Chapter 5 - VANESSA’S OFFER
Arthur led Emily through the kitchen and opened a narrow door hidden behind a cabinet.
“Stay inside,” he whispered.
The passage beyond was dark and smelled of dust. Emily squeezed into the space as Arthur closed the panel.
She heard him walk toward the front door.
Vanessa knocked again.
“Arthur, we do not have time for this.”
The door opened.
“You should not be here,” Arthur said.
“Neither should Emily.”
“She is not here.”
Vanessa laughed softly.
“Daniel may believe you are clever, but I know every property owned by the trust. Your little cottage has three exits, two hidden rooms, and a cellar tunnel that collapsed in 1998.”
Emily pressed her ear to the panel.
“Why did you come alone?” Arthur asked.
“Because I want to prevent Daniel from making another irreversible mistake.”
“Like Laura?”
A silence followed.
Then Vanessa said, “Laura made her own choices.”
“Did she choose to disappear?”
“I did not come to discuss her.”
“You came for Emily.”
“I came to offer Emily a way out.”
Emily’s pulse quickened.
“Speak,” Arthur said.
Vanessa walked farther into the cottage. Emily heard the soft movement of her shoes across the floor.
“Daniel’s behavior is becoming unpredictable. The review date is approaching, and he believes Emily intends to leave him.”
“She does.”
“That would be dangerous for everyone.”
“You mean expensive.”
“I mean dangerous.”
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“If Emily returns to Bellweather House, signs the household confirmation, and remains married to Daniel until the review is complete, I will transfer five million dollars to an account in her name.”
Arthur did not answer.
“She can leave immediately afterward,” Vanessa continued. “She will never see us again.”
“You expect her to trust you?”
“No. I expect her to understand that Daniel will not let her leave with nothing.”
Emily felt anger rise through her fear.
She pushed open the hidden panel.
Arthur turned.
Vanessa looked unsurprised.
Emily stepped into the room.
“What happens if I refuse?”
Vanessa removed her gloves.
“Daniel will report that you stole confidential company information.”
“I didn’t.”
“He has footage of you entering the basement.”
“After he secretly recorded me for months.”
“Footage can be interpreted in different ways.”
“You mean edited.”
“I mean presented.”
Emily stared at her.
“Where is Laura?”
For the first time, Vanessa’s composure weakened.
“She is dead.”
Arthur moved sharply.
“You told me you didn’t know.”
“I said she made her own choices.”
“How did she die?” Emily asked.
Vanessa looked toward the dark window.
“She drove away during a storm. Her car left the road.”
“Then why was her body never found?”
“The lake is deep.”
“Did Daniel cause the crash?”
“No.”
“Did you?”
Vanessa’s eyes returned to Emily.
“I tried to stop her from destroying all of us.”
Arthur’s face hardened.
“What did Laura discover?”
“She discovered the truth too early.”
“What truth?”
Vanessa walked to the table and placed a flash drive beside Emily’s cup.
“This contains copies of the household agreement, the trust rules, and several recordings Daniel believes were deleted.”
“Why give them to me?”
“Because my brother is no longer following the plan.”
“What plan?”
Vanessa ignored the question.
“Daniel was supposed to persuade you. He was never supposed to hurt you.”
“You watched him do it.”
“I watched him lose control.”
“And did nothing.”
“I have spent my entire life cleaning up Daniel’s mistakes.”
Vanessa’s voice remained quiet, but something beneath it sounded exhausted.
“You think I am the monster because that is what he needs you to believe.”
Emily looked at the flash drive.
“Are you saying Daniel planned everything alone?”
“No. I helped him.”
The honesty was more disturbing than a denial.
“I helped arrange the marriage. I prepared the documents. I monitored your financial situation and recommended you as the most suitable candidate.”
“Suitable?”
“No property. Limited savings. A mother with medical debt. No powerful relatives.”
Emily felt as though the room had tilted.
“You studied my life.”
“For nearly a year.”
“I met Daniel six months before the wedding.”
“He noticed you long before that.”
Emily remembered the charity dinner, the spilled glass, the apparently accidental meeting.
None of it had been accidental.
Vanessa pushed the flash drive closer.
“But there is one thing Daniel does not know.”
“What?”
“You were not selected only because you were vulnerable.”
Vanessa looked directly at her.
“You were selected because of your father.”
Emily’s throat tightened.
“I never knew my father.”
“Daniel’s mother did.”
Arthur went pale.
“Vanessa,” he warned.
“She deserves the truth.”
“What does my father have to do with Bellweather House?” Emily asked.
Vanessa glanced toward the window.
A second pair of headlights appeared beyond the trees.
This vehicle moved faster.
Vanessa put on her gloves.
“Daniel followed me.”
Arthur reached for the flash drive, but Vanessa covered it with her hand.
“Emily must decide now.”
“Decide what?” Emily asked.
“Whether she wants to escape Daniel,” Vanessa said, “or take everything he believes belongs to him.”
The approaching engine stopped outside.
A door slammed.
May you like
Daniel shouted from the darkness.
“Emily!”
