Chapter 8 - THE RECORDING
That night, Alice asked me why I was crying.
I told her I was tired.
She didn't believe me.
“Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“Can I tell you something?”
“Anything.”
She looked toward the hallway.
“Grandpa told me not to tell you.”
My heart stopped.
“What did Grandpa tell you?”
“He said if I told you, you would get mad.”
“About what?”
Alice twisted the blanket between her fingers.
“He said Aunt Vanessa needed money.”
I waited.
“He said you were going to stop helping them.”
I swallowed.
“What else?”
“He asked me if I knew where you kept your important papers.”
My entire body went cold.
“Did you tell him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you said never tell anyone where you keep things.”
I pulled her into my arms.
“I'm proud of you.”
Then Alice whispered:
“Grandpa said if I helped him, Aunt Vanessa wouldn't have to leave her house.”
There it was.
The missing piece.
They had been preparing something.
The trust.
The money.
The insurance.
And my daughter had somehow become part of their plan.
The next day, Rebecca contacted law enforcement.
Not because we knew exactly what had happened.
Because we knew enough to be afraid.
An investigator named Daniel Mercer met us.
He reviewed the evidence.
Then he watched the security footage.
His expression became serious.
“This is enough to open an investigation.”
I asked:
“What about the insurance policy?”
“We'll examine it.”
“And the financial transfers?”
“Yes.”
He looked at Alice's file.
“Your daughter may have been placed in a vulnerable situation intentionally.”
The word intentionally echoed in my head.
Before he left, Daniel said:
“Don't warn them.”
I nodded.
That evening, my father called.
“Carolyn, we need to talk.”
“About what?”
“Your mother is sick.”
I almost laughed.
Then he said:
“And Vanessa is threatening to do something stupid.”
I sat down.
“What did she threaten?”
Silence.
“Dad?”
He finally whispered:
“She said if she loses everything, she'll tell you the truth.”
May you like
“What truth?”
He hung up.
