Chapter 6 - Emma Had a Secret Before She DiedGrant thought Vanessa was lying.
There was no other explanation.
Emma’s father, Stephen Lewis, had died before Rose was born.
Grant attended the funeral with Emma.
He remembered standing beside her while Margaret wept.
“You expect me to believe Stephen is alive?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Not Stephen.”
Grant stared.
“Then what are you saying?”
Vanessa whispered, “Stephen wasn’t Emma’s biological father.”
The room became silent.
Grant laughed once.
“That is absurd.”
“Ask Margaret.”
“She worshipped Stephen.”
“I know.”
“Emma never told me anything like this.”
“Because she didn’t know.”
Grant stopped.
Vanessa continued.
“Margaret had an affair.”
Michael’s expression tightened.
“Where did you learn this?”
“Richard.”
Grant’s stomach dropped.
Of course.
“Who is Emma’s biological father?”
Vanessa looked toward the door.
“His name is Charles Voss.”
Grant had heard the name.
Everyone in corporate medicine had.
Charles Voss had built Voss Global Holdings, a private equity empire that owned hospitals, pharmaceutical distributors, medical technology companies.
And recently…
Grant went cold.
Voss Global had been rumored to be interested in acquiring Harrison Medical.
Michael clearly made the same connection.
“The merger.”
Vanessa nodded.
Grant stared at her.
“Charles Voss wants my company.”
“Yes.”
“And Rose is his granddaughter.”
“Yes.”
“Does he know?”
“Yes.”
“Does Margaret?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Not until recently.”
Grant’s thoughts raced.
Emma never knew.
Rose didn’t know.
Grant certainly didn’t.
Charles Voss had apparently known enough to help engineer a plot around Rose.
“Why?”
Vanessa hesitated.
“Because he wants Rose.”
Grant’s face hardened.
“No.”
“Grant—”
“No.”
“He believes she belongs with his family.”
“She belongs with me.”
“I know.”
“Then why help him?”
“I told you.”
“No, you told me about Richard.”
Grant stepped closer.
“Why does a billionaire need to frame me to see his granddaughter?”
Vanessa looked uncomfortable.
Michael answered quietly.
“Because biology doesn’t grant him rights.”
Exactly.
A stranger couldn’t simply appear and claim a child because of genetics.
He would need leverage.
Custody instability.
A willing relative.
Margaret.
A compromised father.
Grant.
Or a new wife positioned inside the home.
Vanessa.
Grant looked at her.
“That’s why you were supposed to push Rose toward Margaret.”
Vanessa nodded.
“Margaret gets temporary custody.”
“And then?”
“Charles reveals the truth.”
Grant felt sick.
“He expects Margaret to let him into Rose’s life.”
“Yes.”
“Does she know he manipulated her?”
“No.”
Michael’s phone rang.
He listened.
Then looked at Grant.
“Police want to speak with you.”
Grant nodded.
“Where’s Rose?”
“With Daniel.”
“Keep her there.”
They went downstairs.
The wedding venue had become a crime scene of whispers.
Guests clustered near exits.
Flowers decorated empty chairs.
A string quartet had stopped playing.
At the front hall stood two officers and Margaret Lewis.
Margaret was sixty-four, elegant, gray-haired, and furious.
She held a folder.
When she saw Grant, her eyes filled.
“Where is Rose?”
“She’s safe.”
“With her?”
Margaret pointed toward Vanessa.
“No.”
“Thank God.”
Grant frowned.
“You knew?”
Margaret opened the folder.
Photographs.
Rose with a bruise near her elbow.
Rose crying in bed.
Rose with a scrape on her knee.
Rose asleep alone on a sofa.
Each photograph looked troubling without context.
“Vanessa sent these to you?”
Margaret blinked.
“No.”
Grant looked at Vanessa.
“Who?”
Margaret said, “Dr. Keller.”
Vanessa’s expression changed.
Grant felt cold.
The therapist was deeper in this than Vanessa claimed.
Margaret continued.
“She contacted me because she was worried.”
“When?”
“Two months ago.”
“She violated confidentiality?”
“She said Rose was in danger.”
Grant looked toward Michael.
He was already taking notes.
“What exactly did she tell you?”
Margaret’s hands shook.
“That Rose cries when she talks about home.”
Rose cried when she talked about Emma.
Grant knew that.
“She said Rose feels unwanted.”
Grant stared at Vanessa.
Rose did feel unwanted.
Because Vanessa had been making her feel that way.
“She said Rose sometimes says she wants to live somewhere else.”
Grant’s heart tightened.
“Where?”
“With me.”
Margaret cried.
“I thought she needed me.”
Grant’s anger softened slightly.
Margaret had been manipulated too.
“Did Keller tell you to call police today?”
“No.”
“Then why today?”
Margaret reached into her folder.
“Because this arrived this morning.”
A typed letter.
Anonymous.
If Grant marries Vanessa today, Rose will be moved somewhere Margaret will never find her.
Grant looked at Vanessa.
She appeared genuinely confused.
“This wasn’t part of the plan.”
Grant stared at her.
“Then someone changed the plan.”
Michael read the letter.
At the bottom was a photograph.
Rose asleep.
Taken through her bedroom window.
May you like
Grant felt ice move through him.
Someone had been watching his daughter.
Related Stories
