Chapter 3: The Will
The message stayed on the screen.
Nobody breathed.
Marcus read it twice.
Then he slowly looked at Vanessa.
“Why,” he said quietly, “does someone want me dead?””
Vanessa's face had gone completely pale.
“I don't know.””
“You expect us to believe that?””
“I don't know!””
Her voice cracked across the pool deck.
Several guests stepped backward.
The party was over.
Nobody said it, but everyone knew.
Marcus locked the phone and looked around.
“Everyone stay where you are.””
Vanessa snapped, “You don't get to give orders here.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Someone just asked why I'm still alive.””
Vanessa went silent.
I stared at my sister.
My whole body was still trembling, but the fear had changed.
It wasn't the fear of drowning anymore.
It was the fear of realizing that the person standing across from me had been planning something long before she pushed me.
I said, “Tell me about the will.””
Vanessa looked away.
“There's nothing to tell.””
“You knew about the house.””
“I knew Dad owned property.””
“You knew he left it to me.””
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
“He left you everything.””
The words came out before she could stop them.
I felt my stomach drop.
Marcus looked at me.
“You didn't tell me that.””
“I didn't think it mattered.””
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“Of course you didn't.””
I stared at her.
“What did Dad leave me?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Stop.””
“No.””
“Maya, stop asking questions.””
“Why?””
“Because you don't know what you're dealing with.””
Marcus stepped between us.
“Then explain it.””
Vanessa's eyes filled with anger.
“You think you're protecting her.””
“I am.””
“You have no idea what she inherited.””
I looked at her.
“What did I inherit?””
Vanessa pressed her lips together.
One of the guests spoke from behind us.
“Maybe someone should call the police.””
Vanessa immediately turned.
“No.””
Everyone looked at her.
She realized how that sounded.
“I mean—”
Marcus interrupted.
“Why don't you want the police here?””
“I didn't say that.””
“You just did.””
Vanessa rubbed her forehead.
“This is a family matter.””
Marcus's voice hardened.
“Attempted murder stopped being a family matter when she hit the water.””
Vanessa stared at him.
Then she looked at me.
“Maya, please.””
That was the first time all evening she had said my name without anger.
It almost sounded like begging.
“Tell me the truth,” I said.
She looked toward the mansion.
Again.
That same glance.
Marcus caught it.
“Who's in there?””
“No one.””
“You've said that twice.””
“Because it's true.””
“Then why do you keep looking at the house?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
Marcus handed the phone to me.
My fingers shook as I unlocked it.
The conversation was still open.
There were dozens of messages.
Some were harmless.
Some were about the party.
Then I noticed a thread from three days earlier.
*Vanessa: She signed everything?*
*Unknown: Not yet.*
*Vanessa: Then tonight has to work.*
My chest tightened.
I scrolled.
Another message.
*Unknown: The property cannot transfer if she's declared incompetent.*
My mouth went dry.
I looked at Vanessa.
“What is this?””
She rushed toward me.
Marcus blocked her.
“Don't.””
Vanessa stopped.
“Maya, give me the phone.””
“No.””
“You don't understand what you're reading.””
“Then explain it.””
She looked at the guests.
Everyone was watching.
Her perfect evening had collapsed.
Her perfect image had collapsed with it.
And for the first time in my life, Vanessa looked small.
She whispered, “Dad changed the will because of you.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“He knew.””
“Knew what?””
“That someone was going to come after you.””
Silence.
Marcus looked at her.
“Who?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I can't.””
“You already tried to kill her,” Marcus said.
“You can tell us who.””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“I wasn't supposed to hurt her.””
I stared at her.
“You pushed me into a pool.””
“I was supposed to scare you.””
“You knew I couldn't swim.””
“I thought they'd pull you out.””
“They almost didn't!””
“I know!””
Her scream echoed across the water.
She covered her mouth.
Then she whispered, “I know.””
I felt something break inside me.
“Who are ‘they’?””
Vanessa looked at me.
Her lips parted.
Before she could speak, the mansion's glass doors slowly opened.
Everyone turned.
A man stepped onto the pool deck.
Black suit.
Black shoes.
Calm expression.
He looked completely out of place among the panicked guests.
Vanessa stopped breathing.
Marcus moved closer to me.
The man looked directly at Vanessa.
Then he smiled.
“Vanessa,” he said.
She whispered his name.
“Uncle Daniel?””
May you like
He looked at me.
And said, “Your father was right. You should never have been given a chance to read that will.””
