Chapter 3 - The Woman They Buried AliveThe police arrested Olivia.
Not Vanessa.
The restraining order was real.
So were the forged reports describing Olivia as violent and unstable.
At the station, Detective Lena Ortiz studied Ethan without sympathy.
“Legally, your wife has been dead for three years.”
“She’s alive.”
“That creates several problems.”
“It creates a crime.”
Ortiz slid a file across the table.
“Saint Catherine’s.”
Ethan opened it.
The patient was listed as Anna Reed.
The emergency contact was Vanessa Cross.
The commitment petition carried Ethan's electronic signature.
“I never signed this.”
“Someone used your email.”
“Who had access?”
Ethan hesitated.
His assistant.
His attorney.
His brother Adrian.
And Vanessa.
Ortiz studied him.
“Who was Vanessa before she married you?”
“I met her six months after Olivia died.”
“Where?”
“A grief foundation.”
Ortiz leaned back.
“Convenient.”
Ethan hated the word because it was true.
Then she allowed him five minutes with Olivia.
They sat across from each other behind glass.
Neither spoke.
Finally Ethan lifted the receiver.
“Did you leave me?”
Olivia's expression broke.
“No.”
“Did you want to?”
“No.”
“Then why are you afraid of me?”
“Because I don't know what's real anymore.”
She told him about Saint Catherine's.
About recordings of his supposed voice.
About messages supposedly written by him.
About being told Sophie was safer without her.
Then came the memory that shattered Ethan.
“Vanessa was in the car.”
His heart stopped.
“What?”
“She was with me before the crash.”
Olivia touched the scar on her temple.
“She said she knew something about my mother.”
“What happened?”
“Rain. Headlights. Another vehicle.”
“Then?”
“I woke up in Saint Catherine's.”
Ethan stared at her.
“Why didn't you call me?”
“I tried.”
“Who stopped you?”
“Vanessa.”
The door opened.
Their time was over.
Ethan pressed his hand against the glass.
“I didn't sign those papers.”
Olivia stared at his hand.
“I want to believe you.”
“Then give me a chance.”
Her voice became colder.
“You traveled while Sophie begged you to stay.”
He looked down.
“You saw her fear.”
“I know.”
“You chose the explanation that made your life easier.”
Ethan couldn't defend himself.
“I failed her.”
“Yes.”
“I won't again.”
Olivia finally touched the glass.
“Then get her away from Vanessa.”
When Ethan returned home, his older brother Adrian was waiting.
He was Vanessa's attorney.
And he had something else to say.
“You should worry less about old records.”
Adrian looked toward Sophie.
“And more about whether that child is actually yours.”
Then he walked away.
May you like
Ethan stood frozen.
Behind him, Vanessa smiled.
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