Chapter 5 - Someone Entered the House Without Opening a Door)
Police searched Rebecca's property.
No intruder was found.
The cream glove went into an evidence bag.
Rebecca insisted she had locked every window.
Daniel walked around the exterior twice.
Then he noticed scratches near a basement vent.
"Whoever came in didn't use the window."
Adrian followed him downstairs.
Behind shelves of storage boxes was an old service corridor built when the house belonged to Rebecca and Adrian's grandparents.
The narrow passage connected the basement to a garden access door.
Rebecca had forgotten it existed.
The lock had been forced.
Adrian stared at the broken metal.
"Vanessa knew about this?"
Rebecca shook her head.
"I never told her."
Daniel crouched.
"Maybe she wasn't the one who entered."
Adrian looked at the glove.
"Then someone wants us to think she was."
That possibility was worse.
Vanessa called Adrian at 11:43.
He put the phone on speaker.
"Where are you?"
Her voice was calm.
"My sister's house."
"Did you come to Rebecca's?"
"No."
"Someone left your glove in Lily's room."
Silence.
Then Vanessa laughed once.
"You finally understand."
"Understand what?"
"That you have no idea what's happening."
Adrian clenched the phone.
"Stay away from Lily."
"I've been trying to tell you I'm not your biggest problem."
"You locked a baby in a kennel."
Another silence.
When Vanessa spoke again, the arrogance had disappeared.
"I lost control."
"You abused my daughter."
"I know what you saw."
"You think there's an explanation?"
"No."
That answer surprised him.
Vanessa sounded tired.
Almost defeated.
"But Claire started something before she died. I got trapped in it."
Daniel leaned toward the phone.
"Ask her about Graham Voss."
Adrian did.
Vanessa went silent.
"Who told you that name?"
"Answer me."
"Adrian, listen carefully. Do not trust Daniel."
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
Vanessa continued.
"Your wife learned that too late."
Adrian looked at Daniel.
"Why?"
"You think Daniel disappeared because people wanted him dead?"
Vanessa said.
"He disappeared because people wanted him arrested."
Daniel stepped toward the phone.
"She's lying."
Vanessa heard him.
Her breathing changed.
"He's there."
"Yes."
"Adrian, get Lily out of that house."
Daniel said, "Ask her why she was with Voss before Claire's crash."
Vanessa shouted:
"Ask Daniel what happened in Baltimore."
The same phrase Claire had written.
Adrian looked at Daniel.
Daniel's face had gone pale.
Vanessa continued:
"Claire discovered what her brother did. She was going to expose him."
Daniel ended the call.
Adrian stared.
"Why did you do that?"
"Because she's manipulating you."
"What happened in Baltimore?"
Daniel said nothing.
Adrian stepped closer.
"My dead wife specifically told me to ask you."
Rebecca moved between them.
"Daniel."
He finally spoke.
"Fourteen years ago, I worked on an investigation involving missing trust funds."
"And?"
"I moved money."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"Stole it?"
"No. I redirected funds to expose accounts."
"Without authorization?"
"Yes."
"How much?"
"Eight million."
Rebecca stared.
Daniel continued.
"I thought I could prove the laundering network existed. Instead, the money disappeared after I moved it."
"Meaning?"
"Someone inside my team stole it."
"And you ran."
"I became the obvious suspect."
Adrian finally understood why Claire demanded the truth.
"You lied to your sister."
"For years."
"Then why should I trust you now?"
Daniel looked toward Lily's room.
"You shouldn't."
The answer was unexpectedly honest.
"You should verify everything."
Adrian took the brass key from the table.
"I intend to."
They returned to the Mercer villa that afternoon with police.
Claire's letter said something was beneath the house.
The villa had a basement, but Adrian knew every room.
Or believed he did.
Daniel examined architectural plans.
Claire had been an architect before Lily was born.
Adrian's own company renovated the villa six years earlier.
There should have been no hidden space.
Then Adrian remembered something.
Claire had insisted they preserve the original wine cellar wall.
At the time, she claimed it had historical value.
Adrian walked downstairs.
The basement smelled of stone and cedar.
He moved a wine rack.
Behind it was a section of brick.
Daniel knocked against the wall.
Hollow.
Rebecca whispered:
"You've lived here six years."
"I know."
Adrian pressed along the mortar.
Nothing.
Then he saw a small keyhole hidden beneath a decorative plate.
The brass key fit.
The wall released.
Behind it was a narrow steel door.
Adrian opened it.
A staircase descended into darkness.
At the bottom stood a room Adrian had never seen.
Metal cabinets lined the walls.
A desk sat in the center.
And covering one entire wall were photographs.
Claire.
Vanessa.
Graham Voss.
Daniel.
Martin.
Elena.
Adrian.
Even Lily.
Adrian approached slowly.
A photograph of Lily had been taken through the nursery window.
May you like
Written beneath it were three words.
FINAL BENEFICIARY CONFIRMED.
