Chapter 2 - The Woman With the Key
Emily closed the leather folder.
Vanessa’s eyes followed the movement.
“What are you doing in my bedroom?” Emily asked.
Vanessa lifted the key as though it answered everything.
“Daniel asked me to collect a contract.”
“Daniel gave you a key?”
“It’s for emergencies.”
“This is not an emergency.”
Vanessa stepped into the room.
She was thirty-two, polished and confident, with blonde hair that never seemed disturbed by weather. She had joined Northstar two years earlier as director of public relations. Daniel described her as indispensable.
Emily had invited her to Thanksgiving dinner.
She had bought Vanessa a birthday gift.
Now Vanessa stood inside Emily’s bedroom without permission, looking at Eleanor’s private documents.
“Where is the contract?” Emily asked.
“In Daniel’s office.”
“Then why are you upstairs?”
Vanessa glanced toward the wardrobe.
“I heard something.”
“The house was empty.”
“I thought it was empty.”
The women stared at each other.
Emily saw a flash of irritation cross Vanessa’s face. Not embarrassment. Not guilt.
Possession.
Vanessa behaved as though Emily had interrupted her.
“Give me the key,” Emily said.
Vanessa smiled faintly.
“You should speak to Daniel.”
“I’m speaking to you.”
“Daniel said you were emotional after your grandmother’s death. I don’t want to make things worse.”
Emily walked toward her.
“Give me the key.”
Vanessa closed her fingers around it.
“You know,” she said quietly, “Daniel works incredibly hard to provide this life. The house, the schools, the vacations. It might be good to remember that before you start questioning every decision he makes.”
The insult was delivered gently.
Emily understood why Daniel valued Vanessa.
They used the same methods.
“I remember who provided this house,” Emily said.
Vanessa’s smile tightened.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you should leave.”
For one second, Vanessa’s gaze dropped to the folder again.
Then she placed the key on the dresser.
“Daniel will be upset.”
“He can be upset outside my bedroom.”
Vanessa walked to the door, but before leaving, she paused beside the jewelry chest.
The lid was open.
Emily had not opened it.
Inside, the velvet box that held her mother’s pearls had been moved from the back to the front.
Vanessa noticed Emily looking.
“I was searching for the contract,” she said.
“In my jewelry?”
Vanessa did not answer.
After she left, Emily locked every exterior door and called Daniel.
He answered on the fourth ring.
“Why was Vanessa in our bedroom?”
Silence.
Then a sigh.
“I told her to retrieve the Ellison proposal.”
“She was looking through my things.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“She had your key.”
“My assistant needs access to the house sometimes.”
“She is not your assistant.”
“Emily, don’t do this.”
“Do what?”
“Turn a misunderstanding into a crisis.”
“She was inside our bedroom.”
“She made a mistake.”
“She opened my jewelry box.”
Daniel’s voice hardened.
“Did she take anything?”
“That isn’t the point.”
“Then what is the point?”
The question stunned Emily.
There had been a time when Daniel would have understood without explanation. Or perhaps she had only believed he would.
“The point is that this is my home,” she said.
“Our home.”
“Then why does Vanessa have a key?”
Daniel did not respond.
Emily looked down at Eleanor’s letter.
“Were you discussing this house with her this morning?”
“No.”
“What were you transferring?”
“I already told you.”
“You didn’t tell me anything.”
“I have to go.”
“Daniel.”
The call ended.
That evening he came home with flowers.
They were white roses, the same flowers he had brought after missing Lily’s school recital and after forgetting their anniversary.
Ben and Lily were watching a movie in the family room. Daniel waited until they were upstairs before placing a glass of wine in front of Emily.
“I’m sorry Vanessa made you uncomfortable,” he said.
“You’re apologizing for my discomfort instead of her actions.”
“I’m trying to keep peace.”
“By giving another woman a key?”
Daniel sat across from her.
“There’s nothing between me and Vanessa.”
Emily had not accused him of an affair.
The denial entered the room before the accusation.
She felt something inside her settle.
“Show me the commercial transfer,” she said.
“What?”
“The document you discussed this morning. Show it to me.”
Daniel leaned back.
“You don’t understand those contracts.”
“I can read.”
“They’re confidential.”
“I’m your wife.”
“That doesn’t make you a Northstar executive.”
Emily looked at him for a long moment.
Then she said, “My grandmother mentioned Northstar in a letter written years ago.”
Daniel’s hand stopped beside his glass.
“What letter?”
“One stored with the deed.”
His eyes sharpened.
“You took the deed from the bank?”
“I brought it home after the funeral.”
“You should have told me.”
“Why?”
“Because important documents should be secured.”
“It was secured.”
“Where is it now?”
Emily did not answer.
Daniel stood so quickly that his chair scraped across the floor.
“Where is the folder, Emily?”
Fear moved through her, cold and immediate.
Not because he shouted.
Daniel almost never shouted.
It was because he had forgotten to pretend he did not care.
Emily rose slowly.
“Why do you need it?”
His expression changed again. The anger softened. Concern replaced it.
“Because someone could steal your identity.”
A bitter laugh almost escaped her.
“Who?”
Daniel reached for her hand.
She stepped back.
His phone rang.
Vanessa’s name appeared on the screen.
Daniel looked at it, then turned the phone facedown.
“I’ll handle this tomorrow,” he said.
He went upstairs without finishing his wine.
Emily remained at the dining table until the house was quiet.
Then she carried the deed and Eleanor’s letter to the garage, placed them beneath the spare tire in her car and drove to the only attorney her grandmother had ever trusted.
Rachel Monroe answered her door wearing slippers and holding a mug of tea.
When Emily showed her the letter, Rachel’s face lost its color.
“Where did you get this?”
“It was with the deed.”
Rachel locked the door behind her.
“Did Daniel see it?”
“No.”
“Did anyone from Northstar?”
“Vanessa may have.”
Rachel took Emily by the shoulders.
“You need to listen carefully. Your grandmother believed someone inside Northstar was trying to steal the Vale Trust.”
“What is the Vale Trust?”
May you like
Rachel looked toward the dark street before closing the curtains.
“It’s the reason Daniel married you.”
