Chapter 3 — The Woman Behind Vanessa
Chapter 3 — The Woman Behind Vanessa
Mary read the name again.
Richard.
For a long moment, she simply stood there.
The study was silent except for the ticking of the antique clock on the wall.
Richard.
Ethan's father.
The man who had stood at the altar rehearsal only hours earlier and called her “the daughter he had always wanted.”
The man who had smiled for photographs beside her family.
The man who had told everyone that this marriage would unite two powerful families.
Mary slowly folded her mother's letter.
Her fingers were steady.
Her heart was not.
A soft knock came at the door.
“Mary?”
Claire.
Mary slipped the letter back into the envelope.
“Come in.”
Claire entered carrying two cups of coffee.
“I thought you might need this.”
Mary took one.
“Thank you.”
Claire studied her face.
“You found something.”
Mary nodded.
“Something my mother left behind.”
“What did it say?”
Mary hesitated.
Then she handed her the letter.
Claire read it.
Her expression changed.
“This doesn't make sense.”
“I know.”
“Your mother died eight years ago.”
“Yes.”
“And Ethan wasn't even involved in the company at that time.”
“Exactly.”
Claire looked at the final line again.
“Why would she warn you about Richard?”
“I don't know.”
Claire looked up.
“Then maybe we should ask someone who does.”
Mary already knew who she meant.
“Vanessa.”
Vanessa had disappeared from the hotel.
Mary found her two hours later in a small private lounge on the opposite side of the city.
She was sitting alone.
No makeup.
Her hair was still damp.
The confident woman who had been lying beside Ethan earlier that morning was gone.
What remained was someone who looked exhausted.
When Mary entered, Vanessa immediately stood.
“I didn't know if you'd come.”
Mary closed the door behind her.
“You knew I would.”
Vanessa looked away.
“I wasn't sure.”
“You sent the messages.”
Vanessa's eyes widened.
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“I don't know.”
Mary sat across from her.
“Let's start again.”
Vanessa remained standing.
Mary pointed to the chair.
“Sit.”
After a moment, Vanessa did.
Mary placed her phone on the table.
“I'm going to ask you questions.”
Vanessa nodded.
“If you lie to me, I'll leave.”
“Okay.”
“If you tell me the truth, I'll listen.”
Vanessa swallowed.
“Okay.”
Mary leaned forward.
“Why were you with Ethan?”
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“Because he paid me.”
Mary didn't react.
“How much?”
“Fifty thousand dollars.”
Claire, sitting beside Mary, stiffened.
“For what?”
Vanessa looked down.
“To make you believe Ethan had been unfaithful.”
Mary stared at her.
“You're telling me Ethan paid you to sleep with him?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“No.”
Silence.
Mary's eyes narrowed.
“Then what happened?”
Vanessa whispered:
“He paid me to make sure you saw us.”
Mary said nothing.
The room suddenly felt colder.
Vanessa continued.
“He told me exactly when to be there.”
“What time?”
“Six forty-five.”
Mary remembered.
She had entered the presidential suite at six fifty-two.
“You were supposed to leave before I arrived.”
“Yes.”
“But you didn't.”
Vanessa looked at her.
“Because Ethan changed the plan.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“He told me to stay.”
Mary's voice hardened.
“Why?”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“Because someone wanted you to find us.”
Claire leaned forward.
“Who?”
Vanessa looked at her.
“I don't know.”
Mary stood.
Vanessa immediately looked frightened.
“I swear.”
Mary walked toward the window.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
“Then tell me what you do know.”
Vanessa hesitated.
Then she reached into her handbag.
She took out a folded piece of paper.
“I was given this.”
Mary opened it.
There was an address.
No name.
No signature.
Just an appointment time.
6:30 A.M.
And underneath:
Bring proof that Ethan has completed his part.
Mary looked up.
“What proof?”
Vanessa's voice became quiet.
“A recording.”
She pulled out her phone.
“I recorded Ethan because I was afraid he wouldn't pay me.”
Mary's expression changed.
“Play it.”
Vanessa hesitated.
Then pressed the screen.
Ethan's voice filled the room.
“Once Mary sees us, she'll leave.”
Vanessa's voice followed.
“What if she doesn't?”
Ethan laughed.
“She will.”
“And after that?”
A pause.
Then Ethan said:
“My father takes care of the rest.”
The recording ended.
Mary stared at the phone.
Claire whispered:
“Richard.”
Vanessa nodded.
“That was what Ethan told me.”
Mary sat down again.
“Why didn't you give me this earlier?”
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“Because I was scared.”
“Of Ethan?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Of Richard.”
Vanessa finally began to tell the story.
Three months earlier, she had been working at a private events company.
She met Ethan at a charity dinner.
He asked for her number.
At first, she thought he wanted a normal relationship.
Then he offered her money.
A lot of money.
All she had to do was become his secret girlfriend.
Mary listened silently.
“Why did you agree?”
Vanessa looked ashamed.
“My mother needed surgery.”
Mary's expression softened for half a second.
Then hardened again.
“You could have refused.”
“I know.”
“You could have told me.”
“I didn't know you.”
“You could have told the police.”
Vanessa gave a bitter laugh.
“Who would believe me?”
Mary didn't answer.
Vanessa continued.
“Ethan told me you were controlling. He said you were obsessed with him. He said you were planning to trap him in the marriage.”
Mary almost smiled.
“He said that?”
“Yes.”
“He told you I was the problem?”
“He told everyone.”
That hurt more than Mary expected.
Not because she believed him.
Because she realized how carefully Ethan had constructed the story.
He had been preparing people to distrust her.
Before she even knew she was at war.
Mary looked at Claire.
“Anything else?”
Claire nodded.
“Ask her about the money.”
Mary turned back to Vanessa.
“Where did the fifty thousand come from?”
Vanessa froze.
“I don't know.”
“Think.”
“It was transferred from an account.”
“What account?”
“Blackstone Holdings.”
Mary's eyes narrowed.
The same company mentioned in the anonymous message.
“Do you have the transfer?”
Vanessa opened her phone.
“Yes.”
She showed Mary the transaction.
The account number.
The date.
The amount.
And the sender.
Mary stared at it.
“That's impossible.”
“What?”
Mary pointed at the screen.
“This account doesn't belong to Richard.”
Claire looked closer.
“Then whose is it?”
Mary's face went pale.
“It belongs to Ethan.”
The room fell silent.
Vanessa stared at Mary.
“But Ethan told me his father paid me.”
Mary slowly shook her head.
“He lied to you.”
Claire looked confused.
“Why would he do that?”
Mary stood.
“To make everyone think Richard was behind the plan.”
“But your mother's letter warned you about Richard.”
“I know.”
“Then maybe Ethan isn't lying.”
Mary turned toward her.
“What are you saying?”
“Maybe the account belongs to Ethan, but Richard controls it.”
Mary didn't answer.
Claire continued.
“We need to know who has signing authority.”
Mary immediately called the bank's private legal representative.
She waited.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Finally, the call connected.
“Mr. Harris, I need you to verify something for me.”
She gave him the account number.
There was silence.
Then:
“Ms. Carter, I can't disclose that without authorization.”
Mary's voice became cold.
“You can if the account is connected to my company.”
Another silence.
Then the man said:
“Give me ten minutes.”
The call ended.
Vanessa looked at Mary.
“Your company?”
Mary nodded.
“Blackstone Holdings isn't completely owned by Ethan's family.”
“Who owns it?”
Mary looked at Claire.
Claire already knew.
“Your family.”
Mary nodded.
A horrible realization settled over her.
Ethan wasn't simply stealing money.
He had been moving money through Mary's own corporate network.
Thirty minutes later, the bank called back.
The information was devastating.
Ethan had been using a dormant subsidiary owned by Mary's family.
But there was more.
He had accessed it using authorization registered to someone else.
Mary asked:
“Whose authorization?”
The banker hesitated.
Then gave her a name.
Mary closed her eyes.
“No.”
Claire immediately noticed.
“Who?”
Mary whispered:
“My father.”
That night, Mary returned home.
Her father was waiting in the library.
He looked exhausted.
He didn't ask about the wedding.
He didn't ask about Ethan.
He simply said:
“You found it.”
Mary stopped.
“What?”
“The account.”
Silence.
Claire stood behind Mary.
Her father lowered his head.
“I was hoping you'd never have to know.”
Mary's voice was barely audible.
“How long?”
“Mary—”
“How long have you known Ethan was moving money?”
Her father looked at her.
“Six months.”
Claire's face hardened.
“And you said nothing?”
“I was investigating.”
Mary stepped closer.
“You let me walk into that wedding knowing he was using my company.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“You don't protect someone by letting them walk into a trap.”
Her father flinched.
“I needed proof.”
Mary laughed bitterly.
“Everyone needs proof.”
She looked at Vanessa.
“Apparently I'm the only person who wasn't allowed to know what was happening.”
Her father looked at Vanessa.
“Who is she?”
“Someone Ethan paid.”
His face changed.
“What?”
Mary placed the phone recording on the desk.
She played it.
Her father's face became increasingly pale.
When Ethan's voice mentioned Richard, he slowly sat down.
Mary noticed.
“You knew.”
He didn't answer.
“You knew Richard was involved.”
“I suspected.”
“That's not what I asked.”
Her father closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Mary felt something inside her crack.
“Then why did you let me marry him?”
Her father looked at her.
“Because I thought I could stop it before the wedding.”
“You failed.”
“Yes.”
His voice broke.
“I failed.”
For the first time, Mary saw fear in her father's eyes.
Not fear of Ethan.
Fear of something much bigger.
Mary asked:
“What aren't you telling me?”
He looked toward the locked study door.
Then whispered:
“Your mother knew.”
Mary froze.
“What?”
“She discovered something about Richard years ago.”
“What?”
Her father stood.
“Something that nearly destroyed both families.”
Mary waited.
But before he could continue, his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His face changed.
“Who is it?” Mary asked.
He didn't answer.
The phone stopped.
Then rang again.
The number was hidden.
Mary reached for it.
Her father stopped her.
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“Because if they know you're asking questions…”
He didn't finish.
Mary pulled her hand back.
“What happens?”
Her father looked at her.
“They'll stop trying to control you.”
A pause.
“They'll start trying to destroy you.”
Later that night, Mary sat alone in her bedroom.
She couldn't sleep.
Every answer created another question.
Ethan had manipulated Vanessa.
Richard had apparently been involved.
Her father had known more than he admitted.
And her mother had left a warning eight years ago.
Mary opened her laptop.
She searched through old company records.
Nothing.
She searched her mother's personal files.
Nothing.
Then she remembered the photograph Ethan had received earlier that evening.
The photograph of Richard standing beside her parents.
The date was wrong.
Mary enlarged the image.
Something was written on the back.
She had never noticed it before.
A handwritten sentence.
The first betrayal always comes from the person standing closest to you.
Mary stared at it.
Then another detail caught her attention.
There was a second person in the photograph.
Partially hidden behind Richard.
A young woman.
Mary zoomed in.
She recognized her.
Her heart stopped.
It was Vanessa.
But Vanessa had told her they met Ethan only three months ago.
Mary immediately called Claire.
“Claire.”
“What happened?”
“I need you to come back.”
“Why?”
Mary stared at the photograph.
“Vanessa lied.”
The next morning, Vanessa returned to Mary's house.
She looked terrified.
Mary placed the photograph on the table.
“Who is that?”
Vanessa stared at it.
Her face went white.
“I don't know.”
“Don't lie.”
“I swear I don't.”
“You're in the photograph.”
Vanessa slowly sat down.
“I've never seen that picture.”
“You're standing beside Richard.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“No.”
Mary pushed the photograph closer.
“Look.”
Vanessa did.
Her hands began trembling.
Then she whispered:
“That isn't me.”
Mary frowned.
“What?”
Vanessa pointed at the woman.
“That's my sister.”
Silence.
Mary stared at her.
“Your sister?”
Vanessa nodded.
“She died ten years ago.”
Mary looked at Claire.
Claire slowly picked up the photograph.
“Then why is she with Richard?”
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't know.”
Mary turned the photograph over.
The handwritten sentence was still there.
But now she noticed something else.
A set of initials.
V.C.
Vanessa stared at them.
“My sister's name was Victoria.”
Mary's mind raced.
Victoria.
Richard.
Her mother.
Ethan.
The money.
The forged signature.
None of it was random.
Someone had been connecting these people for years.
Mary stood.
“We need to find out who Victoria was working for.”
Vanessa looked at her.
“You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
“You may not like what you find.”
Mary's expression hardened.
“I stopped caring about that yesterday.”
She picked up the photograph.
“I only care about the truth now.”
Across the city, Ethan sat in his father's office.
Richard stood behind him.
“You told Vanessa too much.”
Ethan looked up.
“She doesn't know anything.”
“She knows enough.”
“I can handle her.”
Richard's eyes narrowed.
“You couldn't even handle Mary.”
Ethan stood.
“Mary doesn't know about Victoria.”
Richard went completely still.
“What did you just say?”
Ethan realized his mistake.
Richard stepped toward him.
“Who told you that name?”
Ethan said nothing.
Richard grabbed his collar.
“Who?”
Ethan pushed him away.
“Your mistake was thinking I was still your obedient son.”
Richard stared at him.
For the first time, something like fear appeared in his eyes.
Ethan smiled.
“You want Mary destroyed.”
He straightened his jacket.
“I want something much bigger.”
Richard's voice was cold.
“What?”
Ethan looked toward the window.
“I want everything.”
At that exact moment, Mary's phone received a new message.
Unknown number.
No greeting.
No explanation.
Only one sentence:
Vanessa is not the woman you should be afraid of.
A second message appeared.
Find Victoria's daughter.
Mary stared at the screen.
She slowly looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa whispered:
“I don't have a daughter.”
Mary's blood ran cold.
Then the third message arrived.
May you like
Yes, you do.
And Ethan knows where she is.
