Chapter 9 - THE TRUTH ABOUT VANESSA
I couldn't speak.
Vanessa stepped toward me.
"Daniel..."
"Don't."
She stopped.
"How could you?"
"I was afraid."
"You let me believe Noah's mother was dead."
"I didn't know what else to do."
"You watched me raise my own son without knowing the truth."
"I was trying to keep him alive."
"From whom?"
"Caldwell."
I laughed bitterly.
"Everyone says his name like he's some monster hiding under the bed."
"He is."
"Then explain."
Vanessa sat down.
"I met your father before I met you."
My stomach tightened.
"He knew about Caldwell."
She explained that she had been investigating Caldwell's financial network years earlier.
She discovered money being moved through hidden accounts.
Then she discovered something worse.
Caldwell had created a list.
People who knew too much.
Her name was on it.
So was my father's.
And eventually, Noah's.
"When I became pregnant, your father told me I had to disappear."
"Why?"
"Because Caldwell knew about the baby."
I stared at Noah.
"Why was he so important?"
Vanessa's voice trembled.
"Because Noah's birth certificate connected two families Caldwell had spent years trying to separate."
"What families?"
"Your father's family and the family Caldwell had stolen from."
I looked at my mother.
She nodded.
"Your father believed Noah could expose him."
I felt sick.
"And you?"
"I disappeared after Noah was born."
"But you came back."
"Because I thought the danger was gone."
"It wasn't."
"No."
Vanessa looked toward the chapel doors.
"Someone found me."
"Who?"
She whispered:
"Mrs. Harper."
I stared.
"The housekeeper?"
"She was never a housekeeper."
My mother's face hardened.
"She was Caldwell's informant."
Everything suddenly made sense.
The rooftop.
The key.
The east wing.
The children's rooms.
The warnings.
But one question remained.
"Why did you push Lily?"
Vanessa started crying.
"I didn't."
I stared at her.
"What?"
"I grabbed her because she had the key."
"But she went over the ledge."
"Someone pushed her."
Silence.
I looked at Noah.
"Did you see?"
He nodded.
"Who?"
Noah pointed toward the chapel door.
Everyone turned.
A woman stood there.
Mrs. Harper.
May you like
She smiled.
And behind her stood Caldwell.
