Chapter 5 - The Woman in the Photograph
For several seconds neither woman moved.
Vanessa wore a white robe.
Her face had lost every trace of warmth.
“You really are stupid,” she said.
Claire tightened her grip on the box.
“I could say the same thing.”
Vanessa’s eyes dropped to the envelope.
Something close to panic flashed across her face.
“Give me that.”
“No.”
“This house belongs to my husband.”
“This belonged to Laura.”
Vanessa stepped inside.
Claire backed toward the window.
“Do you know what happens when Grant finds you digging through his dead wife’s possessions?”
“Maybe he’ll finally start asking why his son is terrified of you.”
Vanessa stopped.
Then she laughed softly.
“You think Grant will believe a maid over his wife?”
“I think he might believe his son.”
That landed.
Claire saw it.
Vanessa’s mouth tightened.
“He cannot speak.”
“He can communicate.”
For the first time, Vanessa looked genuinely frightened.
Claire moved toward the door.
Vanessa blocked her.
“What did he tell you?”
Claire said nothing.
“What did Noah tell you?”
“Move.”
Vanessa grabbed the metal box.
Claire held on.
They struggled silently.
The lid opened.
Papers scattered across the floor.
A photograph landed faceup between them.
Laura and Vanessa stood beside a black SUV.
Laura was smiling.
Vanessa was not.
Claire grabbed the envelope and flash drive.
Vanessa lunged.
Claire slipped past her.
She ran for the service staircase.
Behind her, Vanessa shouted.
“Security!”
Claire knew she had less than a minute.
She reached the kitchen.
The night guard appeared near the rear door.
“Ms. Mason?”
“Fire alarm,” Claire said.
“What?”
“Third floor.”
He looked upward instinctively.
Claire ran past him.
She reached her car and drove.
Only after turning onto the highway did she realize her hands were bleeding from the edge of the metal box.
She drove directly to Daniel’s apartment.
They opened Laura’s envelope together.
The letter was dated eleven days before the crash.
Laura wrote that she had discovered unauthorized transfers from the Whitman Family Foundation.
Millions of dollars had been moved through consulting companies connected to Vanessa Hale.
Vanessa had been Laura’s personal assistant before becoming Grant’s wife.
Laura wrote that she intended to confront Vanessa after gathering proof.
Then came the sentence that made Claire stop breathing.
Vanessa has become obsessed with Grant, and I no longer believe Noah is safe around her.
Daniel read it twice.
“Claire.”
“There’s more.”
The final paragraph said Laura had copied everything to the flash drive.
Daniel inserted it into his laptop.
Folders appeared.
Financial records.
Emails.
Audio files.
Then one video.
GARAGE - OCTOBER 14 - 11:46 P.M.
The night before Laura’s fatal crash.
Claire clicked play.
The garage camera showed Vanessa entering.
Alone.
May you like
She walked directly toward Laura’s SUV.
Then the screen went black.
