Chapter 3 - THE VOICE ON THE OTHER END
I stopped in my tracks.
My hand was raised to knock, but the sound of her voice froze me in place. I stepped closer, pressing my ear gently against the wood, careful not to make a sound.
"It all went wrong," Vanessa was saying, her voice trembling, hushed and desperate. "Olivia had the camera. She showed Adrian. He knows."
There was a pause. I heard a low, indistinct voice on the other end. A man's voice. Deep and smooth.
Vanessa let out a shaky breath. "Of course I didn't tell him anything! What do you take me for? But he's angry. He looks at me like I'm a stranger. If he digs deeper—if he starts asking questions—everything we've planned could fall apart."
Another pause. My heart hammered so hard against my ribs I was certain she would hear it through the door.
"I'm trying," Vanessa snapped, quieter now. "But it's harder than I thought. He loves those girls more than anything. If he finds out why I really married him—"
She stopped abruptly. I heard footsteps approaching the door.
I barely had time to step back and stand casually in the hallway before the handle turned. Vanessa pulled the door open, phone still in her hand, and froze when she saw me standing there.
Her face went sheet white.
"How long have you been standing there?" she demanded.
"Long enough," I said. My voice was steady, though everything inside me was shaking. "Who were you talking to, Vanessa?"
She recovered herself quickly—or tried to. She tucked the phone behind her back, straightening her posture, her expression shifting from panic to hurt indignation.
"That was my sister," she said. "I was calling to tell her what happened. I was upset."
"Your sister lives three hours away," I said. "And she doesn't have a voice like a man."
Vanessa flinched. Her eyes darted away. "It was a bad connection. Adrian, you're twisting everything. Just like your daughter twisted things—"
"Do not speak about Olivia like that," I warned her, stepping forward. She stepped back automatically. I walked past her into the study. "And do not insult my intelligence. You were whispering. You were afraid I would hear. Why? What are you hiding?"
"I'm hiding nothing!" she insisted, but she stayed by the doorway, clutching her phone tightly. "I was scared! I knew you'd turn against me the moment you saw that footage. That child has always hated me—"
"Stop," I cut in. "Just stop. The video shows exactly what happened. You hurt Emma. Then you tried to blame Clara. And now I find you whispering to a stranger about plans and secrets and me finding out why you married me."
I turned to face her fully.
"Vanessa… why did you marry me?"
The question hung in the air between us, heavy and sharp.
Vanessa stared at me. For a long moment, she said nothing. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. I watched her—really watched her—and realized with a sickening lurch of my stomach that I had never actually known this woman at all.
Then her expression changed. The fear was gone. The tears were gone. In their place was something cold, hard, and utterly without warmth.
"I married you because I needed security," she said, her voice flat and devoid of all sweetness. "Because you had money. Because you were lonely and easy to manipulate. Does that satisfy you, Adrian? Or do you want me to list every lie I've ever told you one by one?"
The cruelty of it hit me harder than a physical blow.
"Why pretend?" I asked quietly. "Why pretend to love me? Why pretend to love my girls?"
Vanessa let out a short, bitter laugh. "Because if I hadn't, you never would have signed those documents. You never would have put my name on the accounts. Everything is almost ready, Adrian. Almost."
"Almost what?" I stepped closer, anger rising hot and sharp now. "What are you talking about? What is going on here?"
She looked at me, and smiled—a cold, terrible smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"You'll find out soon enough," she said softly. "And by then… it will be far too late to save any of you."
May you like
Before I could demand she explain, her phone buzzed in her hand. She glanced down at the screen, and her eyes widened. She looked back at me, fear rushing back into her face.
"He knows," Vanessa whispered. "And he's coming here tonight."
