Chapter 4 - The Call Vanessa Never Expected)
Alexander left the acquisition meeting without explanation.
Ten executives watched him walk out.
Daniel followed.
Rebecca was waiting on a secure video call from her office.
Henry sat beside her.
Alexander stared at him.
"Henry?"
The driver looked exhausted.
"Sir."
"What happened?"
Rebecca held up a printed document.
"Did you fire Henry yesterday?"
Alexander frowned.
"No."
"You didn't send this?"
She turned the page toward the camera.
Alexander read the message.
"No."
Daniel leaned closer.
"That's your electronic signature."
"Not one I authorized."
Rebecca said, "Henry believes Vanessa sent it."
Alexander's expression changed.
Henry spoke.
"I don't want to accuse your wife without proof."
"Then tell me what you know."
Henry described everything.
The girls' silence.
The changed schedules.
The locked bedroom.
The attempted note.
Alexander listened without interrupting.
When Henry finished, Alexander stood motionless.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"I tried."
Alexander looked at Daniel.
Daniel immediately began searching through messages.
"There's no call note from Henry."
"I left one."
Rebecca said, "Someone may be intercepting communications."
Alexander's mind returned to Camera 7.
The old photograph.
The strange sound during his conversation with Vanessa.
He took out his phone.
"Call the school."
Daniel did.
The receptionist answered.
Daniel put the call on speaker.
"This is Daniel Rowe from Mr. Santillan's office. We need to confirm the attendance of Valerie, Camila, Regina, and Sophie Santillan."
Keys clicked.
"They haven't been in school this week."
Alexander's face emptied.
"What?"
The receptionist hesitated.
"Mr. Santillan?"
"Yes."
"We received notice that the girls were ill."
"From whom?"
"Mrs. Santillan."
Alexander gripped the edge of the table.
"All week?"
"Since Monday."
It was Thursday.
Alexander ended the call.
He called Vanessa.
She answered immediately.
"Hey."
"How are the girls?"
"Better."
"Better from what?"
A pause.
"The stomach bug."
Alexander glanced at Daniel.
Vanessa continued.
"They've been miserable."
"Can I speak to them?"
"They're sleeping."
"It's eleven in the morning."
"They had a rough night."
Alexander's voice remained calm.
"Wake Valerie."
"No."
The word came too sharply.
Then Vanessa laughed.
"I mean, let them rest. You always complain I don't enforce schedules."
Alexander stared at the frozen city outside the office window.
"Put one of my daughters on the phone."
Silence.
"Alexander, you're being strange."
"So are you."
Another pause.
Then Vanessa sighed.
"Fine. Give me a second."
Alexander listened.
Footsteps.
A door.
Muffled voices.
Then Valerie came on.
"Hi, Daddy."
Alexander closed his eyes.
Her voice sounded small.
"Hey, sweetheart."
"Hi."
"Are you sick?"
Valerie hesitated.
"Yes."
"What hurts?"
Another hesitation.
"My stomach."
Alexander looked at Rebecca.
"Are you eating?"
"Yes."
"What did you have for breakfast?"
Silence.
Vanessa's voice sounded faintly in the background.
"Pancakes."
Valerie repeated,
"Pancakes."
Alexander's eyes opened.
"What kind?"
Vanessa's voice again.
"Blueberry."
"Blueberry," Valerie said.
Alexander felt sick.
Valerie hated blueberries.
She had hated them since she was three.
Isabel used to joke that blueberries were the only food their daughter regarded as a personal enemy.
"Valerie."
"Yes?"
"Is Vanessa standing next to you?"
The call disconnected.
Alexander stared at the screen.
He called again.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
His phone buzzed.
Vanessa had sent a message.
Connection problem. Call later.
Alexander looked at Daniel.
"Cancel everything."
Daniel nodded.
"You going home?"
"Yes."
Rebecca said, "Don't tell Vanessa."
Alexander grabbed his coat.
Daniel stopped him.
"Commercial flights are backed up because of the storm."
"Then find me a plane."
Rebecca spoke carefully.
"Alexander, if there is abuse happening, you need to think before you walk in angry."
He stared at her.
"Think?"
"Yes."
"Someone may be hurting my daughters."
"And if you lose control, Vanessa can use that against you."
Alexander understood.
He hated that he understood.
Rebecca continued.
"We need evidence. We need the girls safe. And we need you making decisions that cannot be turned against them later."
Alexander sat slowly.
For the next hour they built a plan.
Rebecca contacted a private child welfare specialist.
Daniel began reviewing security records.
Henry agreed to return to the property without notifying anyone.
Alexander's pilot prepared the company jet.
Then Daniel found something.
"Camera 7."
Alexander looked up.
"It's been offline eleven times in two months."
"How long each time?"
Daniel turned the screen.
"Usually between six at night and midnight."
"Dates?"
Daniel read them.
Alexander recognized several.
Dinner parties.
A charity gala.
Vanessa's birthday.
The night Alexander had been in Miami for a hotel opening.
"What happens when the camera goes offline?"
Daniel scrolled.
"Sometimes nothing."
"Sometimes?"
"Sometimes the service entrance opens."
Alexander leaned forward.
"Who enters?"
"No camera."
"Other cameras?"
"Vanessa changed the coverage angles during renovation."
Rebecca asked, "Why?"
Daniel looked at another log.
"She said privacy."
Alexander gave a cold laugh.
Then Daniel stopped.
"Wait."
"What?"
"There is a backup."
Alexander looked at him.
"The new security system stores cloud snapshots every ten minutes, even when local video is disabled."
"Can you access them?"
Daniel typed.
A password request appeared.
Alexander entered his credentials.
Denied.
He tried again.
Denied.
His administrator access had been changed.
The account recovery address appeared.
It belonged to Vanessa.
Nobody spoke.
Then Daniel's phone rang.
The pilot.
"Jet's ready."
Alexander stood.
Outside, snow was falling harder.
He looked at Henry through the video call.
"Get as close to the house as you can without being seen."
Henry nodded.
"Yes, sir."
Alexander ended the call.
Before leaving, Rebecca asked one final question.
"What if Vanessa realizes you're coming?"
Alexander picked up the photograph of his daughters.
"Then she has three hours."
None of them knew Vanessa had just received an automated notification.
Security administrator recovery requested.
She stared at her phone.
Then she looked toward the staircase.
May you like
Three hours was more than enough time to hide a great deal.
But not everything.
