Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Gone
Claire Vance stepped from behind a hospital service door and whispered:
“Your daughter is still in danger.”
Daniel raised his weapon.
Claire held up a bloodstained envelope.
My name was written across the front.
And beneath it were three words.
TRUST NO VANCE.
I stared at her.
“Why were you in Brooke’s room?”
Claire’s eyes were red.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt her.”
“Then why the stolen badge?”
“Because my mother has people everywhere.”
Daniel moved closer.
“Hands where I can see them.”
Claire obeyed.
She looked different from the woman I remembered.
Thinner.
No designer clothes.
No expensive jewelry.
Her hair had been cut to her shoulders.
“You’re supposed to be in Europe,” I said.
“That’s what Victoria tells people.”
“Where have you been?”
“Hiding.”
“From your own family?”
“Yes.”
Daniel took the envelope.
“What’s inside?”
“Something Brooke needed to know.”
“You entered an ICU illegally to deliver a letter?”
“I didn’t know who I could trust.”
“You could have called police.”
Claire almost laughed.
“My mother donated half a million dollars to the police foundation.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“That doesn’t buy my badge.”
“No. But she believes it buys somebody’s.”
That silenced him.
Claire looked at me.
“I came back because Brooke contacted me.”
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
“Why?”
“She found financial records inside the estate.”
“What records?”
Claire glanced around.
“Not here.”
Daniel gestured toward a consultation room.
Inside, he recorded the conversation.
Claire refused a lawyer.
She sat with both hands around a paper cup.
“My mother has spent years controlling everyone in that house.”
“That isn’t evidence of assault,” Daniel said.
“I’m getting there.”
“Get there faster.”
Claire looked at me.
“Brooke discovered Victoria had been recording staff.”
“The silver tray camera.”
Claire nodded.
“Mother had cameras hidden in several decorative objects. Serving trays. Clocks. Picture frames.”
“Why?”
“Paranoia.”
“Or leverage?”
Claire gave me a tired look.
“Both.”
“What did Brooke see?”
“She found footage of Trevor.”
“Doing what?”
Claire hesitated.
“Hurting another woman.”
My chest tightened.
“Who?”
“A housekeeper named Sofia Alvarez.”
Daniel wrote the name.
“When?”
“Eight months ago.”
“What happened?”
“Trevor cornered her in the pantry after a dinner party. She fought him off.”
I stared.
“Was it reported?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“My mother paid her.”
“Of course.”
“Then she threatened her immigration status.”
Daniel’s pen stopped.
“So Brooke copied that footage.”
“Yes.”
“And confronted Trevor?”
“Not immediately.”
“What did she do?”
“She called me.”
Claire looked down.
“I told her to get out.”
“Why didn’t you come back then?”
“Because I was terrified.”
“Of Trevor?”
“Of Victoria.”
The room went quiet.
Claire’s eyes filled.
“You think Trevor is the dangerous one because he swings the club.”
“What does Victoria do?”
“She makes sure nobody survives him legally.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Explain.”
“She pays witnesses. She arranges settlements. She pressures employers. She hires private investigators.”
“Did she do that to you?”
Claire nodded.
“Why?”
“Because I tried to testify against Trevor once.”
My eyes narrowed.
“For what?”
“A girlfriend he hurt in college.”
Daniel sat very still.
“What happened to the case?”
“She withdrew the complaint.”
“Why?”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“Her father lost his job. Her mother’s mortgage was suddenly called in. Their attorney quit.”
Victoria.
A woman who never raised her voice because she didn’t need to.
“What was the girlfriend’s name?”
“Rachel Dunn.”
Daniel wrote it down.
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“You said Brooke found financial records.”
Claire nodded.
“Payments. Shell companies. Lawyers. Security firms.”
“And she copied those too?”
“I think so.”
“To the drive mailed to me?”
“Probably.”
My stomach turned.
This wasn’t only about what happened to Brooke.
She had uncovered a system.
“What’s in the envelope?”
Daniel opened it.
Inside was a keycard.
A photograph.
And a note.
The photograph showed a storage facility.
Locker 214.
The note read:
Brooke, if you ever decide to expose them, the originals are here. Do not trust anyone inside the house. Especially family.
I looked at Claire.
“You wrote this?”
“No.”
“Who did?”
“My father.”
I froze.
“Your father is dead.”
“That’s what Victoria told everyone.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Thomas Vance died four years ago in a boating accident.”
Claire shook her head.
“No body was recovered.”
“You’re saying he survived?”
“I’m saying I don’t know.”
“Then how do you have this?”
“It arrived at my apartment two years after he disappeared.”
“Postmark?”
“Local.”
“Why didn’t you investigate?”
“I tried.”
“What happened?”
“Someone broke into my apartment.”
Her hands trembled.
“They left a photograph of me sleeping.”
Daniel and I exchanged a look.
“You went into hiding.”
“Yes.”
“Why contact Brooke?”
“She contacted me first.”
“How?”
“She found an old email address.”
“What did she say?”
“That she thought Trevor had hurt someone before.”
Claire wiped her eyes.
“I told her everything.”
The door opened.
A nurse stepped in.
“Elena?”
I stood.
“What happened?”
“Brooke’s awake.”
I ran.
Her eyes found me immediately.
“Mom.”
“I’m here.”
“Baby?”
“Still fighting.”
A tear slipped from the corner of her eye.
I wiped it away.
“Daniel found the drive.”
Her expression changed.
“Did he open it?”
“Not yet.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Password.”
“What is it?”
She swallowed.
“Not here.”
I looked around.
“Brooke, Claire is here.”
Fear crossed her face.
“No.”
“She says she’s helping.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Brooke’s hand grabbed mine.
“Claire warned me.”
“Yes.”
“But she didn’t tell me everything.”
“What didn’t she tell you?”
Brooke looked toward the hallway.
“She was there.”
My heart stopped.
“Where?”
“The night Trevor hurt me.”
I turned.
Claire stood beyond the glass.
Watching us.
Daniel stepped beside her.
Brooke whispered:
“She saw everything.”
I left the room.
Claire saw my face and took one step back.
“You were there?”
Her mouth opened.
“Were you in that mansion when Trevor beat her?”
“Elena—”
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
I slapped her.
Daniel caught my arm before I could do it again.
“You watched?”
“I tried to stop him.”
“You left her there!”
“No.”
“She was dumped at a bus stop!”
“I followed them.”
“Who?”
“Trevor and my mother.”
“You saw them dump her?”
“Yes.”
“And did nothing?”
“I called 911 anonymously.”
I stopped.
The first emergency call had been anonymous.
Daniel’s expression changed too.
“That was you?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you stay?”
“My mother saw my car.”
Claire was crying now.
“I panicked.”
“You coward.”
“I know.”
Brooke’s monitor alarm sounded inside the room.
Nurses rushed in.
I turned.
For a terrible second, I thought we were losing her.
Then Dr. Mitchell appeared.
“Everyone out.”
We waited twenty minutes.
He finally came out.
“She’s stable.”
I leaned against the wall.
Daniel’s phone rang.
He stepped away.
Claire sat with her head in her hands.
When Daniel returned, something was wrong.
“What?”
“The tech team accessed the USB.”
“And?”
“Most of it is encrypted.”
“What isn’t?”
“One video file.”
My pulse climbed.
“The attack?”
“No.”
“What is it?”
Daniel looked at Claire.
“It was recorded six months ago.”
He held out his phone.
The video showed Victoria standing in the silver room.
Trevor beside her.
A third man stood with his back to the camera.
Victoria handed him an envelope.
The audio was faint.
Daniel increased the volume.
Victoria said:
“If Brooke ever discovers what happened to Thomas, handle her the same way.”
Claire stood so quickly the chair fell backward.
“My father?”
The third man turned toward the hidden camera.
Daniel froze the frame.
I recognized him instantly.
So did Claire.
The man Victoria had hired to silence Brooke was wearing a county major-crimes badge.
May you like
And Daniel whispered his name.
“Captain Warren.”
