Chapter 6 - THE PARKING GARAGE
“No.”
I stared at the photograph.
“That can't be Adrian.”
Detective Ramirez said nothing.
Dad leaned closer.
The timestamp read 5:42 p.m.
Three hours before Adrian assaulted me.
Adrian had told me he was at the office until seven.
He lied.
Again.
“What were they doing?” I asked.
“We have video.”
“Show me.”
Ramirez hesitated.
Dad spoke.
“She needs to see it.”
The detective turned her tablet around.
Grainy security footage began playing.
Marcus stood near his car.
Vanessa was arguing with him.
Then Adrian walked into frame.
No sound.
But the anger was obvious.
Marcus shoved a folder into Adrian's chest.
Adrian grabbed his shirt.
Vanessa stepped between them.
Marcus pulled away.
He pointed at Vanessa.
Then at Adrian.
Then Marcus said something that made Adrian freeze.
“What did he say?” I whispered.
“No audio,” Ramirez answered.
The footage continued.
Marcus got into his car.
Adrian slammed both hands against the hood.
Marcus drove away.
“That proves nothing,” I said.
“No,” Ramirez agreed. “But thirty-eight minutes later, his car was found abandoned.”
Dad folded his arms.
“Has Adrian been questioned?”
“He says the argument was about missing corporate funds.”
“That may be true.”
I looked at the detective.
“Why was Vanessa there?”
“He claims he didn't know she would be.”
Of course.
Every disaster in Adrian's life arrived unexpectedly.
At least according to Adrian.
Ramirez closed the video.
“There's another reason we're interested in Vanessa.”
“What?”
“Marcus's sister gave us access to a cloud backup from his phone.”
My pulse quickened.
“What was on it?”
“Messages.”
She studied me.
“Marcus believed Vanessa was manipulating Mr. Vale into forcing you out of the marriage.”
“Why?”
“We're still reviewing.”
Dad's phone rang.
He stepped into the hallway.
Ramirez continued.
“Mrs. Vale, did your husband know about your family wealth?”
“No.”
“Did Vanessa?”
“I don't know.”
That answer bothered me immediately.
Because Vanessa had always been unusually curious.
Where did you go to school?
Why don't you talk about your parents?
Why is your maiden name missing from the charity program?
What does your father actually do?
I had brushed it off as gossip.
Maybe it wasn't.
Dad returned.
His face had changed.
“What happened?” I asked.
He looked at Ramirez.
“You should hear this too.”
Then he looked at me.
“One of our cybersecurity teams traced access attempts on your trust portal.”
“When?”
“Repeatedly over the last year.”
“From Vale Meridian?”
“No.”
He paused.
“From Vanessa's home.”
The room went quiet.
Ramirez immediately took out her notebook.
Dad continued.
“She was looking for beneficial ownership records.”
I felt something cold move through me.
“She knew.”
“Maybe not everything.”
“But enough.”
Ramirez asked, “Could she have discovered Mr. Mercer was your father?”
Dad nodded.
“If she got far enough.”
My mind raced backward.
Vanessa hadn't just wanted Adrian.
She had wanted the company.
The house.
The money.
Maybe she had known all of it was connected to me.
A police officer appeared in the doorway.
“Detective?”
Ramirez stepped outside.
A few seconds later, she returned.
“Adrian Vale has been released pending further investigation.”
Dad's expression hardened.
“On the assault?”
“The prosecutor will review it in the morning.”
I nodded.
I hated it.
But I understood.
Then Ramirez's phone buzzed.
She read the message.
Her eyes snapped toward me.
“What?”
She turned the screen around.
A traffic camera had captured Marcus's car two hours after his disappearance.
Someone else was driving.
The image was blurry.
But the face was clear enough.
Vanessa.
May you like
And there was a man sitting beside her.
My husband.
