Chapter 4: The Photograph Taken Through the Window
For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.
The photograph showed Lily outside my mother's house, clutching her stuffed rabbit against her lavender sweater. She was looking toward the street, completely unaware that someone had been watching her through a window.
The message beneath it contained six words.
*You should have married Vanessa yesterday.*
I shoved my chair backward so violently it struck the wall.
“Daniel?”” Martha asked.
I turned the phone toward her.
Her expression changed the instant she saw the photograph.
“Call your mother,” she said.
“Right now.””
I dialed Margaret.
She answered almost immediately.
“Daniel? What's wrong?””
“Is Lily with you?””
“Yes. We're in the kitchen. Why?””
“Lock the doors. Close the curtains. Don't let anyone inside unless you know exactly who they are.””
Silence.
Then her voice dropped.
“Has something happened to Lily?””
“Someone took a photograph of her through your window.””
I heard a chair scrape across the floor.
“Oh, my God.””
“Mom, listen to me. Take Lily into the back bedroom and stay there. I'm coming.””
“Daniel, who would do something like this?””
I looked at the photograph again.
“I think I know.””
I ended the call and turned toward Martha.
“Can you get someone to protect them?””
“I can contact the authorities and arrange for immediate assistance,” she said.
“But you mustn't confront whoever sent that message yourself.””
“I wasn't planning to.””
I was lying.
Martha knew it.
“Daniel, Emily spent the last weeks of her life trying to protect Lily from a situation she couldn't fully explain. If someone believes you have discovered what she knew, you need to be careful.””
“What if being careful is exactly what they've been counting on?””
Before she could answer, Jessica stood.
“I need to tell you something.””
Her hands were shaking.
“Vanessa didn't just want the house,” she said.
“She wanted Daniel to sign something that would make her Lily's legal guardian if anything happened to him.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
Jessica pulled a folded document from her handbag.
“She showed me a draft several weeks ago. She said it was an emergency guardianship agreement, something wealthy families used to protect their children.””
Martha took the paper.
Her eyes moved quickly across the page.
“This is not a simple guardianship agreement,” she said.
“It grants broad authority over the child's financial affairs.””
“Could Vanessa have used it to access the trust?”” I asked.
“If it had been properly executed and accepted by the relevant institutions, she might have gained influence over certain decisions. But it would not automatically give her unrestricted access to the funds.””
Jessica sank into her chair.
“She told me it was only a precaution. She said Daniel was overwhelmed by grief and needed someone who could make decisions for him.””
“Did she say why she needed the agreement before the wedding?”” Martha asked.
Jessica nodded.
“She said everything had to be completed before Monday.””
Today was Saturday.
I looked at the documents spread across the table.
The forged property transfer. The false financial authorization. The guardianship agreement.
Vanessa had not been improvising.
She had prepared a series of steps designed to make her appear indispensable to my family while quietly positioning herself to control what belonged to Lily.
But there was still one question I couldn't answer.
Why had Emily suspected someone before Vanessa ever entered our lives?
I grabbed my jacket.
“I'm going to my mother's.””
Martha stood too.
“Wait. We should preserve that message and photograph. Don't delete anything. And don't contact Vanessa.””
“I'm not interested in talking to Vanessa.””
“Good. Then let the evidence speak.””
Jessica followed me toward the door.
“Daniel, please let me come with you.””
I turned.
“Why?””
“Because the person who sent that message may know where my sister is, and I think I know who took the photograph.””
She reached into her handbag and pulled out another phone.
“This belonged to Vanessa. She left it in my car yesterday.””
“Why didn't you give it to the police?””
“Because I was afraid of what I'd find.””
I took the phone but didn't unlock it.
“Did you look through it?””
“Only enough to see the last message on the screen.””
“What message?””
Jessica's eyes filled.
“It was from Richard.””
My uncle's name seemed to follow me everywhere.
“What did he say?””
She read the message from memory.
“'Once the wedding is over, we can finally finish what Emily started.''”
I stared at her.
“What did Emily start?””
“I don't know.””
But something in Jessica's voice told me she knew more than she wanted to admit.
We drove to my mother's house separately, following Martha's advice not to make assumptions about who might be watching us.
A police officer was already outside when I arrived.
My mother opened the front door before I could knock.
Lily ran into my arms.
“Daddy!””
I dropped to my knees and held her so tightly that she squeaked.
“Hey, sweetheart. Are you okay?””
She nodded against my shoulder.
“Grandma said someone might be trying to scare us.””
I looked at Margaret.
She gave a small, helpless shrug.
“I didn't want to lie to her.””
Lily pulled back.
“Is the bad lady coming here?””
I brushed her hair away from her forehead.
“No one is taking you anywhere.””
She searched my face.
“Even if you have to stop them?””
“Even then.””
She seemed satisfied, at least for the moment.
I carried her into the living room, where she settled beside my mother with her rabbit tucked under one arm.
Then I stepped into the kitchen with the officer.
He had taken a preliminary report and was examining the photograph.
“Can you identify the location?”” he asked.
“My mother's house.””
“I mean where the photographer was standing.””
I looked at the image more closely.
A reflection appeared in the glass behind Lily. It was faint, but visible: a white vehicle parked across the street.
I recognized the shape.
A silver Mercedes SUV.
Vanessa drove one.
“That's my fiancée's car,” I said.
The officer studied the reflection.
“Can you confirm the license plate?””
“No. But I can tell you she drives that model.””
He wrote something in his notebook.
“Don't assume the sender took the photograph. We'll investigate that.””
I appreciated his caution, even if I didn't share it.
My phone rang.
An unfamiliar number.
I answered on speaker.
“Mr. Hayes?”” a man asked.
“This is Robert Mills, the attorney who contacted you yesterday.””
Vanessa's lawyer.
“What do you want?””
“My client has informed me that the wedding was canceled following a misunderstanding. She would like to arrange a private meeting to resolve the financial matters between you.””
“There are no financial matters between us.””
“I'm afraid the documents say otherwise.””
“Those documents contain a forged signature.””
A pause.
“That's a serious allegation.””
“Then perhaps you should investigate who forged it.””
“I would strongly advise against making accusations before reviewing the relevant evidence.””
I glanced toward the living room, where Lily was drawing a picture with my mother.
“Tell your client this: she will not come near my daughter again.””
“I'll relay your position. However, Mr. Hayes, there is another issue you should understand.””
“What issue?””
“Your uncle has informed us that he intends to exercise his authority as trustee of Lily's account.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“On what grounds?””
“That is a matter between Mr. Richard Hayes and the institution managing the trust.””
The call ended.
I stood motionless.
Vanessa had failed to marry me.
May you like
But Richard still had the authority Emily had once given him.
And if he was working with Vanessa, the battle over Lily's future had only just begun.
