Chapter 5: The Voice Behind the Screen
No one spoke.
The living room, once filled with arguments, had fallen into a silence so complete that the rain tapping against the tall windows sounded deafening.
Daniel stood motionless before the television.
The frozen image of Vanessa remained on the screen, champagne glass raised, a confident smile on her face.
"I don't love Daniel."
"I love what his last name is worth."
Those words echoed in his mind again...
...and again.
...and again.
For three years, he had imagined proposing to her.
For three years, he had defended her whenever his mother expressed quiet concerns.
For three years, he had believed he had finally found someone who loved him for himself, not for the Hawthorne fortune.
Now that dream lay in pieces at his feet.
Vanessa's knees gave way.
She collapsed onto the polished marble floor.
"Daniel..."
Her voice cracked.
"Please..."
"You didn't see the whole conversation."
Daniel didn't even turn around.
"What part of it explains that sentence?"
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
The detective stepped toward the television.
"There are additional recordings."
Vanessa shouted through her tears.
"No!"
Eleanor remained composed.
"Play them."
The detective nodded.
The next file began.
The timestamp showed it had been recorded only two weeks after Vanessa started dating Daniel.
She was in the same hotel suite.
This time, she wasn't alone.
Only the back of a man's head was visible as he poured himself a drink.
His face remained hidden.
His voice, however, was clear.
"So?"
"How's the billionaire?"
Vanessa laughed.
"Even easier than Ethan."
Claire inhaled sharply.
Daniel slowly closed his eyes.
The man continued.
"When do you think he'll propose?"
Vanessa shrugged.
"Twelve months."
"Maybe eighteen."
"I'll cry a little."
"Volunteer at another charity."
"Meet his mother's friends."
"The usual."
The man chuckled.
"You really deserve an award."
Vanessa grinned.
"No."
"I deserve the inheritance."
The video ended.
Daniel felt something inside him break.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Quietly.
Like glass cracking beneath deep water.
Claire looked away.
Even after everything she had endured, hearing Ethan's name spoken so casually made her chest tighten.
She whispered,
"He wasn't even a person to her."
"He was a target."
Vanessa wiped her face desperately.
"Those videos are edited!"
The detective calmly replied,
"Our forensic laboratory verified every frame."
"No evidence of manipulation."
She pointed wildly at the television.
"Then someone forced me!"
Nobody answered.
Even she seemed to realize how absurd that sounded.
Daniel finally turned toward her.
His eyes no longer carried anger.
Only disappointment.
"I trusted you."
Vanessa crawled toward him.
"I know."
"I made mistakes."
"Mistakes?"
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"You called me an investment."
She reached for his hand.
He stepped back again.
"You planned our future like a business deal."
"I can change."
His voice became almost painfully soft.
"The woman I loved never existed."
Eleanor watched silently.
She had hoped, even now, that Vanessa might choose honesty.
Instead, every answer became another lie.
The detective clicked on another folder.
"There is one thing we still haven't identified."
Daniel looked at the screen.
The mysterious man.
Every video included him.
His face was always hidden.
His voice was unmistakably the same.
"Who is he?"
The detective answered,
"We don't know."
Vanessa looked away.
Mr. Brooks, the family attorney, frowned.
"If he advised these schemes..."
"He may be equally responsible."
The detective nodded.
"We believe so."
He opened the final recording.
Unlike the others, this one lasted only twenty-three seconds.
The room appeared darker.
Vanessa sounded frightened.
The unseen man spoke first.
"Remember the rules."
Vanessa nodded nervously.
"I know."
"Never fall in love."
"I won't."
"Never keep evidence."
"I won't."
"And if anyone gets suspicious..."
A long pause followed.
Vanessa swallowed.
"...leave before they discover who I really am."
The recording ended.
Daniel stared at the blank screen.
"Who are you really?"
Vanessa whispered,
"I'm..."
She stopped.
Not because she didn't know.
Because she no longer knew which name to give.
Vanessa Carter?
Victoria Hayes?
Natalie Brooks?
Emily Ross?
How many versions of herself had she created over the years?
Eleanor spoke for the first time in several minutes.
"I don't believe people are born cruel."
Everyone looked toward her.
"I believe they make choices."
She turned to Vanessa.
"You've made yours."
Suddenly, the detective's phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression changed immediately.
"Eleanor..."
"I need to take this."
He stepped into the hallway.
The conversation lasted less than a minute.
When he returned...
His face had become noticeably more serious.
Daniel frowned.
"What happened?"
The detective looked directly at him.
"Our team searched another storage locker this afternoon."
Vanessa's eyes widened.
"There wasn't another one..."
The detective ignored her.
"We recovered several boxes."
"What was inside?"
He answered quietly.
"Cash."
"Jewelry."
"Luxury watches."
"Passports."
Daniel frowned.
"Anything else?"
The detective hesitated.
"Yes."
He slowly removed a sealed evidence bag from his briefcase.
Inside was an old photograph.
Faded with age.
A little girl stood between a smiling man and woman.
The little girl was about eight years old.
Daniel looked confused.
"Who are they?"
The detective handed the photograph to Vanessa.
The moment she saw it...
She stopped breathing.
Tears instantly filled her eyes.
"No..."
Her fingers trembled so violently that the evidence bag slipped onto the floor.
Daniel noticed something he hadn't seen all day.
For the first time...
Vanessa's reaction wasn't calculated.
It wasn't theatrical.
It wasn't performed.
It was raw.
Genuine.
She whispered through trembling lips,
"My parents..."
The detective nodded.
"We believe so."
The room fell silent.
Claire looked confused.
"I thought her parents were dead."
Vanessa stared at the photograph.
"They are."
The detective's expression remained solemn.
"According to every official record..."
"Yes."
He paused.
"Which makes today's discovery very interesting."
Daniel frowned.
"What do you mean?"
The detective took a slow breath before revealing the update that had arrived only moments earlier.
"Our investigators have confirmed that the man in this photograph..."
He looked directly at Vanessa.
"...was seen alive."
The room froze.
Vanessa's eyes widened in absolute disbelief.
She shook her head over and over.
"No..."
"That's impossible."
The detective's next words landed like a thunderclap.
"He checked into a motel three nights ago..."
"...using the name Robert Hayes."
"And according to motel staff..."
"...he asked one question."
The detective looked at Daniel.
"He wanted to know if his daughter..."
May you like
"...had finally married into the Hawthorne family."
End of Chapter 5
