Chapter 7: The Woman Who Ran
“Because your mother wasn't supposed to die that night.””
Brielle's words kept echoing in my head long after the call disconnected.
I stood in the basement of the old design studio, staring at my phone while the people around me began moving.
Richard was already calling his attorney. Helen secured the ledger inside her briefcase and contacted the authorities. My father stood beside the cutting table, his face so pale that he looked like a stranger wearing the features of the man who had raised me.
I wanted to scream at him.
Instead, I asked the only question that mattered.
“Dad, what does Brielle mean?””
He looked at me.
“I don't know.””
“Stop lying to me!””
My voice cracked against the concrete walls.
“You knew about the transfers. You knew Mom was frightened. You knew she had discovered something about Vanessa.
And now Brielle says Mom wasn't supposed to die that night. What does that mean?””
Dad rubbed both hands over his face.
“I don't know what Daniel told Brielle. I swear to you, Emily, I never knew anyone planned to hurt your mother.””
“Did you know someone paid the doctor?””
“No.””
“Did you know Vanessa took the original medical report?””
“No.””
“Then why did you tell me not to come here?””
His silence lasted too long.
Richard stepped closer.
“Robert, now would be a good time to stop protecting yourself.””
Dad looked at him sharply.
“You think I don't know that?””
“Then answer your daughter.””
My father lowered himself onto the old wooden chair beside the cutting table.
“When Laura died, Vanessa told me the hospital had requested additional documents for the insurance claim. She said she was handling everything because I couldn't bear to look at the paperwork.””
I folded my arms.
“And you believed her.””
“Yes.””
“Without checking?””
“Yes.””
He stared at his hands.
“After the funeral, I found an envelope in Laura's desk. It contained copies of some of the transfers. Vanessa told me the documents were incomplete and that Laura had misunderstood a legitimate business arrangement.””
“So you let her explain away the evidence.””
“I was grieving. I was frightened. I didn't know who to trust.””
“You could have trusted Mom.””
The words came out quietly.
That seemed to hurt him more than my shouting.
Dad looked up, his eyes wet.
“I should have.””
For a moment, I saw the man who used to sit beside my bed when thunderstorms frightened me. I remembered his hand resting on my forehead, his promise that nothing bad would happen while he was there.
Then I remembered my mother lying in a hospital bed, and the years I had spent believing no one had any reason to question her death.
I turned away.
“I'm going after Vanessa.””
Richard shook his head.
“Not alone.””
“I'm not asking permission.””
“And I'm not trying to control you. I'm telling you that someone who knows the evidence is missing may do something desperate.””
Helen ended her call.
“The police are being notified. We've also requested an urgent review of the records connected to Dr. Reed. We need to establish where Vanessa is going before we approach her.””
My phone vibrated again.
Brielle.
She's leaving in a black SUV. I heard her tell someone to meet her at the marina.
I showed Richard.
“Which marina?”” he asked.
I called Brielle back.
She answered on the first ring.
“Emily, please don't tell Mom I contacted you.””
“Where is she going?””
“I don't know exactly. I heard her say the south entrance, near the old boat sheds.””
“Why would she go there?””
“Because she goes there whenever she needs to meet someone without being seen.””
“Who does she meet?””
Brielle began crying again.
“I don't know.””
“Brielle, listen to me. If you know something, you need to tell the truth.””
“I didn't know about the money!””
“I didn't say you did.””
“She told me it was business money. She said Dad had approved everything.””
“Did you believe her?””
“Yes!””
Her answer came out like a sob.
Then she lowered her voice.
“Daniel told me his father had been paying Mom for years. He said the money was supposed to disappear into the foundation's accounts, and nobody would ever notice.””
My stomach twisted.
“Did Daniel say anything about my mother?””
A long pause followed.
“He said his father had been at the house the night she died.””
The room seemed to tilt.
“Why?””
“I don't know. Daniel wouldn't explain. He said his father had gone there to collect something from Mom, and then everything went wrong.””
“Collect what?””
“I don't know, Emily!””
A muffled voice called Brielle's name.
She gasped.
“Someone's coming. I have to go.””
“Brielle, wait—”
The line went dead.
Richard was already moving toward the stairs.
“We need to get to the marina.””
Helen stopped him.
“Not without notifying the authorities. We cannot turn this into a confrontation that jeopardizes the investigation.””
“I understand,” Richard said.
“But if Vanessa destroys the report, we may lose our best chance of establishing what happened.””
Helen called the officer handling the preliminary inquiry and relayed the information. Then she arranged for us to meet a patrol unit near the marina entrance.
Dad insisted on coming.
I wanted to tell him to stay behind.
Instead, I looked him in the eye.
“If Vanessa is there, you don't get to warn her.””
He nodded.
“I won't.””
“And if she tries to leave, you don't help her.””
“I won't.””
“Those are promises, Dad. Not opportunities for you to explain yourself later.””
He swallowed.
“I understand.””
We drove through the city beneath a low, gray sky.
The marina was almost empty when we arrived. Wind pushed small waves against the wooden docks, and gulls circled above the warehouses. Two police officers waited near the entrance while another vehicle moved toward the boat sheds.
Richard stayed with Helen.
I stood beside Dad, watching the rows of boats.
Then I saw the black SUV.
It was parked near a warehouse at the far end of the marina.
The driver's door stood open.
A woman's coat lay on the ground beside it.
I recognized the cream fabric immediately.
Vanessa's coat.
We approached with the officers.
Inside the warehouse, a metal door slammed.
A figure hurried through the narrow passage beyond it.
“Police!”” one officer shouted.
“Stop where you are!””
The figure ran.
An officer followed while the second stayed with us.
I stepped into the warehouse.
A small table stood near the wall. On it lay a half-empty bottle of water, a torn envelope, and a photograph of my mother.
The same photograph that had disappeared from our hallway.
I picked it up.
My mother's face stared back at me, smiling beneath the afternoon sun.
Someone had written a date on the back.
The night she died.
Beside the date were four words.
He brought the wrong medicine.
My hands began to shake.
“Emily?”” Dad said behind me.
I turned the photograph over so he could see.
He stared at it.
Then he whispered, “Oh, God.””
“You recognize this?””
He nodded slowly.
“This was taken at the house the week before Laura died.””
“Who wrote on the back?””
“I don't know.””
“Dad, what medicine?””
He shook his head.
“I don't know, Emily.””
An officer approached from the passage.
“We found the vehicle abandoned. The suspect escaped through the service exit. We're checking the surrounding roads.””
I looked toward the open door.
Vanessa had run.
But she had left something behind.
Beneath the torn envelope was a folded sheet of paper bearing the letterhead of St. Catherine's Hospital.
The date matched my mother's death.
And at the bottom of the page, beside a handwritten instruction, was the signature of Dr. Samuel Reed.
*Do not administer until authorized by V.C.*
I stared at the initials.
Vanessa Carter.
For eight years, she had told me my mother died because nothing could be done.
May you like
Now I was holding a document suggesting someone had been waiting for permission to do something.
And somewhere in the city, the woman who had given that permission was running from the truth.
