Chapter 4: The Man on the Phone
David pressed the phone against his ear.
“Who are you?””
For several seconds, there was only static.
Then the man spoke again.
“My name is Michael Grant. I was your wife's attorney.””
David's eyes narrowed.
“My wife never mentioned you.””
“She couldn't.””
“Why?””
“Because someone was monitoring her.””
David looked toward Vanessa.
She stood motionless in the hallway.
Rosa had moved closer to Ethan.
David lowered his voice.
“You said you're the reason my wife knew she was going to die.””
“I said I was the reason she knew she was in danger. There's a difference.””
“What happened?””
“Not over the phone.””
David glanced at the USB drive in his hand.
“Then tell me what's on this.””
“You found the drive?””
“Yes.””
“Don't open it there.””
David frowned.
“Why?””
“Because if Vanessa is still in the house, you're not safe.””
Vanessa's face tightened.
David stared at her.
“You knew this man?””
“No.””
Michael's voice came through the phone.
“She can hear you, David.””
David immediately stepped into the nursery and closed the door.
“Start talking.””
Michael exhaled.
“Your wife hired me eight months before she died. She came to my office carrying documents about Vanessa.””
“What documents?””
“Financial records. Medical records. School reports. She believed Vanessa was doing more than hurting Ethan.””
David's grip tightened around the phone.
“What more?””
“She believed Vanessa was trying to take control of Ethan's inheritance.””
David looked down at the USB.
“My son has an inheritance?””
“You don't know?””
“No.””
“Then you need to sit down.””
David remained standing.
“Tell me.””
“Ethan's mother created a trust for him. A substantial one. It becomes accessible when he turns eighteen.””
“How substantial?””
Michael paused.
“Enough to change someone's life.””
David closed his eyes.
He suddenly remembered the months before his wife's death.
Vanessa had appeared in their lives at exactly the wrong time.
She had offered to help.
She had handled meals.
Appointments.
Bills.
She had slowly become indispensable.
David had been grieving and working.
He had trusted her.
Michael continued.
“Your wife discovered someone had been attempting to alter the trust documents.””
“Who?””
“We suspected Vanessa.””
David looked through the nursery window.
Vanessa was gone.
His stomach dropped.
“Where is she?””
Michael's voice sharpened.
“David?””
“Vanessa isn't in the hallway.””
“Find your son.””
David opened the door.
“Rosa!””
No answer.
He ran downstairs.
The living room was empty.
The front door stood open.
David's heart stopped.
“Ethan!””
A small voice answered from the kitchen.
“Daddy?””
David rushed inside.
Ethan was standing beside Rosa.
“I thought Vanessa took you,” David said.
Ethan shook his head.
“She went outside.””
David looked through the window.
Vanessa stood at the end of the driveway.
She was speaking to someone inside a black SUV.
David's blood ran cold.
“Rosa, lock the doors.””
He grabbed Ethan's hand.
“Stay here.””
“Daddy—”
“I'm coming back.””
David stepped outside.
The SUV's engine roared.
“Vanessa!””
The vehicle pulled away.
David memorized the license plate as it disappeared down the road.
He returned inside and locked the door.
Michael was still on the phone.
“She's running,” David said.
“She was never planning to stay.””
“Who was in the SUV?””
“I don't know.””
“You're her attorney. You know who she works with.””
“I know who she worked with.””
David stopped.
“Worked?””
Michael was silent.
“Michael?””
“I need you to listen carefully.””
David's voice hardened.
“What?””
“Your wife didn't die from the accident.””
Everything inside David went still.
“What did you say?””
“She was murdered.””
Rosa gasped.
Ethan looked up.
David leaned against the counter.
“No.””
“I reviewed the medical evidence myself.””
“The police said it was a highway accident.””
“Because someone made it look like one.””
David stared at the floor.
His wife had died on a rainy Tuesday night.
A phone call.
A hospital.
A doctor telling him there was nothing they could do.
He had spent two years believing he had lost her to bad weather and bad luck.
Michael spoke softly.
“She had discovered the person behind Vanessa.””
“Who?””
“We never found out.””
“Then how do you know?””
“Because your wife left me a message.””
“What message?””
Michael hesitated.
“She said, ‘If I die, look for the man who never enters through the front door.’”
David frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“I don't know.””
A noise came from upstairs.
David looked up.
Someone was walking across the floor.
He motioned for Rosa to stay with Ethan.
Then he slowly climbed the stairs.
“David,” Michael said through the phone, “don't go up there.””
David ignored him.
He reached the landing.
Nothing.
He checked the master bedroom.
Empty.
The nursery.
Empty.
Then he heard a soft click from his office.
The door opened.
A man stepped out.
David froze.
The man wore a dark jacket and black gloves.
He held something small in his hand.
A key.
David backed away.
“Who are you?””
The man smiled.
“I was hoping you'd ask.””
David recognized the voice.
It was the same voice from the phone.
Michael Grant.
But the man standing in front of him wasn't Michael.
David stared.
“Who the hell are you?””
The stranger lifted the key.
“Someone who knows what happened to your wife.””
Behind David, Ethan screamed.
“Daddy!””
David turned.
May you like
The stranger moved.
And the nursery door slammed shut between them.
