Chapter 9 - VANESSA'S BOX
Vanessa arrived at Allison's office wearing sunglasses despite the rain.
She carried a black box.
She placed it on the table.
"I want protection."
Allison nodded.
"Then tell the truth."
Vanessa opened the box.
Inside were receipts.
Photographs.
Emails.
Voice recordings.
Hotel records.
And a handwritten ledger.
I looked at it.
"What is this?"
"Payments."
"From Ryan?"
"Yes."
"For what?"
"Everything."
She opened to a page.
Hotel.
Jewelry.
Apartment.
Attorney.
Transfers.
Then another section.
Claire.
I froze.
"What is that?"
Vanessa swallowed.
"Ryan paid someone to monitor you."
I felt cold.
"Who?"
"A private investigator."
"For how long?"
"Five months."
I looked at Allison.
"Why?"
Vanessa answered.
"Because he wanted to know whether you were planning to leave."
That sentence hurt more than I expected.
"He was watching me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because he was afraid you would discover the trust."
I looked at Vanessa.
"Why did you stay with him?"
She looked down.
"Because I believed him."
I almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
"What changed?"
She pulled out a final envelope.
"This."
Inside was a copy of a document.
A prenup.
I stared at it.
"This isn't mine."
"No."
"Whose is it?"
"Mine."
I looked up.
Vanessa had signed an agreement with Ryan.
But the agreement contained something strange.
A clause stating that if Ryan's marriage to Claire ended, Vanessa would receive a percentage of certain assets.
I laughed.
"He promised you my money."
"Yes."
"And you believed him."
"Yes."
She started crying.
"I didn't know he was married to you for money."
I looked at her.
"You knew he was married."
"Yes."
"That's enough."
She nodded.
"I know."
The room became quiet.
Then Allison asked:
"Do you have the original?"
Vanessa nodded.
"Where?"
"At my apartment."
"Don't go back there."
Vanessa looked frightened.
"Why?"
"Because if Ryan realizes what you have, he may try to destroy it."
She whispered:
"He already tried."
"What?"
"Someone broke into my apartment last night."
My heart sank.
"Did they take anything?"
She shook her head.
"Only one thing."
"What?"
"My passport."
Allison immediately called the police.
For the first time, Vanessa looked directly at me.
"I'm sorry."
I didn't forgive her.
Not then.
But I understood something.
The woman Ryan had brought into my dining room wasn't the final villain.
She was another person he had convinced he could control.
And now that she was no longer useful, he had turned against her too.
The divorce case changed again.
Now there were witnesses.
Evidence.
Financial records.
And a mistress willing to testify.
Ryan had spent years believing women were pieces on a board.
May you like
He had forgotten something.
Pieces could move.
