Chapter 10 - My Name on the Second Accident
The police separated Lily’s statements from anything the adults said around her.
They wanted to avoid contaminating her memory.
But the phrase remained.
Aunt Rachel was supposed to have an accident too.
I remembered my mother insisting for months that I needed to replace my car.
Not because it was unreliable.
Because she had found me a “better deal.”
The replacement car had belonged to one of Dad’s friends.
I refused because I didn’t want another payment.
Mom became unusually angry.
I had forgotten about it.
Cole had not.
Investigators found the vehicle.
It was still registered to a small dealership outside Columbus.
A mechanic inspected it.
The brake line had been deliberately weakened.
Nobody could prove the damage had been intended for me.
But the car had been reserved under my name.
My mother had paid the deposit.
I sat beside Emma’s bed while Cole told me.
“How long ago?”
“Four months.”
I stared at my daughter.
“If I had taken that car…”
“We don’t know what would have happened.”
“Yes, we do.”
Cole did not argue.
That afternoon, my father asked to speak with police without my mother present.
His attorney attended.
For six hours, Dad talked.
He admitted participating in insurance fraud.
He admitted destroying documents.
He admitted lying about Andrew.
But he denied knowing anything about Andrew’s death.
Then he told investigators why my mother had become obsessed with recovering Andrew’s evidence.
“She wasn’t worried about prison.”
Dad’s recorded interview was later summarized for me.
“She was worried about the money.”
A hidden account overseas still contained nearly two million dollars.
Andrew had found the access codes.
He had moved part of the funds into a frozen legal trust that could only be released to federal authorities.
Mom believed he had hidden the final authentication key somewhere Emma could access.
That was Daddy’s treasure.
Not money.
Evidence.
Vanessa had been ordered to get it from Emma during breakfast.
My mother deliberately sent me upstairs by spilling syrup on Emma earlier that morning.
That realization made my skin crawl.
The syrup had not been an accident.
Mom had bumped Emma’s cup herself.
Then she insisted I clean Emma’s sweatshirt immediately before the stain set.
She created the exact window Vanessa needed.
Vanessa was supposed to frighten Emma into revealing where Andrew’s final key was hidden.
Instead, Emma reached for Lily’s breakfast.
Vanessa became angry.
The skillet flew.
The plan collapsed.
Dad admitted hearing the impact from the dining room.
He entered the kitchen before I came downstairs.
“What did he see?”
I asked Cole.
“Emma on the floor.”
“And what did he do?”
“He picked up Vanessa’s phone.”
“Why?”
“To delete a recording.”
I stared at him.
“What recording?”
“Vanessa had been recording her conversation with Emma because Margaret wanted proof that Emma gave the correct location.”
“Did he delete it?”
“He tried.”
The file had been backed up automatically.
Police recovered it.
Cole warned me before playing any portion.
Emma’s voice was small.
Vanessa’s voice was impatient.
“Where did Daddy put the other key?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I want Mommy.”
“Mommy isn’t coming until you tell me.”
Then my mother’s voice came from somewhere nearby.
“Stop babying her.”
There was no possibility of misunderstanding anymore.
Mom had been in the kitchen.
She had lied.
And then Vanessa asked a question.
“Do you want your mommy to have an accident like Daddy?”
My blood turned to ice.
Emma started crying on the recording.
May you like
Then came the metallic crash.
The file ended.
