Chapter 16 - THE NUMBER ON THE PAPER
The number connected Marcus to Vanessa months before anyone knew Khloe had found the financial records.
Detective Ruiz obtained call logs.
Vanessa and Marcus had spoken eighty-three times in six months.
Richard had no idea.
That changed the case.
Vanessa was not merely Richard's mistress.
She was also Marcus's secret partner.
Together, they had planned to force Richard out after gaining control of the Harrington assets.
Khloe's trust money was supposed to stabilize the company long enough for Marcus and Vanessa to transfer the valuable properties.
Richard believed he would remain wealthy.
Marcus intended to leave him holding the criminal liability.
The courthouse injunction threatened all of it.
Ruiz confronted Vanessa with the phone records.
Vanessa remained silent for twenty minutes.
Then she asked a question.
"What happens if I cooperate?"
The district attorney made no promises.
Vanessa began talking anyway.
"Marcus told me to get Khloe's phone."
"Why?"
"Because she had recordings."
"Did he tell you to push her?"
"No."
Vanessa started shaking.
"I didn't go there planning to hurt her."
Ruiz stared at her.
"You placed both hands on an eight-months-pregnant woman beside thirty marble stairs."
Vanessa closed her eyes.
"I was angry."
"Richard had told me he was leaving me."
"He said Khloe would destroy all of us."
"And then?"
"She pulled away."
"I grabbed her."
"She said she was going to send me to prison."
Ruiz waited.
Vanessa's voice broke.
"So I pushed her."
There it was.
A confession.
But Vanessa wasn't finished.
"Richard saw everything."
"Did he touch Khloe?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Right before."
Ruiz leaned forward.
Vanessa swallowed.
"He took Khloe's phone."
"She fought him for it."
"Then he handed it to me."
"She grabbed it back."
"That's when I pushed her."
The blue thread suddenly made sense.
Richard had lied about being several feet away.
He had participated in the confrontation.
Ruiz asked the final question.
"Why did Richard want the phone?"
Vanessa looked through the one-way glass as though she knew Harrison was somewhere behind it.
"Because Khloe had recorded him saying that if she died before the divorce, he would inherit enough money to fix everything."
Harrison felt every muscle in his body go still.
May you like
Khloe's broken phone had never powered on after the fall.
But its cloud backup had.
