Chapter 12 - The Bride Who Finally Told the Truth|
I found Vanessa in the conservatory late Sunday afternoon.
She sat beside the tall windows overlooking the garden, surrounded by orchids and expensive furniture.
For the first time since I had met her, she wasn't wearing jewelry.
Her face looked tired.
Her eyes were swollen.
When she saw me, she stood.
"Claire."
I stopped near the doorway.
"Mrs. Moretti."
She glanced behind me.
"Is Luca with you?"
"No."
"Good."
I didn't move any closer.
After the bracelet incident, I had learned not to trust a private conversation with Vanessa.
The conservatory security camera was visible above the door.
A guard remained in the hallway.
She followed my gaze.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
I looked at her.
"You already tried."
She flinched.
For several moments, neither of us spoke.
Then she took a folded document from the table.
"I need you to give this to Naomi."
I didn't reach for it.
"What is it?"
"A copy of the instructions Adrian Voss sent my father."
My heart began pounding.
Vanessa placed the document on the table between us.
"He told Carlo how to use Luca's signature."
I stared at the pages.
"Why are you giving this to me?"
She looked toward the garden.
"Because my father has decided I'm a liability."
I waited.
Vanessa's voice trembled.
"He knows Luca is going to court tomorrow."
"Everyone knows that."
"Not everyone knows what Carlo intends to do before the hearing."
I felt a chill.
"What is he planning?"
Vanessa swallowed.
"He's been trying to stop Lucia from testifying."
I thought about the photograph Marco had received.
"You know who's threatening her?"
She nodded.
"One of the people working for Voss has been reporting her movements."
"Who?"
"I don't know his name."
I studied her face.
For once, I saw no calculation in her expression.
Only fear.
But fear didn't make her innocent.
"Why didn't you tell us sooner?"
Vanessa looked down.
"Because I thought my father would protect me."
Her voice cracked.
"He told me the Morettis had stolen everything that belonged to our family."
"And you believed him?"
"I wanted to."
The answer surprised me.
She looked up.
"Luca had everything."
"Money, respect, loyalty, a house people were afraid to enter."
Her expression became bitter.
"I thought marrying him would finally make my father see me as successful."
I stared at her.
"You married Mr. Moretti to please your father?"
"At first."
She looked away.
"Then I convinced myself I loved him."
I said nothing.
Vanessa continued.
"But I was always competing with something."
"His business, his father's memory, the staff who had known him longer than I had."
Her eyes hardened briefly.
"And that dog."
I felt anger rise in my chest.
"Rex never competed with you."
She flinched.
"He loved Luca before you married him."
I stepped closer.
"And he would have loved you too, if you'd let him."
Vanessa's lips trembled.
I continued.
"You didn't have to hurt him to be important."
For several seconds, she couldn't answer.
Then she whispered, "I know."
I shook my head.
"No."
My voice broke.
"You knew it was wrong when you heard him crying."
Tears slid down her cheeks.
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you open the door?"
Vanessa covered her face.
"Because I was afraid Julian would be caught before he finished."
The admission made my stomach turn.
She hadn't merely forgotten Rex.
She had chosen the stolen box over his life.
I turned away.
For a moment, I wanted to leave her sitting there with her guilt.
But then I remembered Lucia.
And the families at Hawthorne Court.
I looked back.
"If you really want to do something right, tell the authorities everything."
Vanessa lowered her hands.
"They'll arrest me."
"Maybe."
"My father will hate me."
I looked at her.
"He already used you."
That seemed to wound her more deeply than anything else I had said.
She sat down slowly.
For several minutes, she stared at the papers.
Then she nodded.
"Call Naomi."
I did.
Naomi arrived with an investigator and arranged to document Vanessa's account.
Vanessa described the meetings with Mercer, the theft from Salvatore's safe, the effort to obtain Lucia's signature, and her role in manipulating Luca into signing documents after the wedding.
She admitted paying Peter to help her access the office.
She admitted planting her bracelet in my room.
And finally, with tears running down her face, she admitted chaining Rex outside and deliberately locking the doors.
I stood near the window while she spoke.
I felt no satisfaction.
There was no pleasure in hearing someone confess to cruelty.
Only the terrible relief of knowing she could no longer deny it.
Vanessa also provided messages from Carlo and Adrian Voss.
One message instructed her to keep Luca distracted while Mercer retrieved the box.
Another discussed the planned property transfer.
A third referred to making Lucia unavailable before Monday's hearing.
Naomi's face became grave.
"This is important evidence."
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
"Will you protect me?"
Naomi answered carefully.
"I can help arrange appropriate legal representation and notify investigators about your safety concerns."
Vanessa looked toward Luca, who had entered quietly during the final part of her statement.
Her eyes filled again.
"Luca."
He remained near the doorway.
She stood.
"I'm sorry."
He looked at her for a long time.
Then he answered.
"I believe you're sorry now."
Hope flashed across her face.
But he continued.
"That doesn't undo what you did."
She began crying again.
"I know."
Luca glanced toward the garden.
"Rex trusted you."
Her shoulders collapsed.
"I know."
"And Claire worked in this house for three years without giving us a reason to doubt her."
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
"I know."
Luca took a slow breath.
"We'll let the evidence speak for itself."
He turned to Naomi.
"Make sure everyone involved gets the information they need."
For the first time, Vanessa did not argue.
She simply sat down and cried.
Later that evening, Marco came to my room.
His face was pale.
"Claire, have you seen Mrs. Moretti?"
I looked up.
"No."
He checked the hallway.
"She's missing."
My heart dropped.
"What?"
"She left the conservatory after speaking with her attorney."
"Where did she go?"
"We don't know."
Before he could answer, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number had sent me a message.
It contained a photograph of Lucia Navarro sitting in a dark room.
Her wrists appeared to be restrained.
May you like
Underneath was a single sentence.
"Tell Luca to bring the red ledger to the old greenhouse before midnight, or Lucia Navarro will never see Monday morning."
