Chapter 5: Room Seventeen
Dad found Vanessa in the upstairs study, standing beside the desk where he used to keep my mother's papers.
She had changed out of her red pantsuit into a cream sweater, as if different clothes could make the afternoon disappear.
When Dad entered, she was sliding a folder into a drawer.
“Don't close that,” he said.
Vanessa froze.
Then she slowly pushed the drawer shut.
“You need to stop barging into rooms and accusing me of things.””
Dad held up the archive access log.
“You went to Room Seventeen the morning after Claire disappeared.””
Vanessa's face drained of color.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then she reached for the log.
“Where did you get that?””
“From the archive.””
“You had no right to access her private records.””
“Neither did you.””
Vanessa laughed sharply.
“You don't understand what happened that morning.””
“Then tell me.””
She turned away.
Dad placed the paper on the desk.
“Your signature is on this log. You used the key from Claire's photograph. You went to the archive the morning after she called me for help. What did you take?””
Vanessa gripped the back of the chair.
“Nothing.””
“Don't lie to me.””
“I didn't take anything from that room.””
“Then why did you go?””
Her shoulders rose and fell.
“I was looking for something.””
“What?””
“A document.””
“What document?””
She turned to face him.
“The one your wife said would destroy us.””
Dad stared at her.
“Destroy whom?””
Vanessa pressed both hands against the desk.
“Daniel, I didn't know she was going to disappear. I swear to you, I didn't.””
“That wasn't my question.””
“She called me that night.””
The words came out in a whisper.
Dad stopped moving.
“What?””
“Claire called me before she called you.””
My father seemed to lose the ability to speak.
I stood in the doorway, listening.
I'd followed him upstairs because I couldn't bear the thought of another conversation about my mother happening behind a closed door.
Vanessa saw me.
Her face twisted.
“How long have you been standing there?””
“Long enough.””
She looked at Dad.
“You need to send her away.””
“No,” I said.
Dad turned toward me.
“Jasmine—”
“I'm staying.””
Vanessa's eyes narrowed.
“Your mother and I had a complicated relationship.””
“You told me she was gone because she didn't care about us.””
“I never said that.””
“You said she chose to leave.””
Vanessa looked down.
For a moment, I thought she might deny it again.
Instead, she sat in the chair.
“Claire believed I had taken something from her,” she said.
Dad remained standing.
“What did she think you took?””
“Financial records. Documents connected to a company she worked with. Things I knew nothing about until she accused me.””
“What company?””
“I don't remember the name.””
“Vanessa.””
“I don't!””
Her voice cracked.
She pressed her palms against her eyes.
“She called me that night and said she had proof that someone had been moving money through accounts connected to our family. She told me she was going to expose everything.””
Dad's jaw tightened.
“Did she say who was involved?””
Vanessa lowered her hands.
“Yes.””
“Who?””
“She said the person responsible was someone neither of us would suspect.””
I stepped closer.
“Did she tell you where she was?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“No. She was frightened. She kept saying she couldn't speak freely.””
“Then why didn't you help her?””
“I tried.””
Dad's expression hardened.
“How?””
“I told her to meet me somewhere safe.””
“When?””
“That night.””
“Where?””
Vanessa stared at the carpet.
“An old office building downtown.””
Dad looked as though he could barely contain himself.
“You arranged to meet my missing wife, and you never told the police?””
“I went there.””
“What happened?””
“She never arrived.””
“And you didn't report it?””
“I was scared.””
“Of what?””
Vanessa looked up.
“Of the person she was investigating.””
The study seemed to grow colder.
I remembered the recording.
Don't trust the woman who says she came to help you.
“Mom said you were lying,” I whispered.
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“I know.””
Dad stepped back from the desk.
“Then why should I believe anything you're saying now?””
“You shouldn't,” she replied.
The answer surprised him.
Vanessa swallowed.
“But you should listen to the records.””
She opened the drawer and removed the folder she'd been hiding.
Inside were photocopies of financial statements, a photograph of my mother standing outside a brick building, and a letter addressed to Vanessa.
She placed them on the desk.
“I kept these because I thought someone might come looking for them.””
Dad picked up the photograph.
The building had a faded green door.
The same building shown in the picture from his wooden box.
On the back, my mother's handwriting read:
Room 17. The truth is in the original file.
Dad looked at Vanessa.
“You knew about this.””
“Yes.””
“For three years?””
She nodded.
“And you let Jasmine believe her mother had abandoned her.””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“I thought Claire was dead.””
“You thought she was dead, so you decided to sell the car containing the evidence?””
“I didn't know the case was there!””
“But you knew about the key.””
She looked away.
“I didn't know it was connected to the archive until today.””
Dad held up the access log.
“You used it three years ago.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“That was a different key.””
“Then why does the log show your signature?””
“Because I was given access by someone who said he was acting for Claire.””
“Who?””
She hesitated.
Then she said, “A man named Adrian Ross.””
Robert, who had entered the study quietly, stopped at the doorway.
“Did you say Adrian Ross?””
Vanessa turned toward him.
“Yes.””
Robert set his briefcase on the desk.
“Mrs. Carter, that name appears in the original file associated with your wife's protected assets.””
Dad frowned.
“Who is he?””
“According to the documents we have, he was a financial adviser who worked with Claire before she disappeared. He was also listed as an authorized contact for the archive.””
“Was he investigated?””
Robert opened the folder.
“He was interviewed, but the available record indicates that he left the state shortly afterward. There is no final conclusion in the file about his involvement.””
I stared at the photograph.
“Is he the person Mom was afraid of?””
“We don't know,” Robert said.
Vanessa looked at the financial statements.
“Claire told me Adrian had stolen money from a fund connected to her work. She believed he was using our family accounts to hide the transfers.””
Dad's face tightened.
“Our accounts?””
Vanessa nodded.
“She said someone had opened accounts in your name without your knowledge.””
Dad looked stunned.
“That is impossible.””
“That's what I told her.””
“And what did she say?””
Vanessa's voice dropped.
“She said the signatures matched yours.””
Dad stared at the papers.
I watched him slowly turn one page after another, looking for something familiar.
Then he stopped.
A transaction appeared near the bottom of the statement.
The date was three years old.
The amount was large enough to make him sit down.
“Where did this money go?”” he asked.
Vanessa pointed to a company name.
“That's the account Claire wanted me to investigate.””
Dad read the name twice.
“Carter Holdings.””
Robert leaned over the document.
“This company was incorporated under your name, Daniel.””
“I never created a company.””
“The filing date is three years ago.””
Dad shook his head.
“I was searching for Claire. I was at the police station that week. I wasn't starting a business.””
Robert studied the signature.
“We need to obtain the original filing records.””
I looked at Vanessa.
“Did Mom know someone had used Dad's name?””
“Yes,” she said.
“Did she know who?””
Vanessa's mouth tightened.
“She believed she did.””
“Who?””
Before she could answer, a sound came from downstairs.
The front door opened.
Footsteps crossed the marble foyer.
Then a man's voice called out.
“Daniel? It's Adrian. I was told there was some confusion about a vehicle.””
Nobody in the study moved.
Robert slowly closed the folder.
Dad turned toward the door.
Vanessa rose so quickly that her chair scraped backward across the floor.
“No,” she whispered.
I stared at her.
“Is that him?””
She nodded.
Then she grabbed my hand.
“Jasmine, whatever happens, do not let him take that letter.””
Dad moved toward the study entrance.
“Stay behind me.””
But before he could reach the stairs, the man downstairs called again.
“Daniel, I know you've found the certificate.””
A pause.
Then, in a voice so calm it made my skin crawl, he added:
“And I know you've read Claire's letter.””
Robert reached for his phone.
Dad looked toward the staircase.
Vanessa was trembling so badly that she could barely hold my hand.
May you like
Then the man said something that made her release me and cover her mouth.
“It's time we discussed what happened to your wife.””
