Chapter 10 - VANESSA FINALLY REMEMBERED
Vanessa called me at three in the morning.
She was crying.
Not elegantly.
Not strategically.
She could barely speak.
“I remember.”
Those two words changed everything.
We met inside an empty church.
Vanessa stood near the altar.
Without makeup and diamonds, she looked strangely young.
Like the seventeen-year-old I had lost twelve years earlier.
“I saw Mom fall.”
She whispered.
I said nothing.
“Dad grabbed her.”
Vanessa continued.
“She tried to pull away.”
Her hands trembled.
“She fell backward.”
“Down the stairs?”
“Yes.”
“Was she conscious?”
Vanessa nodded.
“She called my name.”
I swallowed hard.
“What did you do?”
“I ran toward her.”
Vanessa covered her mouth.
“Dad stopped me.”
My eyes burned.
“He told me she was already gone.”
“But she wasn’t.”
“No.”
“What happened next?”
“Mercer checked her pulse.”
“And?”
“He told Dad to call an ambulance.”
I closed my eyes.
Vanessa began sobbing.
“Dad made us wait.”
“Twelve minutes.”
Her head snapped up.
“You know?”
“I know.”
Vanessa collapsed onto a pew.
“He told me afterward that if I ever told anyone, they would blame me.”
“For what?”
“He said I caused the argument.”
I stared at her.
“You were a child.”
“I believed him.”
“So you helped him destroy me.”
Vanessa looked at the floor.
“Yes.”
Anger rose.
Years of it.
“You ripped my shirt open.”
“I know.”
“You laughed at my scars.”
“I know.”
“You called me a disgrace.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
Vanessa finally looked at me.
“Because if you were strong, then everything Dad told me about you was a lie.”
The answer hurt because I understood it.
Not forgiveness.
Understanding.
She reached into her purse.
“I brought something.”
A small memory card.
“What is it?”
“Security footage.”
“From where?”
“Dad’s office.”
My pulse jumped.
“He doesn’t know I installed the camera.”
“Why did you?”
“Because lately he’s been meeting people at night.”
“What people?”
Vanessa handed me the card.
“One of them is Senator Caldwell.”
Reed stiffened.
Caldwell chaired the Senate committee overseeing maritime procurement.
If Arthur had been bribing him, the conspiracy reached much higher than we knew.
“We need to watch this now.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Julian is missing.”
I stared at her.
“Since when?”
“Two hours.”
“Did you call him?”
“Twenty-three times.”
“Where was he last seen?”
Vanessa’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“With Dad.”
My phone vibrated.
A video message appeared.
Julian sat tied to a chair.
Bruised.
Terrified.
Arthur stepped into frame behind him.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Bring me the cassette.”
May you like
Arthur said.
“Or your brother becomes the second child you failed to save.”
