Chapter 10 - The Woman Who Wanted Everything
Victoria had never loved Richard.
That was the first truth he finally allowed himself to accept.
She had loved the mansion.
The jewelry.
The attention.
The Blackwood name.
She had loved being photographed beside a billionaire at charity events.
She had loved being called Mrs. Blackwood.
But she had never loved the man.
And she had never loved Oliver.
Richard sat in the police command room watching videos of his second wedding.
Victoria wore white silk.
Andrew stood beside Richard.
Guests applauded.
Oliver, only five years old, held a little ring pillow.
Richard remembered thinking he was giving his son a mother again.
Now he saw what he'd really done.
He had placed his child inside a carefully constructed trap.
Detective Brooks approached.
"The search team reached your cabin."
Richard turned.
"Did they find anything?"
"Yes."
She opened a secure video feed.
The small wooden house appeared on screen.
Dust covered the furniture.
The fireplace stood untouched.
Above it hung the framed wedding vows.
An investigator carefully removed the frame.
Behind the backing was a sealed plastic packet.
Inside were documents.
A small encrypted drive.
And a handwritten note.
Brooks read it aloud.
Richard, if you found this, you finally listened.
Richard closed his eyes.
The words cut deeper than anger.
Brooks continued.
I don't know what they'll do to me.
But I know what Andrew has done.
If I disappear, don't let him convince you that loving someone means believing every word they say.
Sometimes love means asking questions.
Richard whispered:
"I'm sorry."
Brooks paused.
He shook his head.
"Keep reading."
The records contain proof of the money transfers, the false medical files, and the payments to Victoria Hale.
There is one more recording.
Please watch it before you decide what to do.
Brooks nodded to the investigator.
The encrypted drive was taken for forensic examination.
Thirty minutes later, the video played.
Caroline appeared on screen.
She was sitting in their old kitchen.
Her hair was tied back.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
"Richard."
He leaned forward.
"I don't know whether you'll ever see this."
She looked toward the window.
"I found out Victoria was hired to get close to you."
Richard's stomach tightened.
"Andrew introduced her to me through the foundation. She was supposed to gather information about our marriage."
Caroline wiped her face.
"But she wanted more."
The video cut briefly.
Then Caroline continued.
"She told Andrew she could make you hate me."
Richard felt sick.
"She arranged for false medical reports. She told doctors I was unstable. She planted messages on my phone."
Caroline looked directly into the camera.
"And she told Andrew something I still can't believe."
She swallowed.
"She said if I disappeared, she could become Oliver's mother."
Richard covered his mouth.
Caroline's eyes filled.
"Please protect him."
The recording ended.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Brooks received a call.
She listened.
Her posture changed.
"What do you mean, the island's empty?"
Richard looked up.
Brooks turned toward him.
"Saint Anne's was evacuated before our team arrived."
"Caroline?"
"No trace."
"Hope?"
"No trace."
Richard gripped the desk.
"Where did they go?"
"We're tracking vehicles and boats."
He stared at the screen.
"Andrew knows we're coming."
Brooks nodded.
"Yes."
His phone vibrated.
Another message.
A live video.
Caroline sat in a chair.
A little girl slept against her shoulder.
Richard's heart stopped.
Hope.
She was beautiful.
Dark curls.
Small hands.
The same blue eyes as Oliver.
Caroline looked exhausted but alert.
Then Victoria stepped into frame.
"Hello, Richard."
Richard stood.
"Let them go."
Victoria smiled.
"You always were impatient."
"You're finished."
"No."
She leaned closer to the camera.
"I'm just getting started."
Richard's voice turned cold.
"If you hurt them—"
"What?"
Victoria laughed.
"Are you going to take away my allowance?"
Richard said nothing.
She continued.
"You know what your problem is?"
He stared.
"You think everything belongs to you because your name is on the building."
Richard glanced at Brooks.
She was already coordinating the trace.
Victoria noticed.
"Tell your detective not to bother."
The camera shifted.
A large window showed dark water outside.
Beyond it, distant lights shimmered on the horizon.
"Your wife and daughter are somewhere you can't reach without me."
Richard clenched his jaw.
"What do you want?"
Victoria held up a document.
"The original transfer agreement."
"Andrew already forged it."
"That's why we need you."
Richard frowned.
Victoria continued.
"Your attorney filed an objection before the forgery could be used. The court froze the transaction."
Richard glanced at Daniel.
The attorney nodded.
Victoria smiled.
"Very inconvenient."
"So it's over."
"No, Richard."
She moved beside Caroline.
Hope stirred in her mother's arms.
Victoria touched the child's hair.
Richard's breath caught.
"Don't touch her."
Victoria's smile widened.
"Then come sign the corrected documents."
"Where?"
"You'll receive instructions."
Richard looked at Caroline.
"Carrie."
For the first time, she lifted her head.
Their eyes met through the screen.
Three years collapsed into one terrible moment.
"Richard?"
Her voice was barely audible.
"I'm here."
Caroline began crying.
"Oliver?"
"He's safe."
She pressed a hand over her mouth.
"He's alive?"
Richard felt his heart break.
"Yes."
Caroline sobbed.
"He's alive?"
"He's seven now."
Victoria slapped the phone away from Caroline's face.
"Enough."
Richard shouted.
"LET HER TALK!"
Victoria turned the camera back.
"Midnight, Richard."
"Where?"
She smiled.
"The place where you buried her."
The video ended.
Richard stared at the blank screen.
Then he understood.
Caroline's grave.
The cemetery outside Boston.
May you like
Victoria was bringing his wife back to the place where the world believed she had died.
And she wanted Richard to surrender everything on the same ground.
