Chapter 3: What Sophie Saw
Daniel didn't confront Vanessa immediately.
He had learned something important in the last few minutes.
She was frightened of what he might discover.
And frightened people sometimes made mistakes.
“Ethan,” he said, keeping his voice steady, “take Sophie into the bedroom and stay with her.””
Ethan nodded.
“Are you coming?””
“I'm right behind you.””
The boy carefully took his sister's hand.
Sophie clutched the music bunny.
When they disappeared around the corner, Daniel faced Vanessa.
“Sit down.””
“Daniel—”
“Sit.””
Vanessa lowered herself onto the edge of the bed.
He placed the stuffed rabbit on the dresser.
“Explain the recording.””
She crossed her arms.
“It's a prank. Ethan probably recorded it.””
“Ethan is eight.””
“He's clever.””
“Then let's ask him.””
Vanessa's eyes widened.
“No. Don't drag him into this.””
Daniel gave a humorless laugh.
“You've already dragged him into it.””
She stood abruptly.
“You don't understand what I've been dealing with. Sophie cries constantly. Ethan challenges everything I say. I can't even make a phone call without one of them interrupting.””
“So you locked a baby in a room?””
“I never locked her in!””
“Then why does Ethan say you did?””
“Because he hates me!””
Daniel looked at her for a long moment.
“Why would an eight-year-old hate someone who has been kind to him?””
Vanessa opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Daniel picked up the music bunny.
“I'm taking this to the police.””
Her composure shattered.
“You can't!””
“Why not?””
“Because it's private!””
“Threatening my children isn't private.””
Vanessa stepped between him and the bedroom door.
“Daniel, please. Let me explain.””
He looked down at her hands.
She was gripping the fabric of his shirt.
“Move.””
“You don't know what Sophie saw.””
The words stopped him.
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“What did she see?””
Vanessa immediately released his shirt.
“I didn't mean—”
“What did my daughter see?””
Vanessa looked toward the hallway.
Then she lowered her voice.
“Your office.””
Daniel felt a cold wave move through him.
“My office?””
“She wandered in there one afternoon.””
“When?””
“Last Tuesday.””
Daniel had been in Chicago.
He remembered the date because he had called home that evening and Sophie had barely made a sound during their video call.
“What happened?””
Vanessa swallowed.
“She pulled something off your desk.””
“What?””
“I don't know.””
“Don't lie to me.””
“She had a little black drive.””
Daniel froze.
A small black USB drive.
He kept several in the locked drawer of his office, but one contained a backup of financial documents connected to Carter Holdings.
It also contained records relating to a property acquisition he had been negotiating.
Only three people knew about it.
Daniel.
His attorney.
And Vanessa.
“Where is the drive?”” he asked.
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“Did you take it?””
“No.””
“Did you search for it?””
She hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
Daniel walked past her toward his office.
The door was slightly open.
He pushed it wider.
His desk looked almost normal.
Almost.
The top drawer was open by two inches.
He pulled it out.
The small compartment where he kept the USB drives was empty.
Daniel turned.
“Vanessa.””
She appeared behind him.
“Daniel, listen—”
“You told me Sophie found something.””
“She shouldn't have been in here.””
“She was fifteen months old!””
“Exactly! She doesn't understand what she was touching!””
“Then why did you threaten her?””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
But Daniel had noticed something else.
She wasn't looking at him.
She was looking at the computer screen.
The screen was awake.
A document was open.
It was a property transfer agreement.
Daniel moved toward the desk.
The document contained his electronic signature.
Except he hadn't signed it.
He leaned closer.
The transfer date was scheduled for the following Monday.
The receiving company was unfamiliar.
But the listed director wasn't.
Vanessa's maiden name was printed beneath the company's registration details.
Daniel slowly turned around.
“What's this?””
Vanessa began crying.
“Daniel, I can explain.””
“Your company?””
“It's not what you think.””
“You created a company using my property records?””
“I was protecting myself!””
“From what?””
“From you leaving me with nothing!””
Daniel stared at her.
“I have never threatened to leave you.””
“You could have!””
“So you decided to steal from me?””
“I didn't steal anything!””
He pointed at the screen.
“You forged my signature.””
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
“You were going to give everything to your children eventually. I just wanted something secured for myself.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Get away from my desk.””
She didn't move.
Then her voice changed.
“You need to understand something, Daniel. Sophie saw me with the drive. She saw the documents. She started crying, and Ethan came running in.””
Daniel remembered Ethan's words.
She saw something.
Something Vanessa told her never to tell you.
“What did you do next?””
Vanessa looked toward the bedroom.
“I told them to forget it.””
“And when they didn't?””
Her lips trembled.
“I had to make sure they stayed quiet.””
Daniel stepped backward.
For the first time, he looked at his wife as a stranger.
“You hurt my children to cover up financial fraud?””
“I didn't mean for it to go this far!””
A small voice interrupted them.
“Daddy?””
Daniel turned.
Ethan stood in the doorway, holding Sophie.
The toddler had stopped crying.
She was staring at Vanessa.
Then, with a trembling little finger, she pointed toward the bottom drawer of the office cabinet.
“Uh-oh.””
Daniel followed her gaze.
He crouched and opened the drawer.
Inside was a small black USB drive.
Beside it lay a folded photograph.
Daniel picked it up.
It showed Vanessa standing outside his office building with another man.
The man was holding a folder.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written a date.
And beneath that date were six words:
*THE CHILDREN KNOW ABOUT THE FIRST AGREEMENT.*
Daniel looked at Vanessa.
“Who is this man?””
Her face drained of color.
She took one step toward the photograph.
Then another.
“Daniel, please. You have to understand. That man isn't—”
His phone suddenly vibrated.
An unknown number.
Daniel answered.
A man's voice spoke immediately.
“Mr. Carter? My name is Michael Reeves. I'm your attorney.””
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
Michael continued.
“Do not sign anything your wife gives you. And whatever you do, don't let her leave with the children.””
Daniel's grip tightened around the phone.
“Why?””
There was a pause.
Then Michael said something that made the entire room feel suddenly colder.
“Because the agreement she forged isn't the first one. We found another document, signed months before your marriage, and it concerns the legal ownership of your children.””
Daniel looked at Vanessa.
She was no longer crying.
She was staring at the phone.
May you like
And then she whispered:
“Michael wasn't supposed to find that.””
