Chapter 2: The Secret Behind My Mother's Death
The morning after Vanessa made that telephone call, my father received an unexpected visitor.
His name was Daniel Brooks.
He had been my mother's attorney for nearly ten years and was one of the few people my father trusted completely.
Daniel arrived carrying a leather briefcase.
He didn't remove his coat.
He didn't ask for coffee.
He simply placed the briefcase on the dining table and said:
“Marcus, we need to talk about Sophia.””
My father looked up from his newspaper.
“What happened?””
Daniel glanced toward the kitchen.
“Can we speak privately?””
My father immediately stood.
They walked into his study and closed the door.
I was sitting on the carpet outside, arranging wooden blocks.
Max was beside me.
The study door hadn't closed completely.
I could hear their voices.
“Why are you bringing this up now?”” my father asked.
“Because someone contacted my office three days ago.””
“Who?””
“Vanessa Monroe.””
Silence.
Then my father's voice became sharper.
“What did she want?””
“She requested a certified copy of Sophia's original trust agreement.””
My father frowned.
“She already has access to the household documents.””
“Not this one.””
“Why not?””
Daniel opened his briefcase.
“Because Sophia left specific instructions. Certain documents could only be released to you, or to an independent trustee, under particular circumstances.””
My father sat down.
“What circumstances?””
Daniel removed a thick envelope.
“Lily turning twenty-five. Your death. Or evidence of an attempt to alter the trust without the required authorization.””
My father stared at the envelope.
“Alter it how?””
Daniel placed several sheets of paper on the desk.
“By changing the beneficiary designation.””
My father leaned forward.
“Lily is the beneficiary.””
“Yes.””
“And that cannot be changed?””
“Not by Vanessa. Not by you alone. Sophia made sure of that.””
My father picked up the document.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then he stopped.
“What's this?””
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“It's a separate instruction from Sophia.””
“What instruction?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Your wife suspected that someone might eventually try to gain control of the family estate through you.””
My father looked up.
“What?””
“She asked me to establish additional safeguards.””
Marcus shook his head.
“Sophia never told me this.””
“She didn't want you worrying about something that might never happen.””
My father stared at the document for several seconds.
Then he whispered:
“She knew?””
Daniel didn't answer.
Instead, he opened another section of his briefcase.
“Marcus, there's something else.””
He removed a photograph.
It showed Vanessa standing outside a private medical clinic.
My father recognized the building immediately.
It was the clinic where Sophia had received treatment during the final months of her life.
“Why is Vanessa there?””
Daniel placed another photograph beside it.
This one showed Vanessa entering the clinic through a side entrance.
The date was printed on the back.
Two months before Sophia died.
My father slowly looked up.
“Where did you get these?””
“An investigator I hired after receiving the request from Vanessa.””
“Why would you investigate my wife?””
“Because I found something in Sophia's files.””
Daniel opened a small folder.
Inside was a handwritten note.
The writing was unmistakably my mother's.
Marcus,
If anything happens to me, please protect Lily.
I don't want you to distrust everyone. But there are things I discovered about Vanessa that I couldn't explain.
Please speak to Daniel before signing anything concerning the company or the family trust.
And whatever happens, don't let anyone separate Lily from Max.
My father read it once.
Then again.
His hands began to shake.
“Why didn't you show me this before?””
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“Because Sophia asked me to wait until I had something concrete.””
“And now?””
Daniel slid another document across the desk.
“Now I believe we do.””
Meanwhile, Vanessa was in the kitchen.
She had ordered the housekeeper to prepare a special lunch.
But she wasn't interested in eating.
She was waiting for a package.
At eleven thirty, a delivery driver arrived at the front gate.
Mrs. Eleanor signed for the envelope.
Vanessa appeared almost immediately.
“Give that to me.””
Mrs. Eleanor looked surprised.
“It's addressed to Mr. Carter.””
“I know. I'll take care of it.””
“But—”
“Do you have a problem with that?””
The older woman handed it over.
Vanessa carried the envelope upstairs.
She locked her bedroom door.
Inside was a copy of the same family trust document Daniel had shown my father.
But this copy had handwritten notes in the margins.
Vanessa removed a second paper.
It contained a list of names.
The names of three people who could challenge her if she attempted to change the trust.
Marcus Carter.
Daniel Brooks.
Margaret Carter.
She crossed out Margaret's name.
Then she drew a line beneath Daniel's.
“Two problems,” she whispered.
Her phone rang.
It was the same man from the previous night.
“Did you get it?””
“Yes.””
“Good. We need to move quickly.””
“Marcus is becoming suspicious.””
“Then stop giving him reasons to investigate.””
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“You think I haven't tried?””
“Where is the child?””
“Downstairs.””
“And the dog?””
Vanessa looked toward the window.
Through the glass, she could see Max lying beside me on the terrace.
“Still following her everywhere.””
The man sighed.
“Get rid of it.””
Vanessa's eyes narrowed.
“I've tried. Marcus won't allow it.””
“Then make him think it's necessary.””
She ended the call.
For a long moment, she stared at the garden.
Then she smiled.
That afternoon, I was playing with Max near the swimming pool.
The pool was enormous.
It had pale blue tiles, a marble terrace, and a waterfall that poured into the deep end.
My father had told the staff never to leave me alone near it.
There was even a small safety gate around the pool area.
But Vanessa didn't like the gate.
She said it ruined the appearance of the garden.
She had ordered the maintenance staff to remove it.
My father hadn't noticed.
I was sitting on the warm tiles, holding Max's red rubber ball.
“Ready, Max?””
I threw it.
The ball rolled across the terrace.
Max ran after it.
Then he stopped.
His ears lifted.
He was staring at the side entrance.
Vanessa had appeared.
She was wearing a fuchsia dress and carrying a small handbag.
“Lily,” she called.
I turned.
“Vanessa!””
She smiled.
“Come here, sweetheart.””
I stood and walked toward her.
Max immediately moved in front of me.
Vanessa glanced at him.
“Move.””
Max didn't.
She stepped closer.
“I said move.””
He barked.
I laughed.
“Max talk!””
Vanessa's face hardened.
“Get your dog away from me.””
I reached for his collar.
“He good.””
Vanessa looked down at me.
“Lily, do you want to see something special?””
I nodded.
She held up a small red rubber ball.
My favorite color.
“Would you like another one?””
I reached for it.
But Vanessa pulled it back.
“Come closer.””
Max began barking again.
Vanessa looked over her shoulder.
Then she crouched.
“Listen, little girl. We're going to play a game.””
I smiled.
“Game?””
“Yes. A very special game.””
She placed the ball on the tiles.
“Go get it.””
I looked at Max.
He wasn't looking at the ball.
He was looking at Vanessa's hand.
Something about the way she was holding herself made him uneasy.
Then the housekeeper called from the kitchen.
“Mrs. Carter! The telephone!””
Vanessa turned.
“I'm coming!””
She looked back at me.
“Stay right here.””
Then she walked away.
I picked up the ball.
Max nudged my hand.
He wanted me to follow him away from the pool.
But I didn't understand.
I wanted to play.
Twenty minutes later, my father left his study.
Daniel had gone home after promising to return the next morning.
Marcus stood in the hallway, holding my mother's handwritten note.
He looked exhausted.
Mrs. Eleanor approached him.
“Sir?””
“Yes, Eleanor?””
She hesitated.
“There's something I think you should know.””
“What is it?””
“Mrs. Carter has been asking me questions about Lily's inheritance.””
My father looked up.
“What questions?””
“She wanted to know who would control the estate if something happened to you.””
Marcus went completely still.
“What did you tell her?””
“That the family trust protects Lily.””
He stared at her.
“Did she ask anything else?””
Mrs. Eleanor lowered her voice.
“She asked whether the trust would remain valid if Lily died before she turned twenty-five.””
My father's grip tightened around the paper.
“And what did you say?””
“That I didn't know.””
He stared toward the garden.
Then he began walking.
“Where's Lily?””
“In the pool area, sir.””
My father stopped.
“Alone?””
Mrs. Eleanor looked uncertain.
“I thought Mrs. Carter was with her.””
Marcus broke into a run.
The first thing I remember was the pressure of two hands against my back.
The second was my stepmother screaming:
“DIE, YOU LITTLE BRAT!””
And the third was the terrifying realization that I was falling into the swimming pool.
I was three years old.
I didn't understand inheritance.
I didn't understand family businesses.
I didn't understand why a woman who lived in my house wanted me gone.
I only understood that the water was cold.
My yellow dress floated around my legs.
I kicked.
My head disappeared beneath the surface.
I came up once.
I saw the sky.
I saw Vanessa standing above me.
Her fuchsia dress moved in the breeze.
Her diamond bracelet glittered.
She wasn't reaching for me.
She wasn't calling for help.
She was watching.
And smiling.
“Help!”” I tried to scream.
But water filled my mouth.
Then I heard barking.
Furious barking.
Max.
He came running across the marble terrace.
His paws slipped against the wet tiles.
He looked at me.
Then at Vanessa.
And jumped.
The splash was enormous.
He swam toward me, his powerful legs cutting through the water.
I felt something beneath my arm.
His fur.
I grabbed it.
Max pulled.
I coughed.
My head surfaced.
Then I heard my father's voice.
“LILY!””
He was running toward us.
Vanessa stepped backward.
For the first time, her smile disappeared.
Marcus jumped into the pool fully dressed.
He reached me just as Max pushed me toward the edge.
My father lifted me out.
I was coughing violently.
My little hands clutched his shirt.
“Daddy!””
He held me against his chest.
“I'm here, sweetheart. I'm here.””
Max climbed out beside us.
His entire body was shaking.
My father looked at Vanessa.
“What happened?””
She stared at him.
Then she began screaming.
“She fell! Marcus, she fell!””
He looked at the pool.
Then at the open gate.
Then at Vanessa.
“How?””
“I don't know! I was trying to help her!””
My father slowly stood.
“You were standing right there.””
Vanessa began crying.
“She slipped! I couldn't reach her!””
Marcus looked at the wet tiles.
Then at the bracelet on her wrist.
A small scratch marked the inside of her hand.
He glanced at Max.
The dog was growling.
“Vanessa,” my father said quietly, “what did you do?””
She stepped backward.
“How dare you accuse me?””
He moved closer.
“Answer me.””
“Your daughter is alive! That's what matters!””
My father looked down at me.
Then he looked back at his wife.
“No,” he whispered.
“What matters is why you weren't trying to save her.””
An ambulance arrived twelve minutes later.
The paramedics examined me and rushed me to the hospital for observation.
My father refused to leave my side.
Max was taken to the veterinary clinic because he had swallowed a considerable amount of pool water and had scraped his paws on the tiles.
Before leaving, my father knelt beside him.
“You saved my little girl.””
Max licked his hand.
Marcus pressed his forehead against the dog's head.
“Good boy.””
Then he stood and looked at the housekeeper.
“Eleanor, call the police.””
Vanessa appeared behind him.
“Marcus, don't be ridiculous.””
He didn't turn.
“Call them.””
“You're going to ruin our marriage over an accident?””
He finally faced her.
“An accident?””
His voice was dangerously quiet.
“Lily was underwater. You were standing three feet away.””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“I panicked!””
“Then why were you smiling?””
She froze.
My father stared at her.
He had seen it.
The expression on her face.
The moment she thought I was going to disappear.
And now he couldn't unsee it.
That evening, while I slept in a hospital bed, my father returned home.
He went straight to his study.
He opened the security system.
The pool camera had been installed two years earlier.
But the footage was stored on a separate server.
He called the security manager.
“I want the recording from this afternoon.””
“Of course, sir.””
“And I want every recording from the past six months.””
There was a pause.
“Every recording?””
“Every single one.””
The manager hesitated.
“Sir, there's something you should know.””
Marcus looked at the screen.
“What?””
“The camera system recorded an unusual access request last night.””
“From whom?””
The manager checked the logs.
Then he answered:
“Mrs. Vanessa Carter.””
My father stopped breathing for a moment.
“What did she access?””
“The archive.””
“Which footage?””
The manager swallowed.
“The recording from the day your wife died.””
My father slowly sat down.
Because suddenly, he understood something.
Vanessa hadn't simply wanted to erase his first wife from the house.
She had been trying to erase the evidence of something.
And the footage from that afternoon might reveal what she had done.
But before the security manager could open the archive, a notification appeared on the monitor.
<PRIVATE_PERSON> had requested the deletion of three recordings.
One was from the pool.
One was from the garden.
And the third was from the day Sophia Carter died.
My father stared at the screen.
May you like
Then he whispered:
“Vanessa… what have you done?””
