Chapter 2: What Laura Knew
I didn't sleep that night.
Maya fell asleep in my bedroom with her teddy bear tucked beneath her chin. I sat beside her until nearly three in the morning, watching her chest rise and fall.
Every few minutes, she stirred.
"Daddy?""
"I'm here.""
"Am I still allowed to live here tomorrow?""
The question made my throat tighten.
"Sweetheart, this is your home. Nobody is taking it away from you.""
She nodded, but she didn't close her eyes immediately.
"Vanessa said you were tired of me.""
I brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead.
"Your mother would never have believed that.""
Maya's eyes filled with tears.
"Do you think Mommy would be mad at me?""
I swallowed.
"Your mommy would be very proud of you.""
Maya hugged her teddy bear and finally drifted off.
Downstairs, Vanessa was waiting.
She stood in the kitchen wearing a silk robe, scrolling through her phone. Two champagne glasses remained on the counter.
"We need to talk," she said.
I walked past her and poured myself a glass of water.
"Start talking.""
She followed me.
"I didn't actually intend to leave Maya outside all night.""
"How generous.""
"Daniel, stop acting like I'm some monster.""
I turned around.
"You packed her pajamas.""
"Because I needed her to understand there were consequences.""
"Consequences for what?""
"For constantly making everything about herself!""
I stared at her.
"She's six years old. She misses her mother. Sometimes she cries.
Sometimes she asks questions. That's called being a child.""
Vanessa slammed her phone onto the counter.
"And what about me? Do you know what it's like living with a little girl who looks at you every day like you're the reason her mother is gone?""
The words hung between us.
I had heard Vanessa complain about Maya before.
But never like this.
"Did you tell her I didn't want her?""
Vanessa looked away.
"I was angry.""
"That wasn't my question.""
She folded her arms.
"Maybe I said something similar.""
I felt something inside me go completely still.
"You told my daughter her father didn't want her.""
"She needs to understand that things have changed!""
"She's six, Vanessa. She doesn't need to understand our marriage. She needs to know she's loved.""
Vanessa shook her head.
"You always make me the villain.""
I didn't answer.
Instead, I walked toward the living room and picked up Eleanor's business card.
"I want you out of this house tonight.""
Her mouth fell open.
"You can't throw me out!""
"I can ask you to leave while I figure out what happens next.""
She stepped closer.
"You'll regret this.""
I looked at her.
"Maybe. But Maya won't spend another night wondering whether she's allowed to sleep in her own bed.""
At 8:15 the following morning, Eleanor returned.
This time, she brought another attorney and a thick document envelope.
We sat in my office.
Vanessa had refused to leave. She was upstairs, supposedly packing a suitcase.
Eleanor placed a photograph on my desk.
It was Laura again.
This time, she was sitting in a hospital room, holding a small envelope.
"Daniel, before Laura passed away, she asked me to keep this.""
I touched the photograph.
"Why didn't you give it to me?""
"She instructed me to wait until someone attempted to interfere with Maya's inheritance.""
My fingers went numb.
Eleanor handed me the envelope.
My name was written across it in Laura's handwriting.
I recognized every curve of every letter.
I opened it carefully.
Daniel,
If you're reading this, someone has finally done what I was afraid they would do.
I know you love our daughter. I also know that you sometimes trust people because you desperately want to believe the best in them.
Please don't make that mistake with Vanessa.
I stopped reading.
My eyes moved toward the staircase.
Eleanor spoke quietly.
"There's more.""
I continued.
Three months before I died, I discovered that Vanessa had been contacting Michael. At first, I thought it was innocent. Then I found copies of financial documents in his car.
I confronted him.
He told me he was helping her.
I asked helping her do what.
He said they were trying to make sure Maya would never inherit what I left behind.
My hand trembled.
I read the final paragraph.
Daniel, if anything happens to me, please protect our little girl. And if Vanessa ever tells you that you must choose between her and Maya, remember that Maya never had a choice about losing me.
I lowered the letter.
Eleanor watched me.
"Did Laura ever tell you what she found?""
"No.""
"She believed someone had been accessing the trust.""
"Who?""
"That's what we've been trying to establish.""
I stood up and walked to the window.
My younger brother Michael had been my best friend since childhood.
He'd carried Laura's coffin.
He'd stood beside me at her funeral.
He'd held Maya when she was too young to understand why her mother wasn't coming home.
And apparently, he'd been helping Vanessa steal from her.
My phone buzzed.
A message appeared.
*Michael: Heard you had a rough night. Vanessa says you're making a scene. Call me.*
I stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
*Michael: Whatever Eleanor tells you, don't sign anything. Laura wasn't thinking clearly near the end.*
I slowly looked up.
Eleanor had seen the message.
"That's interesting," she said.
"What?""
She opened her briefcase and removed a bank statement.
"Your brother wasn't just communicating with Vanessa.""
She pointed to a series of transactions.
"He's been receiving money from Maya's trust.""
I leaned forward.
The amounts were staggering.
$15,000.
$28,000.
$42,000.
Every transfer had been approved under my name.
But I had never authorized any of them.
"How long?""
Eleanor checked the statement.
"Four years.""
Four years.
The same length of time since Laura died.
I gripped the edge of my desk.
Then I noticed something written beside the most recent transfer.
A note from the bank's internal investigation.
*Beneficiary account owner: Michael Carter.*
I picked up my phone.
I called my brother.
He answered on the second ring.
"Hey, Danny. What's up?""
I looked at the bank statement.
"Michael, I need you to answer one question.""
"Sure.""
"Why have you been stealing from my daughter?""
Silence.
Then I heard him exhale.
"Who showed you the statements?""
I closed my eyes.
He hadn't denied it.
May you like
And before I could say another word, Michael whispered something that made my blood run cold.
"Daniel, you don't understand. Vanessa wasn't the one who started this.""
