Ashford Behavioral Center.”
“To cancel Ellie’s evaluation?”
“To find out who arranged it.”
When Lucas reached the parking garage, a woman wearing a gray coat stood beside his car.
She looked familiar.
Then he realized why.
She was the woman from Voss’s photograph.
The scratches had hidden her features, but not her eyes.
She stepped toward him.
“My name is Rebecca Shaw,” she said. “Mara told me to find you if anyone tried to declare Ellie unstable.”
Lucas stared at her.
“How did you know about the appointment?”
May you like
Rebecca glanced toward the security cameras.
“Because they used the same plan on Mara.”
