Chapter 7 - Vanessa's AlibiRichard caught Vanessa before she reached the staircase.
He grabbed her wrist.
She twisted violently.
“Let go of me!”
“Who sent that message?”
“I don't know!”
“You said the phone was yours.”
“It is.”
“Then who is asking whether Ethan talked?”
Vanessa tried to pull free.
“I can explain.”
“Explain.”
“Not while you're holding me like this.”
Richard released her.
Vanessa backed toward the wall.
Her breathing was fast now.
For the first time since Richard met her, she looked unprepared.
No tears.
No careful expressions.
No perfectly chosen words.
Just panic.
Richard unlocked his own phone.
“I'm calling Detective Ward.”
“No.”
Vanessa moved forward.
He stepped away.
“Richard, listen.”
“I'm done listening.”
“You don't understand what Ethan saw.”
His thumb stopped above the screen.
Vanessa closed her eyes.
She knew she had said too much.
“What did he see?”
“Nothing dangerous.”
“What did he see?”
“I was going to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
Vanessa looked toward the red phone.
Richard followed her gaze.
“The passcode.”
“What?”
“I'll give you the passcode.”
Richard stared.
“Why?”
“Because if you call the police before you understand, they'll destroy everything.”
“What is everything?”
“Our marriage.”
Richard almost smiled.
“My son almost died.”
Vanessa's face crumpled.
“I didn't put him in that freezer.”
“Then unlock the phone.”
“Richard—”
“Unlock it.”
Vanessa whispered four numbers.
Richard entered them.
The phone opened.
There were almost no applications.
Messages.
Calls.
Photos.
A banking app Richard had never seen.
He opened the messages.
Most threads were deleted.
One remained.
A contact saved only as N.
Richard tapped it.
The most recent exchange appeared.
N: Did the kid talk?
Before that:
Vanessa: Richard came home early.
N: Get rid of the phone.
Vanessa: I can't find it.
N: Then we have a problem.
Richard felt his throat close.
He scrolled upward.
Most messages were missing.
“What is this?”
Vanessa didn't answer.
“Who is N?”
“No one.”
Richard turned the screen toward her.
“No one asked if my son talked?”
“It isn't what you think.”
“Then tell me what I think.”
Vanessa's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Richard called Ward.
Vanessa lunged again.
He shoved the phone into his pocket and held her back.
“Stop.”
“You're making a mistake.”
“The mistake was trusting you.”
Her expression hardened.
The frightened wife disappeared.
“Fine.”
The word came out cold.
Richard felt something inside him sink.
Vanessa straightened her sweater.
“I was having an affair.”
The confession hit him so unexpectedly that for several seconds he forgot the freezer.
“What?”
“With someone you know.”
Richard stared.
“Who?”
“That doesn't matter.”
“It matters to me.”
“Richard, listen. Ethan saw messages. He took the phone. That's why the text says, ‘Did the kid talk?’”
Richard's mind raced.
“Whoever you're sleeping with knew Ethan had the phone.”
“Yes.”
“And you were looking for it.”
“Yes.”
“Did you follow him downstairs?”
“No.”
“Did you touch the freezer?”
“I went inside earlier for food. That's why my blood is on the latch.”
Richard stared.
She knew about the blood.
“I never told you they identified it.”
Vanessa froze.
Richard saw the mistake immediately.
“How did you know?”
“I assumed.”
“No.”
“Richard—”
“You knew.”
Vanessa backed away.
Sirens sounded outside.
Detective Ward had clearly decided not to wait for an invitation.
Vanessa looked toward the basement windows.
Then toward Richard.
“You called them.”
“Yes.”
Hatred entered her face.
Just for a second.
Then it disappeared.
By the time Ward came down the stairs, Vanessa was crying.
Richard almost admired the transformation.
Almost.
Ward took the red phone.
Vanessa admitted it belonged to her but insisted the affair was unrelated to Ethan.
“Who is N?” Ward asked.
“I want an attorney.”
That ended the interview.
Police escorted Vanessa upstairs.
They did not arrest her.
Not yet.
Richard followed.
At the front door, Vanessa stopped.
“You believe her now?”
Richard frowned.
“Maria.”
Vanessa gave a bitter laugh.
“She wanted this.”
“You still think Maria did it?”
“I think Maria has wanted me out of this house since the day I arrived.”
“You're lying.”
“Am I?”
Vanessa leaned closer.
“Ask her why Claire called her the night she died.”
Richard stopped.
The blood drained from his face.
Vanessa smiled faintly.
“You didn't know?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Maria has spent six years pretending she told you everything.”
“About what?”
Vanessa stepped onto the porch beside the detective.
Before Ward led her away, Vanessa looked back.
“Ask Maria what your first wife was afraid of.”
The door closed.
Richard remained frozen in the foyer.
He thought he understood the nightmare.
He didn't.
May you like
Because suddenly the woman he believed was innocent had a secret too.
And it involved his dead wife.
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