Chapter 6: Six Weeks Before Death
Darkness swallowed the room.
Someone screamed outside.
A glass shattered near the pool.
Marcus grabbed Diane's hand.
“Stay with me.””
“I’m here.””
Evelyn whispered, “Nobody move.””
The emergency lights flickered on.
Dim red strips illuminated the hallway.
Vanessa was gone.
Marcus spun around.
“Vanessa?””
The study door stood open.
She had disappeared.
Marcus ran into the hallway.
“Vanessa!””
No answer.
He heard footsteps upstairs.
He looked at Diane.
“Stay here.””
Diane grabbed his sleeve.
“No.””
“Mom—”
“I've lost too much already.””
They followed the sound.
At the top of the stairs, a door slammed.
Marcus sprinted toward it.
He opened the bedroom.
Empty.
The curtains moved beside an open balcony door.
Diane rushed inside.
“She couldn't have gotten far.””
Evelyn entered behind them.
“She knows the house.””
Marcus turned.
“How?””
Evelyn looked at Diane.
Diane's face tightened.
“She came here before.””
“When?””
“Years ago.””
Marcus stared.
“You knew Vanessa before tonight?””
“No.””
“Then why did she know this house?””
Diane looked toward the balcony.
“Because your father brought her here.””
Marcus stopped.
“What?””
Diane's voice shook.
“Six weeks before he died.””
Marcus slowly turned.
“You said you didn't know her.””
“I didn't.””
“But Dad did.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“I don't know.””
Evelyn stepped forward.
“I do.””
Marcus looked at her.
Evelyn took a breath.
“Your father believed someone inside the company was selling confidential information.””
“Patricia?””
“No.””
“Then who?””
Evelyn's eyes moved toward Diane.
“Your father suspected Diane.””
Marcus stared at his mother.
“That makes no sense.””
“He thought she was secretly negotiating with a competitor.””
Diane shook her head.
“I wasn't.””
“I know.””
Marcus looked between them.
“Then why didn't you tell me?””
“Because your father was wrong.””
Evelyn lowered her voice.
“But Vanessa was the one who brought him evidence.””
Marcus's face hardened.
“What evidence?””
“A photograph.””
“Of what?””
Evelyn hesitated.
“Your mother meeting someone.””
Diane whispered, “It wasn't a competitor.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Who was it?””
Diane looked away.
“I can't tell you.””
“Mom.””
“I can't.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“After everything tonight, you still won't tell me?””
Diane's eyes filled with tears.
“I was protecting you.””
“From what?””
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Then a sound came from downstairs.
A door slammed.
Marcus ran.
They reached the foyer just in time to see Vanessa standing beside the front entrance.
She was holding something.
The black recorder.
Marcus stopped.
“How did you get that?””
Vanessa looked at him.
“I told you. I was scared.””
“Give it back.””
“No.””
“Vanessa.””
She shook her head.
“You need to hear the rest.””
Marcus moved closer.
Vanessa pressed a button.
The recorder crackled.
His father's voice returned.
“If Vanessa is listening to this, then Claire failed.””
Vanessa's eyes widened.
Marcus looked at her.
The recording continued.
“She believes she is helping her sister.””
A pause.
“She isn't.””
Vanessa whispered, “What?””
His father's voice continued.
“Claire was never working alone.””
Diane's face drained.
Evelyn looked toward the front door.
Marcus asked,
“With who?””
The recording crackled.
Then his father spoke clearly.
“With the person standing beside my wife.””
Everyone looked at Evelyn.
She froze.
Diane whispered,
“No.””
Evelyn stepped backward.
Marcus stared at her.
“Dad meant you.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.””
The recording continued.
“I know what you did.””
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
“I never betrayed him.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Then why are you crying?””
Evelyn didn't answer.
The recorder suddenly played another clip.
This one wasn't his father's voice.
It was Evelyn's.
Recorded years earlier.
“Patricia, you need to leave before he finds out.””
Diane covered her mouth.
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Marcus stared.
“What did you tell Patricia?””
Evelyn whispered,
“The truth.””
“What truth?””
“That your father didn't own the designs.””
Diane's voice trembled.
“What?””
Evelyn looked at her.
“Neither did you.””
Marcus frowned.
“What are you talking about?””
Evelyn reached into her purse.
Her fingers closed around a small brass key.
She held it out.
“Your mother wasn't the original owner of the collection.””
Diane stared at the key.
“Evelyn…”
“Your husband didn't steal the designs from you.””
She looked at Marcus.
“He stole them from someone else.””
Marcus felt his stomach drop.
“Who?””
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
Then she said the name Diane had spent eight years trying to forget.
“Your father's first wife.””
The front door suddenly opened.
A woman's voice came from the darkness outside.
“That's not her name.””
Everyone turned.
A woman stood on the porch.
Older.
Elegant.
May you like
Alive.
And holding the missing design book.
