Chapter 3 - THE NIGHT OF THE CRASH
Daniel stared at the security image for a long time.
Then he looked at Clara.
“Who were you talking to?”
Clara’s mouth went dry.
Vanessa leaned over Daniel’s shoulder.
Her expression hardened.
“That’s Arthur Bennett.”
Daniel stood so quickly his chair scraped across the floor.
“I fired that man.”
Clara said nothing.
“What did he tell you?”
“Nothing.”
“Clara.”
“He just asked if I was okay.”
Vanessa laughed softly.
“Arthur doesn’t crawl around gardens at two in the morning because he’s worried about someone.”
Daniel picked up his phone.
Clara panicked.
“Who are you calling?”
“Security.”
“No!”
Daniel stopped.
Clara realized her mistake immediately.
Vanessa noticed too.
“Why do you care?”
Clara forced herself to shrug.
“I like him.”
Daniel crouched beside her.
“Arthur is dangerous.”
“No, he isn’t.”
“You don’t know him.”
“Mom trusted him.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“Your mother trusted a lot of people she shouldn’t have.”
Vanessa touched his shoulder.
“That’s enough.”
But Clara had heard it.
The anger.
Not grief.
Not sadness.
Anger.
Later that afternoon, Clara found the courage to use Arthur’s phone.
She hid inside the pool house where the security cameras did not reach.
She pressed the only number.
It rang once.
Twice.
Then someone answered.
Nobody spoke.
Clara whispered, “Mom?”
A breath.
Then—
“Clara.”
The phone almost fell from her hand.
She knew that voice.
Three years could not erase it.
“Mommy?”
Evelyn began crying.
Clara did too.
“Mommy!”
“I’m here.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m safe.”
“Why didn’t you come home?”
“I wanted to.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
Evelyn struggled to answer.
“Because coming home too soon could have gotten you killed.”
Clara froze.
“What?”
“Listen to me carefully.”
Evelyn’s voice changed.
“Your father cannot know we spoke.”
“Did Dad hurt you?”
Silence.
“Mom?”
“Yes.”
The word shattered something inside Clara.
Evelyn told her about the night of the crash.
She had confronted Daniel with evidence that he and Vanessa had stolen nearly eleven million dollars from the family trust.
Daniel begged her to stay quiet.
When she refused, Vanessa attacked her.
Evelyn escaped to her car.
But Vanessa climbed inside.
They fought while Evelyn drove through the storm.
“Vanessa grabbed the steering wheel.”
Clara covered her mouth.
“The car hit the guardrail.”
“What happened?”
“I jumped.”
Evelyn had thrown herself from the moving vehicle seconds before it plunged over the cliff.
She rolled down a muddy slope and broke two ribs.
Vanessa had jumped earlier.
Daniel found Vanessa.
Arthur found Evelyn.
“Why did everyone think you were inside?”
“Because Daniel wanted them to.”
Evelyn realized the crash gave her one advantage.
Daniel believed she had died.
Arthur hid her.
Then Evelyn discovered something worse.
Daniel had already prepared documents claiming Evelyn suffered from severe psychological problems.
If she returned without evidence, he could portray her as unstable.
He could keep Clara away from her.
“So you left me with him?”
Clara whispered.
“I watched you every day I could.”
“That isn’t the same.”
“I know.”
“You missed my birthdays.”
“I know.”
“You missed everything.”
Evelyn cried silently.
“I know.”
Clara wanted to stay angry.
Then she heard footsteps.
She turned.
A shadow moved beneath the pool-house door.
“Mom, someone’s here.”
“Hide the phone.”
The door opened.
Vanessa stood there.
Clara quickly slipped the phone behind her back.
Vanessa smiled.
“Who were you talking to?”
“No one.”
Vanessa walked closer.
“Give it to me.”
Clara backed away.
“I don’t have anything.”
Vanessa grabbed her wrist.
Clara screamed.
The phone fell.
Vanessa stared at it.
Then slowly picked it up.
The call had disconnected.
But the screen displayed the duration.
6 minutes, 42 seconds.
Vanessa looked at Clara.
“Who did you call?”
Clara said nothing.
Vanessa’s grip tightened.
“Who?”
Clara looked directly into her eyes.
May you like
“My mother.”
For the first time since Clara had known her, Vanessa looked truly terrified.
