Chapter 5: The Person Rachel Feared
I read Rachel’s letter three more times.
Every word felt heavier.
Every sentence opened another wound.
My wife had known something.
She had been scared.
And while I was grieving her death, Vanessa had been standing beside me pretending to be family.
I walked downstairs holding the letter.
Vanessa looked at my face and immediately knew.
She knew I had found something.
“Daniel…”
“Did Rachel know about Thomas?””
Her expression changed.
Only for a second.
But it was enough.
“Yes,” she whispered.
Emily stepped behind me.
“You lied.””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“I was trying to protect you.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
I held up the letter.
“Rachel wrote that she was afraid of you.””
Vanessa’s face became pale.
“She was wrong.””
“Was she?””
The silence that followed was painful.
Then Vanessa sat down.
For the first time since I came home, she looked exhausted instead of manipulative.
“I didn’t want this to happen.””
“What didn’t you want to happen?””
She looked at the floor.
“Rachel finding out.””
My entire body went cold.
“Finding out what?””
Vanessa didn’t answer.
“Vanessa.””
She looked up.
“Thomas was stealing from the company.””
I already knew that part.
“He wasn’t alone.””
My heart sank.
“Who helped him?””
She looked at me.
And then she said the name I never expected.
“Rachel.””
The room exploded.
“No.””
The word came out before I could stop it.
Emily looked shocked.
“You’re lying.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I wish I was.””
I stepped forward.
“Don’t you dare use my wife’s name to save yourself.””
“I’m not.””
“Then explain.””
Vanessa took a shaky breath.
“Rachel discovered what Thomas was doing. But before she could expose him, she found out something else.””
“What?””
“She found transactions.””
“From who?””
Vanessa looked at Emily.
Then at me.
“From an account under her name.””
The room went silent.
I felt like the ground disappeared beneath me.
“No.””
“Daniel—”
“No.””
I grabbed the table for support.
Rachel was the person who built our family.
The person who raised our daughters.
The person who stayed beside me through everything.
She couldn’t have done this.
She wouldn’t have.
Vanessa continued.
“Rachel was being framed.””
That sentence stopped me.
“What?””
“Thomas created the evidence. He wanted her blamed because she found out the truth.””
I stared at her.
“You expect me to believe you?””
“No.””
Her voice broke.
“Because I know what I look like right now.””
For the first time, I saw something different in Vanessa.
Not innocence.
Not guilt.
Regret.
“I helped Thomas hide something.””
Emily looked disgusted.
“You admitted it.””
“Yes.””
Vanessa nodded.
“I was scared.””
“Scared enough to help someone destroy my mother?”” Emily asked.
Vanessa looked away.
“I was scared enough to believe Thomas when he said Rachel would ruin everyone.””
My phone suddenly buzzed.
A message.
From an unknown number.
I opened it.
There was a photo attached.
My blood froze.
It was Rachel.
Taken the night of her accident.
But she wasn’t alone.
She was standing beside someone.
Someone I recognized.
Someone who was supposed to have never been there.
Under the photo was a message:
*You want the truth about Rachel’s death? Ask Vanessa why she deleted the original footage.*
I looked up slowly.
Vanessa saw my face.
“What happened?””
I turned the phone toward her.
The color drained from her face.
Because she knew exactly who sent it.
“Daniel…”
“Who sent this?””
She didn’t answer.
“Who?””
Her lips trembled.
Then she whispered:
“The person who knows what really happened that night.””
I stepped closer.
“Who?””
May you like
Vanessa looked terrified.
“Your daughter’s grandfather.””
