Chapter 9: The Marriage Was the First Part of the Plan
The ballroom was so quiet that I could hear the air conditioning humming above us.
Dad held the document in both hands.
He read the date again.
Then he looked at Jessica.
"You're telling me my wife knew Richard before she met me?""
Jessica nodded.
"Yes, sir.""
Vanessa shook her head violently.
"She's lying!""
Jessica opened the envelope and removed another document.
"This is a copy of an email from before your wedding. Richard sent it to Vanessa.""
Rebecca examined the pages.
"May I see?""
Jessica handed them over.
Rebecca read silently for a few moments.
Then she looked at Dad.
"This appears to be correspondence discussing your property and financial circumstances.""
Dad's voice was barely audible.
"Read it.""
Rebecca hesitated.
Then she began.
"'Vanessa, the house is worth considerably more than the amount David originally paid. Once you're married, you'll have access to the household accounts and can gradually establish a financial interest.''"
Dad's face went pale.
Rebecca continued.
"'Do not rush the property transfer. Build his trust first. The daughter may complicate matters, but she can be handled once the timing is right.''"
I felt my stomach turn.
The daughter.
Me.
I looked at Vanessa.
She was staring at the floor.
Dad lowered the paper.
"Is this real?""
Jessica nodded.
"I recovered it from the company's archived email system. There are several more messages.""
Richard suddenly moved toward her.
"Give me that envelope.""
The officer stepped between them.
"Sir, stay back.""
Richard raised his voice.
"She's stealing confidential company information!""
Jessica's hands trembled.
"I have copies. I gave the originals to the investigators.""
Richard went silent.
Vanessa looked at him.
"You told me those emails were deleted.""
He stared at her.
"Shut up.""
Dad slowly turned toward his wife.
"You planned to marry me for my house?""
Vanessa's eyes filled.
"David, please.""
"Answer me.""
She shook her head.
"It wasn't like that.""
"Then what was it like?""
She wiped her cheeks.
"Richard and I were together before I met you. We had a business arrangement.""
Dad looked as though he had been struck.
"A business arrangement?""
"We were struggling financially. Richard had debts. I needed a way to start over.""
"So you married me.""
"I did care about you!""
Dad let out a bitter laugh.
"Did you care about me when you transferred my money?""
She said nothing.
"Did you care about me when you forged my signature?""
Nothing.
"Did you care about me when you slapped my daughter?""
Vanessa looked toward me.
For a brief moment, something resembling shame crossed her face.
Then it disappeared.
"Emily made everything harder.""
I stepped forward.
"Stop blaming me.""
She turned.
"If you had accepted me from the beginning, things might have been different.""
I stared at her.
"You replaced my mother's pictures. You threw away her belongings. You demanded money from me.
You stole my identity. And somehow, you still think this is my fault?""
Vanessa's lips tightened.
"You never gave me a chance.""
I felt tears running down my cheeks.
"I gave you three years.""
Dad stepped beside me.
"And I gave you my trust.""
He turned toward the officers.
"I want to cooperate fully with the investigation.""
One officer nodded.
"Mr. Carter, we'll need formal statements from everyone involved. We'll also need copies of the original recordings and financial documents.""
Rebecca stepped forward.
"We have preserved copies and can provide the relevant records.""
Richard shook his head.
"This is absurd. None of these documents prove that I committed a crime.""
Jessica looked at him.
"Then explain the payment you made to me.""
Richard froze.
"What payment?""
"The twenty thousand dollars you transferred after I prepared the first property agreement.""
Vanessa turned toward him.
"Twenty thousand?""
Jessica nodded.
"He told me it was a bonus. Later, I discovered the payment was described as compensation for obtaining confidential property information.""
Richard's expression hardened.
"You're twisting everything.""
Jessica opened her envelope again.
"I also have the messages where you instructed me to retrieve David's original deed.""
Dad stared at her.
"My original deed?""
She nodded.
"Richard wanted the original document because the scanned copy contained details that made the forged transfer easier to identify.""
Rebecca looked at Dad.
"Do you still have the original?""
Dad shook his head.
"It disappeared from my office months ago.""
Jessica lowered her eyes.
"I know where it is.""
Everyone turned toward her.
"Where?""
She swallowed.
"Vanessa gave it to Richard. He kept it in a storage unit registered under Lawson Property Holdings.""
Dad closed his eyes.
For three years, he had believed his marriage was built on love.
Now he was learning that the person he had trusted had been quietly collecting pieces of his life.
The officers asked Richard to remain while they arranged further questioning.
Vanessa was asked to provide a formal statement.
She looked at Dad one last time.
"Are you really going to let this happen to me?""
He didn't answer.
She stepped closer.
"David, I loved you.""
Dad finally spoke.
"No. You loved what you thought I could give you.""
Her face crumpled.
The officers escorted her toward the side exit.
As she passed me, she stopped.
"You think you're safe now?""
I looked at her.
"Yes.""
She leaned closer.
"Then you haven't seen the worst of it.""
An officer immediately instructed her to keep moving.
I watched her disappear through the doors.
The ballroom slowly emptied.
Guests approached Dad, offering support and expressing disbelief.
Margaret hugged me.
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart.""
I nodded.
"Thank you.""
Dad remained near the stage, staring at the empty microphone.
I walked over.
"Are you okay?""
He looked at me.
"I don't know.""
I took his hand.
"We'll figure it out.""
He nodded, then pulled me into a hug.
For a moment, the noise of the ballroom disappeared.
It was just Dad and me.
The way it had been before Vanessa entered our lives.
But the following morning, Rebecca called us with news that changed the investigation.
The storage unit had been located.
Inside, investigators found the original property deed, several bank statements, copies of our identification documents, and a second folder containing correspondence between Vanessa and Richard.
There was also a small envelope addressed to Vanessa.
Inside it was a handwritten note.
Dad read it twice.
Then he passed it to me.
It contained only one sentence.
*If David discovers the truth, use the daughter as leverage.*
My hands began to shake.
"Leverage?""
Rebecca nodded grimly.
"There's more. The investigators found a separate insurance policy.""
Dad frowned.
"Insurance policy?""
"Yes. It was taken out on the house and its contents.""
"Who was the beneficiary?""
Rebecca looked at the document.
"Vanessa.""
Dad stared at her.
"How much?""
Rebecca hesitated.
"Four hundred thousand dollars.""
I felt my stomach drop.
"Why would she need insurance on the house?""
Rebecca turned another page.
"Because the policy was amended two months ago.""
Dad leaned forward.
"What was changed?""
Rebecca looked directly at him.
"The coverage now includes certain personal belongings that were reported missing or damaged.""
I thought about my mother's necklace.
Then I remembered the missing documents.
Dad looked at Rebecca.
"Are you suggesting she planned to destroy evidence?""
Rebecca shook her head.
"I'm saying we need to investigate the circumstances surrounding this policy.""
My phone buzzed.
An unknown number.
I opened the message.
There was a photograph of our house.
It had been taken from across the street.
Beneath it was a single sentence.
*You should have stayed out of Vanessa's business.*
I showed Dad.
His expression turned hard.
Rebecca immediately told us not to respond and forwarded the message to the investigators.
Then another message arrived.
This one contained a photograph of my mother's silver necklace.
The necklace Vanessa had stolen from my bedroom.
And underneath it were six words.
*Your mother should have stayed quiet too.*
I couldn't breathe.
Dad took my phone.
His hands were shaking with anger.
But Rebecca noticed something in the photograph.
She enlarged the image.
Then she pointed toward the background.
A reflection in the glass jewelry case showed the person holding the necklace.
It wasn't Vanessa.
It was someone else.
Someone I recognized.
May you like
Someone who had stood beside us at the retirement party.
And suddenly, the investigation became much bigger than we had imagined.
