Chapter 5 - The Face in My Apartment
Police reached my apartment before we did.
Nobody was inside.
No forced entry.
No fingerprints except mine.
And the blue coat was gone.
The security recording remained.
Vanessa watched it repeatedly.
“She looks like me.”
“Yes.”
“But older.”
“Yes.”
Adrian said what neither of us wanted to.
“Julia.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“If that's my mother, why hide?”
We found another clue.
The woman had left an envelope beneath my kitchen table.
Inside was a copy of Mom's death certificate.
One line was circled.
Cause of death: cardiac arrest.
Below it someone had written:
Ask who signed this.
The certifying physician was Dr. Samuel Reed.
Vanessa recognized the name.
“He was at the wedding.”
Adrian did too.
“Table fourteen.”
Thomas went pale.
Dr. Reed had treated Eleanor before her death.
He had also treated Rebecca.
And Mom.
We drove back to Vale House.
Most guests had left.
Dr. Reed hadn't.
We found him sitting alone in the ballroom.
He looked at Vanessa.
Then me.
“I wondered when Margaret's daughters would come.”
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Did you lie about our mother's death?”
“Which mother?”
The cruelty of the question made Adrian grab his shoulder.
“Careful.”
Reed raised both hands.
“Margaret died naturally.”
“Then why did someone circle your signature?”
“Because I signed more than one death certificate in this family.”
Thomas whispered, “Rebecca.”
Reed nodded.
“You declared her dead without a body,” Adrian said.
“Under pressure.”
“From whom?”
“Eleanor.”
Thomas stared at him.
Reed explained.
Rebecca had threatened Julia.
Eleanor and Margaret devised a plan to make Rebecca believe Julia and Vanessa had disappeared permanently.
But something went wrong.
Julia vanished.
Rebecca vanished too.
Years later, Eleanor became convinced Rebecca was still alive.
“Was she?”
Reed looked toward the ballroom doors.
“Yes.”
Vanessa whispered, “The phone.”
Reed nodded.
“She returned last year.”
“Why?”
“The trust.”
Money again.
Rebecca had learned Vanessa was alive.
She had also discovered Claire controlled the trust.
Mom found out.
That was why she contacted Vanessa eighteen months earlier.
“Did Rebecca kill Mom?” I asked.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then why all the secrecy?”
“Because Margaret knew Rebecca would come after both of you if she realized you knew.”
Adrian asked about Julia.
Reed's expression changed.
“Julia survived.”
Vanessa grabbed the back of a chair.
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
“Did she come to Claire's apartment?”
“Possibly.”
“Why wouldn't she speak to me?”
“Because Julia has spent twenty-nine years believing getting close to you would put you in danger.”
Vanessa began crying.
I reached for her.
This time she took my hand.
Reed then revealed the worst part.
Someone inside the Vale organization had been helping Rebecca.
Someone with access to the trust.
Someone who knew the wedding schedule.
Someone who knew Room 17.
Thomas insisted only a handful of people had that knowledge.
Then Adrian remembered something.
The invitation.
Number 17.
Whoever mailed it wanted Claire at the wedding.
Rebecca wanted Claire gone.
Therefore the invitation probably came from Julia.
Vanessa looked at me.
“I almost did exactly what Rebecca wanted.”
“What?”
“I threw you out.”
Her voice cracked.
“If Adrian hadn't stopped me, you would've left with the invitation.”
“And?”
“She could have followed you.”
That possibility settled over us.
Vanessa hadn't knowingly endangered me.
She had simply been manipulated.
But someone had counted on her resentment.
Someone knew exactly how she would react to seeing me.
My sister looked destroyed by that realization.
“I'm sorry.”
I squeezed her hand.
“We'll deal with us later.”
For once, she didn't argue.
Adrian's attorney arrived with banking records.
The forged authorization documents contained my electronic signature.
But the IP address belonged to Vale House.
Specifically, Thomas's private office.
Thomas stared at the report.
“I didn't do it.”
Adrian looked at his father.
“Who has access?”
“My assistant.”
“Who?”
Thomas hesitated.
“Daniel Reed.”
Dr. Reed stood.
“My son?”
The ballroom doors slammed shut.
Lights went out.
Vanessa screamed.
Emergency lights flickered on.
Daniel Reed stood on the balcony above us.
He held a folder.
And beside him stood the older woman from my apartment.
The woman looked directly at Vanessa.
May you like
Then she whispered:
“My daughter.”
