Chapter 5 - THE EMPTY BEDROOM

I drove faster than I ever had in my life. Rain blurred the road. My hands gripped the wheel until my knuckles turned white. Every second stretched like an hour.

When I burst through the front door, Emma stood in the hallway, pale and trembling. She held a note.

“She was here,” Emma said. “Vanessa. She was here.”

I grabbed the note. Written in Vanessa’s handwriting, bold and unafraid:

*If you want the girl, bring the letter. The one from the safe. Come alone. Come tonight. Or you’ll never see Lily again.*

A location was scrawled at the bottom: the old boathouse at the edge of the lake, miles from town.

“I checked the windows,” Emma said. “The back door was unlocked. She must have slipped in while I was checking the gate. I turned around for two minutes—just two minutes—and she was gone.”

“It’s not your fault.” I grabbed my coat. “It’s what she planned all along.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“No.” I stopped her. “She said come alone. If she sees you, she’ll hurt Lily.”

“And if you go alone?” Emma’s eyes filled with tears. “She’ll kill you both.”

“Then I have to be careful.” I handed her Arthur’s note. “Call the lawyer listed here. His name is on the paper. Tell him everything. Get the copies Dad sent. Call the police—but don’t tell them where I’m going, not yet. If Vanessa has contacts inside the department… she’ll know before I arrive.”

Emma gripped my hand. “Bring her back. Bring Lily back safe.”

“I will.” I looked her in the eye. “Whatever happens, keep fighting. Don’t trust anyone. Not even people we’ve known for years. Do you understand?”

Emma nodded. “Be careful.”

I drove toward the lake, the letter from the safe tucked inside my jacket. Rain hammered the car. My mind raced. She’d planned this perfectly. Ruin the party, expose herself slightly, then retreat and wait for me to find the backup letter. She’d counted on me searching Dad’s study. She’d counted on me following her to the boathouse.

But she didn’t know I knew everything. She didn’t know Arthur had spoken. She didn’t know I knew she’d killed Dad. That she planned to kill Lily.

I pulled up near the boathouse and cut the lights. Rain lashed against the wooden planks. Light glowed faintly through cracks in the walls. I stepped out, heart hammering, and walked toward the door.

Before I could knock, Vanessa spoke from inside.

“Come in. Slowly. And keep your hands where I can see them.”

I pushed the door open.

Lily sat on a wooden bench near the far wall. She was unhurt, but her hands were tied, and her eyes widened when she saw me. She tried to speak but a gag silenced her. Vanessa stood beside her, a small pistol in one hand. The stolen letter rested on a crate beside her.

Vanessa looked at me, calm and cold. The woman I’d married was gone. In her place stood someone hard, dangerous, and entirely without remorse.

“Give me the letter,” she said. “Push it across the floor. Then step away from the door.”

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I held up the envelope from the safe. “Let her go first.”

Vanessa raised the gun, aiming it directly at Lily. “You’re in no position to bargain. Give me the letter. Or she dies right here.”