Chapter 3 - THE MEN AT THE DOOR
The pounding shook the glass panels.
“Vanessa!” the man outside shouted. “You have until tonight.”
Daniel moved toward the door, but I caught his wrist.
“Not yet.”
He stared at me. “They’re threatening her.”
“They may also be trying to enter a private residence. Let security handle it.”
I pressed the silent alert on the wall panel. Two members of our estate security team moved from the rear corridor toward the entrance.
Vanessa stepped backward.
“You called them,” she accused me.
“I don’t know who they are.”
“You planned all of this.”
Daniel’s voice sharpened. “Stop blaming her. Who is outside?”
Vanessa’s eyes filled with tears at exactly the right speed. “I borrowed money for the wedding. I wanted everything to be perfect for you.”
“How much?”
She looked down.
“How much, Vanessa?”
“Not two hundred thousand.”
The pounding stopped. A moment later, my security chief, Grant, spoke through his radio.
“Mrs. Whitmore, three men are leaving the property. Plates are being recorded. No forced entry.”
Daniel exhaled. “Call the police.”
Vanessa grabbed his jacket. “No. Please. They’re private lenders. If police get involved, it will destroy my reputation.”
“What reputation?” Rosa muttered.
Vanessa spun toward her. “You are fired.”
“No,” I said. “She is not.”
“This will be my house after the wedding.”
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Daniel stared at her.
Vanessa tried to repair the damage. “Our house. That’s what I meant.”
I looked at my son. “Daniel, your father left this property in a protected family trust. It does not become marital property.”
Vanessa’s tears vanished. “You told me the house would be ours.”
“I said we could live here,” Daniel answered. “I never said you would own it.”
Her breathing became fast and shallow.
Grant entered carrying a padded envelope. “This was left at the gate.”
My name was written across the front.
Inside was a copy of a loan agreement. Vanessa’s signature appeared on the last page. Daniel’s name appeared beneath hers as co-guarantor.
Daniel took the document.
“I never signed this.”
I studied the shaky blue signature. “It looks like yours.”
“It isn’t.”
Vanessa backed into the table and knocked over a silver vase.
Daniel lifted his eyes.
“You forged my name?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
She looked toward the hall leading to his office.
That single glance answered too much.
Daniel ran.
We followed him into the office. The hidden safe behind the painting stood open.
Inside, every folder was gone.
On the desk sat one white envelope.
Daniel tore it open.
A photograph slid into his hand.
It showed Vanessa kissing the broad-shouldered man from Rosa’s security video.
On the back, someone had written four words:
May you like
ASK HER ABOUT THE FIRE.
The Housekeeper Test
