Chapter 7 - THE WOMAN IN THE DARK
I lied.
“There was nothing.”
Dad stared at me.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“The police lost it.”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“You read the letter.”
“What letter?”
She smiled.
Wrong answer.
She knew.
Dad grabbed my shoulders.
“Clara, listen to me.”
His voice sounded gentle.
“You’re confused because James is filling your head with lies.”
“You knew Vanessa before Mom died.”
Silence.
Vanessa looked at Dad.
Dad’s fingers tightened.
“Who told you?”
I didn’t answer.
“Arthur?”
Still nothing.
Dad stood.
“We’re sending her away.”
My blood froze.
Vanessa nodded.
“There’s a private school in Switzerland.”
“No!”
Dad avoided my eyes.
“Just until things settle down.”
That night, I packed secretly.
I had one thing they didn’t know about.
Before police arrived at the lake house, I had hidden the flash drive from Mom’s box inside my shoe.
At midnight, I climbed out my bathroom window.
James waited beyond the gate.
We drove to a cheap motel.
He plugged in the flash drive.
Videos appeared.
Mom had recorded Dad.
In one clip, Daniel shouted:
“You don’t understand what you’re doing!”
Mom answered:
“I understand perfectly. You stole from the foundation.”
Vanessa’s voice came from somewhere off camera.
“Evelyn, give us the files.”
My skin prickled.
Mom knew Vanessa.
Another video began.
Mom was crying.
“If anything happens to me, Daniel did it.”
Then the screen went black.
James whispered, “Jesus.”
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Nobody spoke.
Then a woman said:
“James.”
He turned white.
I recognized the voice before he did.
My knees went weak.
“Mom?”
Silence.
Then the woman began crying.
“Clara?”
May you like
I dropped the phone.
My mother was alive.
