Chapter 8 - The Other Plan
Detective Greene arrived within twenty minutes.
She copied Ethan’s full recording.
For the first time, my mother could no longer claim misunderstanding.
The conversation was clear.
“Make her afraid enough to listen.”
Those were her words.
But the second sentence mattered even more.
“Your father has another plan.”
My father denied everything.
Then police searched his office.
They found a locked drawer.
Inside were copies of my medical appointment schedule.
My work calendar.
A photograph of Ryan’s car.
And a printed map showing three routes between our home and St. Catherine Medical Center.
I felt physically sick.
Ryan walked out of the room when Detective Greene told us.
He returned a minute later.
His face was controlled.
His hands were not.
“They were tracking her.”
Greene nodded.
“It appears someone was.”
“My father?”
“We can’t prove who created the file.”
“But it was in his office.”
“Yes.”
Another discovery followed.
My father had been communicating with a private investigator named Carl Mercer.
Mercer claimed he had been hired only to document my schedule.
Why?
My father told him I was involved in an estate dispute and might hide assets.
It was nonsense.
But Mercer had followed me repeatedly.
The black SUV outside my doctor’s office belonged to him.
The printed trust notice under my windshield came from him too.
“That was the warning?”
I asked.
Greene shook her head.
“Mercer says he never sent threatening messages.”
“Do you believe him?”
“His records support parts of his story.”
Ryan sat beside me.
“So what was the other plan?”
Greene hesitated.
“We found a reference to something called Phase Two.”
My entire body went cold.
“Where?”
“In messages between your father and Marcus Vale.”
She showed us.
If pressure fails, Phase Two before deadline.
That was all.
No explanation.
No details.
Marcus was still missing.
My father refused to explain.
And my mother suddenly requested an attorney.
For two days, nothing moved.
Then Vanessa asked to speak with me.
I said no.
She asked again through her lawyer.
No.
On the third request, she offered information about Marcus.
That changed things.
Detective Greene suggested I did not need to attend.
Ryan agreed.
I disagreed.
“I want to hear her.”
The meeting occurred through secure video from the district attorney’s office.
Vanessa appeared on a monitor.
She looked smaller.
No makeup.
Hair tied back.
No expensive clothes.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then she started crying.
I felt nothing.
“Claire.”
“Tell me about Marcus.”
She wiped her face.
“Dad introduced us.”
My chest tightened.
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
“Why?”
“He said Marcus could help me financially.”
“So Dad knew about your debt.”
“Yes.”
“Did Dad tell you to kick me?”
Vanessa looked down.
“No.”
“Did Mom?”
“No.”
“Then why did you?”
Her shoulders shook.
“Because I was angry.”
“That isn’t enough.”
She looked at the camera.
“Mom told me to scare you.”
I stopped breathing.
“How?”
“She said to make a scene.”
“What did you think that meant?”
“To yell.”
“Then why did you ask, ‘Is this enough?’”
Vanessa’s face collapsed.
“Because she had told me something earlier.”
“What?”
Vanessa whispered.
“She said if you went to the hospital, maybe you’d finally understand they were serious.”
Ryan stood behind me.
His hand tightened on my chair.
I forced myself to ask the next question.
“Serious about what?”
May you like
Vanessa looked straight into the camera.
“Signing the trust away.”
