Chapter 2 - THE VOICE DANIEL COULD NOT EXPLAIN
The first minutes contained ordinary sounds.
Garment boxes sliding across the floor.
My footsteps climbing the stairs.
Vanessa giving orders from the bedroom.
Then her voice became sharper.
“Move faster.”
“I do not pay people to breathe on my time.”
Daniel stopped the recording.
“You said she was temporary staff.”
Vanessa folded her arms.
“I was under pressure.”
“She was moving slowly on purpose.”
I looked at Daniel.
“I carried six boxes up two flights of stairs.”
“Vanessa carried none.”
He pressed play again.
My recorded voice asked where she wanted the boxes placed.
Vanessa replied,
“Anywhere that does not make this room smell like you.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
Vanessa reached for the recorder.
He moved it away from her.
The next section played.
A drawer opened.
A bracelet clicked against glass.
Then Vanessa said,
“My diamond bracelet is missing.”
“You were the only person in this room.”
I heard my own calm reply.
“Perhaps you should check your purse.”
Vanessa’s voice became cold.
“Do not tell me where to look.”
“I know what women like you do.”
A minute later, the bracelet was found inside her purse.
The recording captured no apology.
Instead, Vanessa leaned close to me and whispered,
“If you tell anyone I accused you, I will say I saw you trying to take it.”
Daniel stopped the recording again.
His face had become pale.
“Did you hide the bracelet?”
Vanessa laughed nervously.
“Of course not.”
“Then why threaten her?”
“I did not threaten anyone.”
Daniel lifted the recorder.
“We just heard you.”
“You heard one sentence without context.”
I walked toward the security panel.
“The foyer and upstairs hallway cameras should provide context.”
Vanessa turned too quickly.
“They were not working.”
Daniel looked at her.
“How do you know?”
She hesitated.
“I noticed the light was off.”
I entered the system code.
All six interior cameras had been disabled at 11:03 that morning.
The security log identified the user.
VANESSA GRANT.
Daniel stared at the screen.
“You turned off the cameras.”
“I wanted privacy while trying on wedding clothes.”
“You disabled the foyer camera too.”
“It is all one system.”
“No.”
“It has separate controls.”
Daniel had designed the security update himself.
Vanessa knew that.
She also knew she had been caught.
Her expression hardened.
“This family has watched me since the day I arrived.”
“Your mother never wanted me here.”
I removed the wet uniform jacket.
“Whether I wanted you here is not the question.”
“The question is why you needed the cameras off before accusing a housekeeper of theft.”
Vanessa looked toward the front door.
Then the recorder reached the moment she ordered me to kneel.
Daniel listened to his fiancée say,
“Clean it with your hands.”
“The staff need to remember what happens when they challenge me.”
He shut off the device.
His voice became almost inaudible.
“How many times have you done this?”
Vanessa’s eyes shifted toward the service hallway.
May you like
That was when Rosa stepped into view.
“More than once, Mr. Daniel.”
