Chapter 5: The Secret in the Blue Envelope
Marcus stared at Vanessa.
“What did you just say?””
Vanessa's tears stopped almost as suddenly as they had begun.
“Renee was afraid of you.””
“No.””
“She told me she was.””
“No,” Marcus repeated, his voice rising.
“You don't get to stand here and rewrite my marriage because you're cornered.””
Vanessa flinched, but she didn't retreat.
“Ask yourself why she recorded those messages instead of telling you the truth.””
Marcus looked down at the phone.
He remembered Renee's careful silences, the way she'd sometimes pause before answering a simple question, and the nights she had gone to bed early while he finished work in his office.
He had interpreted her distance as exhaustion.
Could he have missed something much worse?
“What did she tell you?”” he asked.
Vanessa shook her head.
“Not everything. She didn't trust me enough to tell me everything.””
“Then why should I trust you?””
“You shouldn't.””
Her answer surprised him.
Vanessa drew a shaky breath.
“But you should find the blue envelope before you decide what happened.””
Marcus looked toward Andre.
“Can you take Lily home?””
Lily immediately clutched his hand.
“No, Daddy. I want to stay with you.””
He crouched beside her.
“I know, sweetheart. I just need to check something.””
“Is Vanessa going to come with us?””
“No.””
Lily searched his face.
“Promise?””
Marcus swallowed.
“I promise you won't be left alone with her.””
Andre stepped forward and offered Lily his hand.
“My apartment is ten minutes away,” he said.
“Your aunt can meet us there. We'll order pizza and watch whatever movie you want.””
Lily looked at Marcus.
“Will you come?””
“As soon as I can.””
She hugged him tightly.
Marcus held her for several seconds, breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo and the faint sweetness of the flowers attached to her dress.
“I love you more than anything,” he whispered.
“I love you too, Daddy.””
Then she reluctantly followed Andre toward the doorway.
Before disappearing into the hall, she turned back.
“Daddy?””
“Yeah, baby?””
“Mommy said you would know what to do.””
Marcus forced a small smile.
“I'll try.””
The security guard escorted them away, and Marcus heard the door close behind them.
For the first time since the recording began, he was alone with Vanessa.
He held out his hand.
“Give me the envelope.””
Vanessa blinked.
“I don't have it.””
“You said there was a receipt inside.””
“I never said I had the envelope.””
“You said you found the note among Renee's things.””
“I did. The envelope was already gone.””
Marcus stared at her.
“You expect me to believe someone took the envelope but left the note?””
“I found the note inside a box of her old notebooks. I assumed the envelope had been removed before the box reached me.””
“Who gave you the box?””
Vanessa hesitated.
“Your mother.””
Marcus went completely still.
His mother, Denise, had helped sort Renee's belongings after the funeral. She had insisted on handling the paperwork because Marcus was barely sleeping and could hardly manage a conversation without breaking down.
He had trusted her.
“Why would my mother give you Renee's private belongings?””
“She said I should help you move forward.””
“Move forward?””
Vanessa nodded.
“She said you needed someone who could help raise Lily. She thought I would be good for you.””
Marcus looked away, struggling to process the revelation.
His mother had introduced Vanessa into his life indirectly, then encouraged their relationship.
At the time, it had felt like kindness.
Now it felt like a chain of decisions he had never examined.
He pulled out his own phone and called Denise.
She answered on the fourth ring.
“Marcus? Honey, is everything all right? The wedding planner just called me.””
“No. Nothing is all right.””
A pause.
“What happened?””
“Did you give Vanessa Renee's belongings after the funeral?””
Silence.
“Mom?””
Denise exhaled shakily.
“I gave her a box of things I thought might help.””
“What things?””
“Old papers. Photographs. Some notebooks.””
“Did you see a blue envelope?””
Another pause.
“Yes.””
Marcus gripped the phone tighter.
“Where is it?””
“I don't know.””
“Did you open it?””
“No.””
“Then how do you know it was blue?””
Denise's breathing changed.
“I saw it in Renee's desk. She told me it was important, but she didn't explain why.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“When did she tell you that?””
“The week before she died.””
The room seemed to tilt.
“Mom, why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I promised her I wouldn't.””
Marcus looked toward Vanessa.
The bride had gone very still.
“What did Renee ask you to do?””
Denise's voice broke.
“She asked me to keep the envelope safe. Then she changed her mind and told me to give it to you.””
“But you gave it to Vanessa.””
“I thought I was helping you. Vanessa told me Renee had asked her to take care of some personal matters.””
Marcus felt sick.
“Did you know Vanessa had met Renee before?””
“No.””
“Did you know they had some kind of argument?””
“No, Marcus. What is happening?””
He couldn't answer.
Denise began to cry.
“Please tell me what is happening.””
Marcus looked at the note again.
If I die, ask Vanessa why.
“I'm going to find that envelope,” he said.
He ended the call.
Vanessa wiped her face.
“You should listen to your mother,” she said.
“She was trying to help.””
Marcus gave her a cold look.
“You've spent the entire day telling me what everyone else intended. My mother intended to help. You intended to protect me. You intended to teach my daughter a lesson.””
He stepped closer.
“Not one of those intentions changes what you actually did.””
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
“I know.””
“Then tell me about the night Renee died.””
Vanessa sank into a chair, careful not to crush the skirt of her gown.
“I went to her house at seven thirty. She'd called me that afternoon and said she had something to show me.””
“What?””
“I don't know. She wouldn't tell me over the phone.””
Marcus pulled another chair forward.
“Start at the beginning.””
Vanessa stared at the floor.
“When I arrived, Renee was waiting in the kitchen. She had a folder on the table and two cups of coffee. She looked frightened.””
“Of you?””
“I don't think so.””
“What did she say?””
Vanessa pressed her fingers together.
“She asked whether I'd kept the promise I made years earlier.””
“What promise?””
Vanessa looked up.
“To never tell you how we first met.””
Marcus frowned.
“We met at a charity fundraiser.””
“That was the second time you met me.””
The words struck him with unexpected force.
He searched his memory, trying to find another meeting, another face, another moment when Vanessa might have crossed his path.
Nothing came.
“Where did we meet the first time?””
Vanessa's eyes filled again.
“At Renee's request.””
Marcus felt a chill travel down his spine.
“Why would my wife arrange for you to meet me?””
Vanessa opened her mouth.
Before she could answer, a sharp knock sounded at the side entrance.
The security guard opened the door.
Denise stood outside, still wearing the navy dress she'd chosen for the wedding.
Her face was pale.
In her hands was a thick blue envelope.
“I found it,” she said.
Marcus rushed toward her.
“Where was it?””
Denise looked past him at Vanessa.
Then she placed the envelope in his hands.
“Hidden inside the lining of Renee's old jewelry box.””
Marcus examined the seal.
It had been opened and carefully glued shut again.
Someone had already read whatever was inside.
He slid his finger beneath the flap.
A photograph slipped out.
It showed Renee standing beside a younger Vanessa in front of a hospital entrance.
On the back, Renee had written a date.
Marcus recognized it immediately.
It was the day Lily was born.
May you like
And beneath the date were four words.
*The baby wasn't the first.*
