Chapter 11 - THE CONFESSION VANESSA DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE|
The safe-deposit box was held at a bank in downtown Chicago.
Detective Alvarez arranged for its contents to be examined with Frank's authorization.
Inside were original account statements, signed correspondence, and documents showing how money had been diverted from Maria's foundation.
Several pages bore Raymond Calder's signature.
Others contained instructions from Simon Voss.
The records also showed payments to people who had helped conceal the transactions.
Evelyn studied everything carefully.
"This could establish the financial motive behind what happened to Maria."
Luca looked at her.
"Can it prove murder?"
"Not by itself."
"But combined with the witness statements and other evidence, it may be extremely important."
Then she paused.
"There's something else."
She showed Luca a handwritten memorandum.
It was dated three days before Maria's death.
In the document, Maria stated that she intended to report the missing funds and the suspicious transactions to the authorities.
She had written that Frank must not be blamed.
And she had specifically warned that Raymond might use Luca's loyalty to the family against him.
Luca read the document twice.
Then he whispered, "She was trying to protect me."
I stood beside him.
"She still is."
He turned toward me.
"What do you mean?"
"Everything she saved is helping you understand what happened."
For a moment, he simply looked at me.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
Luca answered.
"Hello?"
A familiar woman's voice emerged.
"Don't hang up."
Vanessa.
His expression hardened.
"What do you want?"
"I want to talk."
"Talk to the police."
"I already have an attorney."
"Then tell your attorney everything."
Vanessa's voice broke.
"Simon is going to kill Raymond."
Luca stopped.
"What?"
"He's afraid Raymond will sacrifice him to save himself."
She began crying.
"And when Simon gets frightened, people get hurt."
I watched Luca's expression change.
He placed the call on speaker.
"Where are you, Vanessa?"
"Somewhere safe."
"Then stay there."
"Please, Luca."
For a moment, she sounded almost like the woman he had married.
Then she said, "I have evidence."
Luca looked at Detective Alvarez, who had just entered the office.
The detective approached.
"Vanessa, this is Detective Nina Alvarez."
"We can arrange for you and your attorney to provide that evidence."
Vanessa hesitated.
Then she agreed to meet at a public location with her lawyer present.
The following afternoon, I accompanied Detective Alvarez as a witness because Vanessa had specifically asked to speak to me.
The meeting took place in a quiet room at a downtown legal office.
Luca remained elsewhere.
When Vanessa entered, I barely recognized her.
Her beautiful blonde hair was pulled into a loose ponytail.
There was no diamond necklace.
No expensive evening gown.
Only a gray sweater and dark trousers.
She sat across from me.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then Vanessa looked at my hands.
"You're still wearing that little silver bracelet."
I glanced down.
"My mother gave it to me."
Vanessa smiled bitterly.
"Of course she did."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"People like you always have something money can't buy."
I met her eyes.
"You could have had that too."
Her expression changed.
Then she laughed without humor.
"You have no idea who I was before Simon."
"Then tell me."
She looked toward Detective Alvarez.
Her attorney nodded that she could continue.
Vanessa took a shaky breath.
"Seventeen years ago, Simon was charming."
"He made me feel like the most important person in the world."
"He promised a life without fear."
"Then I discovered where his money came from."
I said nothing.
"Maria found out too."
My heart began pounding.
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
"She tried to warn me."
"She told me Simon was dangerous."
"But I thought she was trying to destroy my marriage."
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
"The night Maria died, Simon told me she was going to ruin everything."
"He said Raymond wanted to scare her into silence."
I stared at Vanessa.
"Did you know they were going after her?"
She nodded slowly.
"I knew they planned to confront her."
"But I didn't know what Raymond would do."
"Did you help them?"
She covered her face.
"I told Simon when Maria left the restaurant."
The room fell silent.
My stomach turned.
Vanessa had helped the men who killed Luca's mother.
Then, years later, she had entered Luca's life pretending to love him.
"How could you?" I whispered.
Vanessa began crying harder.
"I told myself it wasn't my fault."
"I told myself I couldn't have stopped them."
"But I knew."
She wiped her eyes.
"And every time Luca spoke about his mother, I knew."
I felt tears burning behind my eyes.
"You watched him grieve."
Vanessa nodded.
"And I said nothing."
Detective Alvarez asked several questions.
Vanessa admitted that she and Simon had maintained their relationship after his staged death.
She also acknowledged giving Frank medication that had not been prescribed to him.
She claimed Simon had supplied it and assured her that it would only make Frank forget recent events.
I stared at her.
"You knew he was seventy-nine."
"You knew he was frightened."
Vanessa looked away.
"He kept recognizing Simon."
"So you decided to make him forget?"
She didn't answer.
For the first time, I understood that some cruelty came not from anger but from the decision to treat another person's life as an inconvenience.
Finally, Vanessa slid a folder across the table.
Inside were copies of messages from Simon.
Several mentioned payments to Raymond.
Others referred to Maria's accident and the need to keep Frank quiet.
Her attorney explained that Vanessa wanted to cooperate, but any agreement would have to be negotiated with prosecutors.
Detective Alvarez made no promises.
As the meeting ended, Vanessa looked at me.
"Claire?"
I stopped.
She swallowed.
"Tell Frank I'm sorry."
I looked at her.
"He's the person you need to apologize to."
Then I walked away.
Outside, Detective Alvarez's phone rang.
She listened carefully.
Her expression changed.
After ending the call, she turned toward me.
"Simon just contacted Luca."
My heart stopped.
"What did he say?"
"He wants to meet tonight."
"Where?"
She hesitated.
"At Maria's Table."
I stared at her.
"The burned restaurant?"
May you like
She nodded.
"And he says he's bringing the evidence that will put Raymond away for the rest of his life."
