Chapter 7 - THE MAN BEHIND VANESSA
Vanessa finally cracked that night.
Not completely.
Enough.
Detective Reed showed her the photograph.
Her shoulders dropped.
“His name is Victor Dane.”
Caleb leaned against the wall.
“The scarred man?”
“Yes.”
Grant asked, “Who is he?”
Vanessa looked at her husband.
“You really don’t know?”
“No.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Your father ruined his family.”
Grant’s face tightened.
Vanessa explained.
Victor’s father had been Charles Harrington’s business partner.
When an environmental scandal threatened the company, Charles shifted liability onto him.
Victor’s father went to prison.
He died there.
Victor spent twenty years planning revenge.
Caleb asked, “And you joined him?”
Vanessa looked down.
“I owed money.”
Grant stared.
“Thirty-two million wasn’t enough?”
Her eyes filled with anger.
“You controlled everything.”
“I gave you access to everything.”
“No. You gave me permission to use your money.”
Grant looked stunned.
Vanessa continued.
“There’s a difference.”
Caleb shook his head.
“So you decided murder was easier than divorce?”
Vanessa snapped, “You don’t understand my life.”
Caleb’s expression hardened.
“You tried to have me beaten to death in a shed.”
Silence.
Vanessa looked away.
Grant stepped closer.
“Did you order that?”
“I told Derek to handle the witness.”
Grant’s voice broke.
“The witness had a name.”
Vanessa said nothing.
Grant slammed his fist into the wall.
For the first time, Caleb saw the billionaire lose control.
Reed interrupted.
“Victor’s location.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“He contacted me.”
“How?”
“Burner phones.”
“When is the next contact?”
Vanessa hesitated.
Grant noticed.
“When?”
“Midnight.”
Reed immediately organized a sting.
Vanessa would answer.
They would trace Victor.
At 12:03, the phone rang.
Vanessa put it on speaker.
Victor’s voice was calm.
“Did he board?”
“No.”
Long silence.
“Why?”
“The farmhand survived.”
Victor laughed softly.
“I warned Derek.”
Caleb clenched his jaw.
Vanessa said, “Police are everywhere.”
“You told them about me.”
“No.”
“Vanessa.”
Her eyes filled with fear.
“You always breathe faster when you lie.”
The call ended.
The trace failed.
Then every light in the mansion went out.
Reed shouted, “Nobody move!”
Gunshots erupted outside.
Glass shattered.
Caleb grabbed Grant and pulled him behind a stone column.
Another shot struck the wall.
Security returned fire.
In the darkness, Vanessa screamed.
Then suddenly stopped.
Emergency lights flickered on.
Her chair was empty.
A rear door stood open.
May you like
On the floor beside it was one drop of blood.
And Caleb knew Victor had just taken the one person who could destroy him.
