Chapter 13 - THE FORTY-EIGHT HOURS
Vanessa disappeared.
Police checked airports.
Train stations.
Rental cars.
Private terminals.
Nothing.
Then Roberto received a call from an unknown number.
“Hello?”
Vanessa’s voice came through.
“You’ve been busy.”
Roberto signaled Marcus.
The call was being traced.
“Where are you?”
“Still giving orders.”
Vanessa laughed softly.
“That’s why I loved you.”
“You never loved me.”
“No.”
She sounded almost relieved.
“I loved what your life represented.”
Roberto looked across the room at Sofía.
María was quietly guiding her toward the hallway.
“What did Elena do to you?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why?”
“She had everything.”
“That was enough.”
The casual answer terrified him more than anger would have.
“You killed her.”
“You should be careful.”
“You’re being recorded.”
“So are you.”
Roberto frowned.
Vanessa continued.
“You think your company will survive when the world hears what happened inside your house?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Tomorrow morning, every major news outlet receives files showing a mentally unstable billionaire who ignored warnings while his disabled daughter suffered.”
Roberto felt cold.
“Fake files.”
“Some.”
“Some real.”
Vanessa laughed again.
“That’s what makes them useful.”
The call ended.
Marcus looked at the trace.
“Burner phone.”
“Manhattan.”
“Signal vanished.”
At 8:00 the next morning, Vanessa’s threat became real.
Videos appeared online.
One showed Roberto screaming at a doctor years earlier after Sofía’s accident.
Another showed him breaking a glass during Elena’s funeral week.
Another showed Sofía crying while Roberto left for a business trip.
The clips were edited together.
Headlines exploded.
BILLIONAIRE FATHER’S PRIVATE MELTDOWNS.
QUESTIONS SURROUND HOME OF BLIND CHILD.
Vanessa’s attorney released a statement accusing Roberto of controlling behavior and emotional instability.
The public did not know what to believe.
Then child welfare authorities arrived.
Roberto stared at the caseworker in disbelief.
“You think Sofía is unsafe with me?”
“We received documentation requiring emergency review.”
“From a fugitive?”
“From licensed professionals.”
Dr. Feld’s old statement.
The manipulated records.
Sebastian’s documents.
Vanessa had built the trap long before she needed it.
Sofía could remain in the mansion temporarily.
But under supervised conditions.
Roberto could not take her outside the property without authorization.
The restrictions were temporary.
Forty-eight hours until an emergency hearing.
Vanessa had created exactly what she wanted.
A public image of Roberto losing control.
A legal record questioning his judgment.
And a deadline.
That evening, Roberto sat beside Sofía.
She touched his hand.
“Are they going to take me away?”
“No.”
“You said that fast.”
Roberto swallowed.
“Because I mean it.”
Sofía leaned against him.
“I believe you.”
The words nearly broke him.
Then María entered carrying Sofía’s rabbit.
“I found something.”
She turned the toy over.
There was a tear along the back seam.
Inside the stuffing was a tiny electronic device.
Marcus examined it.
A recorder.
Vanessa had been recording conversations inside Sofía’s bedroom.
But the device contained something Vanessa had apparently forgotten.
It had recorded her too.
And one file was dated the night before she disappeared.
Marcus pressed play.
Vanessa’s voice filled the room.
“Tomorrow Roberto loses Sofía.”
A man answered.
“And after the hearing?”
Vanessa said, “After the hearing, we finish what we started five years ago.”
Roberto recognized the man’s voice instantly.
May you like
It was Dr. Feld.
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