Chapter 8 - THE LETTER THAT BROKE VANESSA'S LIE
Vanessa Rainer had spent most of her life believing Rose Bennett abandoned her.
That belief shaped everything.
Her anger.
Her ambition.
Her desperation to become wealthy enough that nobody could ever reject her again.
Now the woman who raised her had admitted the adoption records were incomplete.
And Conrad Vale had been lying for decades.
I didn't meet Vanessa immediately.
I wasn't ready.
Instead, Rebecca arranged for the relevant documents to be reviewed through attorneys.
Vanessa provided her letter.
It had been written seven years earlier.
Conrad's handwriting covered the page.
Victoria,
Claire Bennett has become a problem.
My stomach tightened.
The letter continued.
She has access to information that could expose the trust's ownership structure.
Vanessa had apparently been told I was stealing money from an investment company.
Conrad claimed I was using Adrian's influence to threaten her inheritance.
He instructed her to help arrange my departure.
She received eight million dollars afterward.
I stared at the letter.
"She knew I was threatened?"
Rebecca answered carefully.
"She admits participating in the financial arrangement. She denies knowing Conrad threatened your mother."
I swallowed.
Part of me wanted to believe her.
Another part remembered Vanessa standing beside Dominic while he slapped me.
Then Rebecca turned the page.
The letter contained a list of people whose cooperation Conrad needed.
Vanessa Rainer.
Dominic Rainer.
Warren Pike.
My stomach dropped.
Dominic?
The man who hit me had been connected to the original scheme.
I looked toward Adrian.
He was staring at the document.
His jaw tightened.
"Dominic knew who Claire was."
Rebecca nodded.
"At least, Conrad's notes suggest he did."
I felt sick.
Dominic had accused me of stealing his watch.
Slapped me.
Ordered security to search my belongings.
And apparently, he'd known my identity long before the argument began.
I remembered the way he stared at me.
The questions.
His insistence that I confess.
His anger when I refused.
Suddenly, the missing watch looked less like a misunderstanding.
It looked like a trap.
Then Rebecca examined Warren Pike's security records.
The private ballroom's cameras had been temporarily disabled shortly before Dominic accused me.
The order came from Warren's office.
I stared.
"He planned it."
Rebecca looked at me.
"That's a possibility we're investigating."
I shook my head.
"No. He wanted me frightened enough to do whatever he said."
Adrian reached toward the table.
Then stopped.
He knew I didn't want him solving this through threats.
"Claire, what do you want?"
I looked at him.
"I want the truth."
He nodded.
"Then that's what we'll pursue."
The following morning, investigators recovered a second recording from the Marlowe Club.
It showed Dominic speaking with Warren before the watch disappeared.
Dominic's voice was clear.
"Make sure Claire Bennett is the only employee near my table."
Warren answered:
"And if she refuses to cooperate?"
Dominic paused.
Then said:
"She won't."
May you like
My blood went cold.
Because the confrontation had been arranged before I ever poured the first glass of champagne.
Related Stories
