Chapter 5: The Person Who Wanted Me Gone
The name echoed inside my head.
Even after Detective Harper stopped speaking.
Even after the room became quiet.
Even after the machines beside my bed continued their steady rhythm.
I couldn’t hear anything except that one name.
“Daniel.””
My sister’s fiancé.
The man who had sat beside Erica during Thanksgiving dinner.
The man who looked uncomfortable when she screamed at me.
The man everyone thought was too gentle to be involved.
Michael slowly sat down.
“No.””
Detective Harper watched him.
“You know him?””
Michael looked exhausted.
“I know of him.””
That answer bothered me.
“What does that mean?””
Michael rubbed his forehead.
“It means Daniel Pierce has a history.””
My heart sank.
“What kind of history?””
Before Michael could answer, Detective Harper pulled up another report.
“Financial fraud allegations. Nothing that resulted in conviction.””
My father scoffed.
“So?””
The detective looked at him.
“So he has been accused of manipulating people close to him.””
Nobody spoke.
Michael stared at the floor.
Then he said quietly:
“Three years ago, Daniel applied for a position at my firm.””
I looked at him.
“You never told me that.””
“Because he didn’t get hired.””
“Why?””
Michael looked at me.
“Because I noticed something wrong.””
The room felt smaller.
“What?””
“He lied during his interview.””
I frowned.
“How?””
Michael looked at the folder.
“He claimed he had no history of lawsuits.””
Detective Harper nodded.
“But he did.””
Michael continued.
“He had been sued by two former business partners.””
My father crossed his arms.
“That doesn’t prove anything.””
Michael looked at him.
“No.””
A pause.
“But it explains something.””
“What?””
“Why Erica was suddenly interested in changing your insurance policy.””
I felt sick.
Because suddenly the pieces were connecting.
The beneficiary change.
The attack.
The accusation against Michael.
The emergency lawyer visit.
It wasn’t random.
It was a chain.
A chain designed to end with me gone.
I looked at my husband.
“How long have you known?””
He looked ashamed.
“Not enough.””
I squeezed his hand.
“Michael.””
He looked at me.
“I should have warned you.””
“You didn’t know they would do this.””
“No.””
His voice dropped.
“But I knew something was wrong.””
He explained that weeks earlier, he had noticed unusual activity connected to my family’s financial accounts. Someone had accessed documents they shouldn’t have.
At first, he thought it was a simple mistake.
Then he discovered the fake signature.
That was when he started documenting everything.
Not because he wanted to accuse my family.
Because he wanted to protect me.
My eyes filled with tears.
“You thought I wouldn’t believe you.””
Michael looked away.
“I thought you’d defend them.””
That hurt.
Because he was right.
I probably would have.
For years, I had searched for excuses for them.
I had blamed myself.
Maybe I was too sensitive.
Maybe Erica didn’t mean it.
Maybe my parents were just different.
But there was no excuse anymore.
The door suddenly opened.
A nurse stepped inside.
“Mrs. Vance?””
“Yes?””
“There’s someone here asking to see you.””
My body immediately tensed.
“Who?””
The nurse hesitated.
“Your sister.””
Everyone froze.
Michael stood.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“What if she wants to talk?””
Detective Harper shook her head.
“Mrs. Vance, I need to advise against being alone with her.””
“I won’t be alone.””
Michael looked at me.
I knew what he was thinking.
He wanted to protect me.
But there was something I needed.
Answers.
“Let her in.””
A minute later, Erica entered.
She looked completely different.
Gone was the confident woman from Thanksgiving.
Her expensive dress was wrinkled.
Her makeup was ruined.
Her eyes were red.
For a second, I almost saw my sister again.
The girl who used to share a bedroom with me.
The girl who cried when I moved away for college.
Then I remembered the tea.
The floor.
The pain.
The fear.
And I remembered who she had become.
“Sarah.””
Her voice cracked.
I didn’t answer.
She looked at Michael.
Then Detective Harper.
Then back at me.
“I didn’t know it would go this far.””
Nobody moved.
“What does that mean?”” I asked.
Erica started crying.
“I was supposed to scare you.””
My stomach twisted.
“Scare me?””
She nodded.
“I didn’t know Daniel would—”
She stopped.
Michael immediately stepped forward.
“Would what?””
Erica looked terrified.
That was the first genuine emotion I had seen from her.
“He told me you wouldn’t get hurt.””
I stared at her.
“You believed him?””
She covered her face.
“He said Michael would be blamed.””
My blood went cold.
“So that was the plan?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
But her answer came too quickly.
Detective Harper noticed.
“Then tell us the truth.””
Erica looked at the floor.
“He said if anything happened, my parents would protect me.””
Silence.
She looked at me.
“He said your family always chooses me.””
The words hurt because they were true.
But then she said something that changed everything.
“He also said…”
She started shaking.
“He said he had already taken care of your husband.””
Michael went completely still.
“What does that mean?””
Erica looked at him.
“I don’t know.””
Then her phone rang.
Everyone looked down.
The caller ID appeared.
Daniel.
Erica stared at it.
Nobody breathed.
Michael slowly said:
“Answer it.””
She looked terrified.
“Why?””
“Because we need to know what he thinks happened.””
Erica pressed accept.
She placed the phone on speaker.
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then Daniel’s voice came through.
“Did she die yet?””
The room froze.
Erica’s face turned white.
My hand moved protectively over my stomach.
Daniel continued.
“Erica, answer me.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Michael leaned toward the phone.
And said:
“No.””
A long silence.
Then Daniel whispered:
“Michael?””
Michael’s voice was ice.
“You just asked if my wife was dead.””
The call ended.
But before it disconnected, we heard Daniel say one sentence.
May you like
A sentence that changed the entire investigation.
“He was never supposed to find the backup file.””
