Chapter 15 - VANESSA BENNETT
Mary read the document four times.
It made no sense.
Vanessa’s mother, Julia Hart, had worked for Bennett Holdings thirty years earlier.
Richard Bennett had been married to Eleanor.
The possibility made Mary sick.
She drove directly to her father.
Richard became visibly distressed when Mary showed him the codicil.
“Is Vanessa your daughter?”
Richard pressed NO.
Mary released a breath.
“Then why is her name connected to the trust?”
Richard typed slowly.
THOMAS.
Mary frowned.
“Thomas is Vanessa’s father?”
Richard pressed YES.
Mary stared.
That explained Thomas hiring Peter Hart.
It explained his unusual interest in Vanessa.
But it created a darker question.
“Does Vanessa know?”
NO.
Richard typed again.
JULIA LEFT.
THOMAS NEVER CLAIMED CHILD.
Mary understood.
Thomas had a daughter he had refused to acknowledge.
Rebecca had discovered the truth.
She changed the trust so Vanessa could not be erased from the family completely.
Mary contacted Vanessa.
They met privately that evening.
Vanessa read the documents in silence.
Then she laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because sometimes shock had nowhere else to go.
“So the man who ordered my father killed was my biological father.”
Mary said quietly, “Yes.”
Vanessa stood and walked to the window.
“My entire life, I thought Peter Hart was my father.”
“He was.”
Vanessa turned.
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Did Thomas know?”
“Yes.”
“And he still—”
Her voice broke.
Mary could not erase the affair.
She could not suddenly become Vanessa’s friend.
But in that moment, she saw another woman whose life had been manipulated by the same men.
“Peter raised you.”
Vanessa nodded.
“He was my dad.”
“Then that is what matters.”
Vanessa wiped her face.
“What happens to the trust?”
“Legally, you may be entitled to a portion of Rebecca’s estate.”
Vanessa stared.
“I don’t want Thomas’s money.”
“It isn’t Thomas’s.”
Mary pushed the document toward her.
“It was Rebecca’s choice.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I helped Ethan betray you.”
“Yes.”
“I slept with your fiancé.”
“Yes.”
“Why are you helping me?”
Mary thought carefully.
“I’m not helping you because I forgive you.”
Vanessa looked down.
“I’m helping because Thomas doesn’t get to decide which women deserve their own lives.”
Vanessa’s eyes filled again.
The next morning, they submitted the codicil for authentication.
It was genuine.
That afternoon, Thomas requested a private meeting with Mary from jail.
His attorney said he had information about Michael Cole.
Mary refused.
Then the attorney added one sentence.
“Mr. Bennett says Michael Cole is planning to kill Ethan.”
Mary stopped walking.
She hated that her heart still reacted to Ethan’s name.
She hated that Thomas knew it would.
But she also knew hatred was not permission to let someone die.
“Tell Detective Martinez.”
“We already did.”
“Where is Ethan?”
“No one knows.”
Mary looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa was already reaching for her phone.
May you like
This time, they were not racing to save a relationship.
They were racing to prevent another murder.
