Chapter 9 - The Woman Who Knew Too MuchVanessa reveals the final stage of Dominic's planVanessa looked nothing like the polished assistant I remembered.
Her face was bruised.
Her wrist was wrapped.
A doctor stood nearby.
She looked at me.
“I am sorry.”
“For what?”
“For helping him.”
I sat.
“Tell me everything.”
She swallowed.
“Dominic never expected to love you.”
“I know.”
“He expected you to be useful.”
I looked away.
“How did it begin?”
“Your mother-in-law introduced him to someone.”
“Who?”
“Gideon Mercer.”
Dad's expression hardened.
Vanessa noticed.
“You know him.”
“Yes.”
“What does he want?”
“I don't know.”
She continued.
“Mercer believed your father's family held access to something valuable.”
“What?”
“I never knew.”
“And Dominic?”
“He was supposed to marry you, gain access, then transfer certain assets.”
I felt numb.
“What assets?”
“Anything connected to your mother's trust.”
My heart stopped.
“Why?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“Then what happened?”
“Dominic discovered you were stronger financially than he expected.”
I almost laughed.
“He didn't even know the details.”
“He knew enough.”
She reached beneath the blanket and pulled out a phone.
“He started using this.”
I recognized it immediately.
Dominic's second phone.
“How did you get it?”
“He left it.”
I took it.
There were dozens of messages.
Some from Victoria.
Some from Mercer.
One thread made my stomach turn.
Victoria:
Get her pregnant quickly.
Dominic:
She's already pregnant.
Victoria:
Then move faster.
I stared at the screen.
Leo's existence hadn't been a surprise.
It had been a deadline.
Another message appeared.
Once the child is born, her emotional state will make her easier to control.
My hands trembled.
Vanessa whispered:
“That's why he pushed you so hard after the birth.”
I looked at her.
“He wanted me dependent.”
“Yes.”
“Then why abandon me?”
“Because he believed you'd come back.”
“He expected me to have nowhere else to go.”
Vanessa nodded.
Then she looked at Dad.
“But they didn't know who your father was.”
Dad's expression remained cold.
Vanessa continued.
“They knew the surname.”
“But not the identity.”
“Exactly.”
I looked down.
“So everything changed the moment they learned.”
Vanessa nodded.
“That is why Dominic panicked.”
“Who told him?”
“Victoria.”
“How did she find out?”
“I don't know.”
Then she whispered:
“There's something worse.”
“What?”
“Dominic has a recording.”
“Of what?”
“You.”
I froze.
“Talking to your father.”
“When?”
“Before the baby was born.”
My mind raced.
“I never knew he was recording me.”
Vanessa looked sick.
“He used a hidden device.”
“For what purpose?”
“To learn what your father knew.”
I stood.
“Where is the recording?”
“On his laptop.”
“Elena has the laptop.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“He kept a second copy.”
“Where?”
She looked at me.
“In the nursery.”
My heart dropped.
“The nursery?”
“Yes.”
A hidden camera?
I couldn't breathe.
Dad immediately called security.
Within minutes, we had people at the apartment.
But when they searched the nursery, they found the device.
The recordings were still there.
Elena played one.
My own voice filled the room.
“I don't think Dominic understands what my father can do.”
Then Dominic's voice.
“She won't tell you.”
Another voice.
Victoria.
“She will eventually.”
Then Mercer.
“Make sure she doesn't leave before the transfer.”
I stared at the screen.
“Transfer of what?”
The recording continued.
Mercer said:
“The trust activates when the child reaches six months.”
Leo was five days old.
I turned toward Dad.
“Dad.”
He went completely still.
“What activates?”
He didn't answer.
“What happens when Leo turns six months?”
Dad looked at me.
May you like
And for the first time, he admitted there was a family trust I knew absolutely nothing about.
End of Chapter 9The trust was worth far more than Audrey had ever imagined.
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