Chapter 9 - THE DEAD WOMAN
Vanessa Hale had been found in a motel bathroom.
At first glance, it looked like suicide.
Pills.
Alcohol.
A note.
But Detective Grant did not believe it.
Neither did Dad.
The note was typed.
No fingerprints were found on the bottle.
And Vanessa’s phone was missing.
Julian had gone from suspected conspiracy to possible murder.
I should have hated Vanessa.
Part of me did.
She had slept with my husband.
Helped him hide money.
Possibly helped plan my death.
Threatened my daughter.
But staring at the photograph of the motel room, I felt something else.
Fear.
Vanessa had known too much.
So did I.
“Julian killed her.”
Grant didn’t confirm it.
“We’re investigating.”
“What did the note say?”
She hesitated.
I insisted.
The note contained one sentence.
Audrey was never supposed to survive.
My skin crawled.
Dad stared at the page.
“That isn’t a suicide note.”
“No,” Grant said.
“It sounds like a message.”
“To me?”
“Possibly.”
My phone buzzed.
A text from an unknown number.
A photograph loaded.
Chloe walking beside Dad outside my hospital room earlier that day.
Taken from behind them.
My heart stopped.
Then a second message appeared.
Tell your father to stop.
I showed Dad.
For the first time since he arrived, I saw fear in his eyes.
Not fear for himself.
For Chloe.
Within minutes, federal agents joined local police.
Dad called an old colleague named Colonel James Weston.
He arrived two hours later.
Tall.
Gray-haired.
Quiet.
He hugged Dad like a brother.
Then he looked at me.
“Your father saved my life twice.”
Dad frowned.
“Not relevant.”
“It is if she thinks you’re just an angry grandfather.”
For the first time, I almost smiled.
Almost.
Weston studied the evidence.
“Vale knows how your father operates.”
“That gives him an advantage?” I asked.
“Yes.”
Dad shook his head.
“It also makes him predictable.”
Weston opened a map.
“Vale won’t keep running forever. He’ll create leverage.”
“What kind?”
Everyone looked toward Chloe.
My blood turned cold.
“No.”
Dad immediately agreed.
“She stays protected.”
That night, Chloe was moved to a secure location with two agents.
I hated being separated from her.
But I hated the possibility of Julian reaching her more.
At 2:13 a.m., I woke to my room door opening.
A woman in scrubs entered.
“Medication.”
I blinked.
“My nurse is Emily.”
“She went on break.”
Something felt wrong.
The woman avoided my eyes.
She lifted a syringe.
“What is that?”
“Pain medication.”
“I didn’t ask for any.”
She moved closer.
I reached for the call button.
The woman grabbed my hand.
“Don’t.”
My heart monitor spiked.
She pushed the needle toward my IV line.
I screamed.
Dad had been sleeping in the chair near the window.
His eyes opened instantly.
He crossed the room in seconds.
The woman dropped the syringe.
She ran.
Dad caught the door before it closed.
Security tackled her in the hallway.
The syringe never reached my IV.
Later, toxicology identified the contents.
Potassium chloride.
A large enough dose could stop my heart.
Police searched the woman.
In her pocket, they found five thousand dollars in cash.
And Julian’s wedding ring.
I stared at it inside the evidence bag.
My marriage was officially over.
But Julian wasn’t finished.
Because the woman finally agreed to talk.
She told police Julian had paid her personally.
Then she gave them the address where she had met him.
May you like
Detective Grant looked at Dad.
“We know where he is.”
