Chapter 5 - Adrian Asked Veronica One QuestionVeronica was interviewed at the Greenwich Police Department the next morning.
Her attorney sat beside her.
Adrian did not attend.
He watched later.
Detective Ford began simply.
“How long have you known Marcus Mercer?”
Veronica looked down.
“Six years.”
“How long were you romantically involved?”
Her attorney shifted.
Veronica answered anyway.
“About two.”
“Before Claire Mercer’s crash?”
“Yes.”
“Did Adrian know?”
“No.”
“Did Claire?”
“Yes.”
“When did she learn?”
“A few weeks before the crash.”
“Did you receive money through companies connected to Marcus?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
Ford placed the bank statement down.
“Seven hundred forty thousand dollars.”
Veronica closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
“What was it for?”
“Marcus used my consulting company.”
“For legitimate work?”
“Some.”
“How much?”
She did not answer.
Ford leaned forward.
“Did you know he was stealing?”
“Eventually.”
“When?”
“Months before Claire found out.”
There.
Adrian paused the video.
He had known she lied.
Hearing the admission still hurt.
He resumed.
“Did you warn Marcus that Claire planned to go to the board?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I was scared.”
“Did Marcus tell you he would stop Claire?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He didn’t say.”
“You warned Claire not to use her car.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Veronica began crying.
“Because I saw Marcus in the garage.”
Ford’s expression changed.
“Doing what?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“Don’t know or won’t say?”
“I saw him near the car.”
“Was he working on it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you believe the car was unsafe?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you call police?”
“Because I was involved in the money.”
“So you protected yourself.”
“Yes.”
The answer was ugly.
At least it was honest.
Then Ford asked:
“Did you follow Claire the morning of the crash?”
Veronica looked at her attorney.
He whispered something.
She answered:
“Yes.”
Adrian’s hands tightened.
“Why?”
“Marcus told me to make sure she didn’t reach the board.”
“How?”
“If the car stopped, I was supposed to talk her out of going.”
“And when the car crashed?”
Veronica began crying harder.
“I stopped.”
“Did you call 911?”
“No.”
“Did you go to Claire?”
“I got out.”
“How close?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did she see you?”
Veronica covered her face.
“Yes.”
Adrian stopped the video again.
He pictured Claire injured.
Trapped.
Seeing Veronica.
Waiting for help.
Veronica returned to her own car and drove away.
Another driver called emergency services minutes later.
Adrian resumed.
“Why did you leave?”
“I thought she was dead.”
“That made leaving acceptable?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“I panicked.”
“Did Marcus know?”
“Yes.”
“What did he tell you?”
“To say nothing.”
“What happened after?”
“I ended things with him.”
“How long?”
“About a year.”
“Then why did he contact you again?”
Veronica looked at the table.
“Adrian.”
There.
Ford waited.
“What about Adrian?”
“Marcus said Adrian was asking questions.”
Adrian frowned.
He barely remembered asking.
Maybe one drunken night.
Maybe after seeing Claire.
He had told Marcus:
“I keep feeling like the crash doesn’t make sense.”
Marcus apparently panicked.
“What did Marcus ask you to do?”
“Meet Adrian.”
“How?”
“A fundraiser.”
“Was the meeting accidental?”
“No.”
Adrian felt something inside him die.
Not the entire marriage.
But whatever remained of the story he had believed.
“Were you supposed to seduce him?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Become someone he trusted.”
“Why?”
“To find out whether Claire left anything.”
“Did you?”
“I searched.”
“His house?”
“Yes.”
“Claire’s old things?”
“Yes.”
“Eli’s things?”
Veronica went silent.
Ford waited.
Finally:
“Yes.”
“Did you marry Adrian as part of Marcus’s plan?”
Veronica’s eyes filled.
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because I fell in love with him.”
Adrian almost laughed.
Ford did not.
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
“Before or after you started searching his home?”
“After.”
“Did Marcus want the marriage?”
“No.”
That surprised Adrian.
“Why?”
“He said I was losing control.”
“Meaning?”
“He thought I was choosing Adrian over him.”
“Were you?”
“Yes.”
Ford leaned forward.
“And Eli?”
Veronica’s expression changed.
Adrian hated what appeared there.
Resentment.
“I tried.”
“Tried what?”
“To love him.”
“Did you?”
“Sometimes.”
“Then why the bathroom?”
Veronica stared at the table.
“Because he found the card.”
“That explains panic.”
Ford’s voice hardened.
“It does not explain cruelty.”
Veronica started crying.
“He looked at me like Claire.”
“What does that mean?”
“He hated me.”
“He is eight.”
“I know.”
“You forced his face toward a bathtub because he reminded you of his mother?”
Veronica did not answer.
Ford continued.
“What did you think would happen if Eli showed Adrian the video?”
“He would leave me.”
“So you attacked a child to protect your marriage.”
“No.”
“That’s what you just described.”
Veronica’s face collapsed.
Then she said:
“There’s something you don’t know.”
Ford waited.
“Marcus has Claire’s old phone.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“What phone?”
Veronica continued.
“Claire recorded everything.”
“Everything what?”
“Her confrontation with Marcus.”
“Where is the phone?”
“I don’t know.”
“Does Marcus?”
“Yes.”
“Why hasn’t he destroyed it?”
“Because there’s something on it he thinks can protect him.”
“What?”
Veronica swallowed.
“A video of Claire threatening him.”
Adrian felt cold.
“Threatening how?”
“She was furious.”
“Did she hurt him?”
“She picked up a fireplace poker.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
Marcus had a weapon.
Not against the criminal case necessarily.
Against Claire’s credibility.
Then Veronica said:
“But he doesn’t know there’s another recording.”
Ford stared.
“What recording?”
“Claire recorded Marcus admitting he moved the money.”
Adrian stopped breathing.
“Why doesn’t he know?”
“Because Claire told me she had hidden a copy somewhere else.”
“Where?”
Veronica shook her head.
“I never knew.”
Ford leaned closer.
“Did Marcus cause Claire’s crash?”
Veronica looked directly at the camera.
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
“And can you prove it?”
Veronica’s voice broke.
“I can prove he planned to stop her.”
Then:
“And I can prove he knew the car was dangerous before she drove.”
Adrian sat back.
For the first time—
Veronica was no longer trying to protect Marcus.
May you like
But that did not make her safe.
It only made her useful.
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