Chapter 5: What Happened at the Lake House
“Vanessa didn’t take me there for a vacation.””
Nia’s voice was barely louder than a whisper.
“She took me there so nobody could hear me scream.””
Dad went completely still.
Claire covered her mouth.
I felt a chill crawl up my arms.
Dad lowered himself until he was eye level with Nia.
“Baby, I need you to tell me what happened.””
Nia shook her head.
“I can’t.””
“You can.””
“She said you’d be mad.””
“I’m not going to be mad at you.””
“She said if I told you, you’d think I was lying.””
Dad’s eyes filled with tears.
“Who said that?””
Nia looked toward the front door.
“Vanessa.””
Dad took her hand.
“Start at the beginning.””
Nia swallowed.
“It was last summer. She woke me up really early.””
“What day?””
“I don’t know.””
“Was Ava with you?””
Nia shook her head.
“No. Ava stayed with you.””
I looked at Dad.
He was staring into space, trying to remember.
“What did Vanessa tell you?””
“That we were going to the lake.””
“Why?””
“She said I needed to learn to behave.””
Dad’s expression hardened.
“What does that mean?””
Nia picked at a loose thread on her sleeve.
“I had asked for another sandwich.””
I felt sick.
“She said I was getting greedy.””
Dad’s jaw clenched.
“And then?””
“She put my clothes in a bag.””
“Did she pack food?””
Nia shook her head.
“She said I didn't need any.””
Dad’s face went pale.
“Then what happened?””
“She drove me to the lake house.””
Nia's story came out in fragments.
Vanessa had driven nearly two hours without saying much.
The radio was on.
Nia remembered the sound of rain tapping against the windshield.
When they arrived, the lake house was empty.
No neighbors close enough to hear.
No other cars.
Vanessa unlocked the door.
Then locked it behind them.
“She told me to sit on the couch,” Nia said.
“Did she hurt you?””
Nia hesitated.
“She grabbed my arm.””
Dad closed his eyes.
“She said I was going to stay there until I learned not to ask for food.””
My hands curled into fists.
“How long?”” Dad asked.
“I don't know.””
“Were you there overnight?””
Nia nodded.
Dad inhaled sharply.
“How did you eat?””
Nia looked down.
“She gave me water.””
“And?””
“Nothing.””
Claire whispered, “Oh, God.””
Dad stared at Nia.
“Nothing at all?””
“Not until nighttime.””
“What happened then?””
“She gave me half a sandwich.””
Dad stood abruptly and walked to the kitchen.
I followed him.
He gripped the counter with both hands.
“She left her alone there,” he whispered.
I nodded.
“What happened next?””
He turned back toward Nia.
She was still sitting on the couch beside Claire.
Nia continued.
“I got really scared because my stomach hurt.””
“So what did you do?””
“I found a cabinet.””
Dad frowned.
“What cabinet?””
“In the hallway.””
“There was food inside?””
Nia nodded.
“Cookies. Crackers. Cereal. Stuff like that.””
Dad slowly looked at Claire.
Claire’s face had gone rigid.
“What did you do?”” Dad asked.
“I took some crackers.””
“How many?””
“Three.””
Nia’s voice shook.
“She found me.””
My stomach dropped.
“What did she do?””
Nia looked at Dad.
“She took them away.””
“And then?””
“She made me stand in the corner.””
“For how long?””
“Until I stopped crying.””
Dad's face twisted.
I wanted to stop listening.
But Nia wasn't finished.
“She said if I kept stealing food, she would send me somewhere nobody would ever find me.””
Dad’s head snapped up.
“She said that?””
Nia nodded.
“She said you didn't want me anymore.””
Dad crossed the room in two steps and knelt beside her again.
“I wanted you every second.””
Nia cried.
“I know that now.””
There was another part.
The part that explained why Nia had never mentioned the lake house before.
Near midnight, she had heard a car outside.
She thought Dad had come for her.
She ran toward the front door.
But Vanessa stopped her.
“She covered my mouth,” Nia said.
Dad's hands began to shake.
“Why?””
“She said nobody was coming.””
“What car was it?””
“I don't know.””
“Did anyone come inside?””
Nia nodded.
“A man.””
Claire suddenly stood.
“Did he have dark hair?””
Nia looked at her.
“Yes.””
“Tall?””
“Yes.””
“Gray jacket?””
Nia nodded slowly.
Claire looked at Dad.
“I know who that is.””
“Who?””
“My ex-husband.””
Dad looked confused.
“What was he doing there?””
Claire shook her head.
“He shouldn't have been anywhere near that property.””
Nia continued.
“Vanessa talked to him outside.””
“What did they say?”” Dad asked.
“I couldn't hear everything.””
“Anything you remember?””
Nia closed her eyes.
“She said, ‘She knows too much.’”
The room went silent.
Dad looked at me.
I felt my stomach sink.
“Knows too much about what?””
Nia shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“Then what happened?””
“The man said, ‘Did he find out?’”
Dad's expression changed.
“Did he say who?””
“No.””
“What did Vanessa say?””
“She said, ‘Not yet.’”
Dad stood very slowly.
“Not yet?””
Nia nodded.
“Then she told him I had been asking questions.””
“What questions?””
Nia looked at me.
“About Mom.””
Dad stopped breathing for a second.
My mother's name had barely been spoken in that house.
She had died when I was younger.
At least, that was what Dad had always told us.
There had been an accident.
Complications.
A terrible day nobody wanted to revisit.
I knew there were things Dad never talked about.
But I had never imagined Vanessa was connected to any of it.
Dad walked toward the table.
“Claire.””
She opened her folder.
“Tell me what you know.””
Claire looked uncomfortable.
“I don't have proof.””
“Tell me.””
She pulled out a faded document.
“This is your wife's name.””
Dad took it.
“It’s a rental agreement.””
“For the lake house?””
Claire nodded.
“Vanessa rented it three days before your wife died.””
Dad stared at the page.
I heard him whisper, “What?””
I stepped closer.
The date was printed at the top.
Three days before my mother’s death.
Dad reread it.
Then he looked at Claire.
“Why would she rent a lake house before my wife died?””
Claire shook her head.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out.””
Dad flipped through the folder.
There were more documents.
Phone records.
Bank transfers.
A photograph of Vanessa talking to a man outside a hospital.
And one name repeated across several pages.
Marlene Voss.
The woman in the earlier photographs.
Dad’s voice became hollow.
“You said Marlene was hired to watch Nia.””
“Yes.””
“How long had Vanessa known her?””
“Long before she met you.””
Dad looked at the photograph again.
“What was she doing around my family before I married Vanessa?””
Claire didn’t answer immediately.
Then she said, “Marlene worked for your first wife.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
“She was your mother's private caregiver.””
Dad looked like the floor had disappeared beneath him.
“That’s impossible.””
“No.””
Claire pointed to the photograph.
“That is Marlene Voss outside the hospital the week your wife died.””
Dad’s hands started trembling.
“But my wife died from an accident.””
Claire looked at him sadly.
“That's not what the original medical report says.””
Dad lifted his eyes.
“What does it say?””
“Suspected poisoning.””
I stopped breathing.
Dad stared at Claire.
“Nobody told me that.””
“They were never allowed to finish the investigation.””
“Who stopped it?””
Claire looked at Vanessa’s empty chair.
“Someone paid to make it disappear.””
Dad suddenly grabbed his car keys.
“I’m going to the police.””
Claire nodded.
“But you need to be careful.””
“Why?””
“Because if Vanessa realizes what you have, she'll destroy anything she can.””
Dad opened the door.
“She already destroyed enough.””
Then Nia spoke.
“Dad.””
He turned.
“There’s something else.””
He waited.
Nia's eyes filled with tears.
“I remember the man from the lake house.””
Dad’s hand tightened around the keys.
“Who was he?””
“I don't know his name.””
“What do you remember?””
“He had a ring.””
“What kind?””
“A big silver one.””
Claire suddenly went pale.
“What was on it?””
Nia lifted one hand.
“A bird.””
Claire whispered, “The Falcon.””
Dad frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Claire looked at him.
“It was the symbol your mother’s family used.””
Dad went silent.
Then his phone rang.
He checked the screen.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Nobody spoke at first.
Then a man's voice came through.
“You should stop digging.””
Dad’s expression hardened.
“Who is this?””
The man ignored him.
“You've already lost one family member.””
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Dad stepped toward the door.
“What did you say?””
The man laughed softly.
“Ask your daughter what happened to her mother.””
The call ended.
Dad stood there, staring at the phone.
Nia began crying.
Claire closed the folder.
And from somewhere inside the house, a floorboard creaked.
We all turned.
Someone was standing at the top of the stairs.
Vanessa.
She had never left.
And in her hand was something that made Dad's face go white.
May you like
A small glass bottle.
With my mother's name still written across the label.
