Chapter 4 - What Emily Knew)
Rebecca Lane was found forty eight hours later.
Not at Hawthorne Behavioral Center.
She had never arrived there.
The transport company had falsified the destination record.
Michael traced the van through toll cameras to a small private clinic outside Albany.
Nathan went there with two attorneys who did not work for Leonard Vale.
Rebecca was sitting in a locked psychiatric observation room.
She was not restrained.
She was not unconscious.
But she was furious.
When Nathan entered, she stared at him for several seconds.
Then she began crying.
"You finally found me."
Nathan sat across from her.
"Why were you in my house?"
"Because I was trying to stop you from marrying Vanessa."
Nathan's face hardened.
"Why didn't you call me?"
"I did."
Nathan frowned.
"When?"
"Six times over the last month."
"I never received those calls."
Rebecca looked exhausted rather than surprised.
"Leonard controls your office communications."
Nathan felt sick.
"What proof did you have?"
Rebecca looked toward the attorney beside Nathan.
"Is he yours?"
"Yes."
"And not Leonard's?"
"No connection."
Rebecca took a breath.
"Emily came to me before she died."
Nathan had imagined hearing Emily's name thousands of times.
Nothing prepared him for this.
"What did she say?"
"She believed someone was stealing from the Whitmore Children's Foundation."
Nathan stared at her.
"That's impossible."
"It wasn't."
"Leonard oversees the audits."
"Exactly."
Nathan said nothing.
Rebecca continued.
"Emily found payments to consulting companies that didn't exist. She confronted Leonard."
Nathan's hands closed into fists.
"Why didn't she tell me?"
"She was going to. But she wanted evidence first."
Rebecca looked away.
"Then she started receiving threats."
Nathan could barely breathe.
"What kind?"
"Anonymous messages. Someone followed her. Once, she found Olivia's nursery window open in the middle of winter."
Nathan stood abruptly.
"Why did nobody tell me this?"
"Emily begged me not to. She thought if you confronted the wrong person too early, they might destroy everything."
Rebecca's eyes filled again.
"She died three days before she planned to give you the evidence."
Nathan walked toward the window.
He stared at the parking lot.
"Are you saying Leonard killed my wife?"
"I don't know."
Nathan turned.
"Then what do you know?"
Rebecca reached beneath the collar of her shirt.
A thin chain hung around her neck.
Attached to it was a tiny brass key.
"Emily gave me this."
Nathan stared at it.
"To what?"
"She didn't tell me. She only said if anything happened to her, I should give it to Olivia when Olivia was old enough."
Nathan walked closer.
"Why didn't you?"
"Because after Emily died, Leonard came to me."
Rebecca's voice shook.
"He knew about the key."
Nathan felt his stomach twist.
"He threatened you?"
"He told me that if I created problems, you would lose Olivia."
Nathan stared at her.
"How?"
"He said grief could make men unstable. He said there were doctors willing to confirm it."
Nathan thought about Hawthorne.
About forged medical paperwork.
About Olivia being transferred.
About the years Leonard had controlled pieces of his life.
Rebecca continued.
"I moved away. I was terrified. Then two months ago I saw Vanessa with Leonard."
"Where?"
"At a restaurant in Manhattan. They were arguing."
"What about?"
"I couldn't hear everything. But I heard Vanessa say Olivia's name."
Rebecca swallowed.
"That's when I realized they were still afraid of something Emily left behind."
Nathan looked at the key.
"Why come to the mansion?"
"Because Vanessa's wedding was the one place I knew you'd be."
Rebecca laughed bitterly.
"I should have gone straight to the police."
"Why didn't you?"
"Because Leonard found me first."
Nathan's attorney interrupted.
"How?"
Rebecca looked at Nathan.
"Olivia."
Nathan stopped breathing.
"Olivia found me in the blue room."
"She told Leonard?"
"No."
Rebecca shook her head.
"She tried to help me."
Nathan remembered his daughter's strange questions.
Rebecca continued.
"She heard Leonard outside the door. She told me to hide."
Nathan looked down.
"What happened?"
"Leonard came in anyway. Vanessa was with him."
Rebecca touched a bruise on her wrist.
"They said I had two choices. Leave quietly or be declared mentally unstable."
Nathan stared at her.
"And they chose for you."
Rebecca nodded.
Nathan reached for the brass key.
Rebecca closed her fingers around it.
"Wait."
"What?"
"Emily told me something else."
Nathan looked at her.
Rebecca's next words changed the investigation.
"She said the key was not meant for you."
Nathan frowned.
"Then who?"
May you like
Rebecca's voice softened.
"Olivia."
