Chapter 5 - BEFORE THE FALL
Vanessa stopped answering questions after her lawyer arrived.
Nobody in the house slept.
At two in the morning, Marcus brought Richard a hard drive.
“I found older footage.”
The first clip showed Vanessa moving Leo’s step stool while he climbed down. He stumbled. She caught him.
Then she glanced at the camera.
Another clip showed her leaving the backyard gate open before Leo ran outside.
I had caught him that day too.
Vanessa had hugged me afterward.
“Thank God you were watching.”
Now I felt sick.
There were more.
A loose rug.
A toy left on the stairs.
A childproof latch opened.
Each “accident” happened while I was close enough to react.
“She was testing Anna,” Marcus said.
Richard’s face went gray.
Vanessa had not pushed Leo believing nobody would save him.
She pushed him counting on me to save him.
She needed an accident serious enough to blame on the nanny, but not serious enough to destroy her plan.
Marcus opened one final file.
Vanessa stood alone in the library on a phone call. The camera had no audio, but the room microphone had been left active after a virtual meeting.
Her voice came through clearly.
“Once Anna is gone, we can proceed.”
David traced the number she called.
It belonged to attorney Simon Vale, a lawyer known for aggressive guardianship disputes.
By noon, Ortiz had a warrant for his emails.
Inside was a draft petition describing Richard as frequently absent, me as emotionally unstable, and Vanessa as the only adult capable of “stabilizing” Leo after a serious accident.
Then David reached the financial section.
He looked at Richard.
“You never told Anna about Claire’s trust?”
Richard’s eyes stayed on the screen.
“No.”
“What trust?” I asked.
He answered quietly.
“The one Leo inherits when he turns thirty.”
“How much?”
May you like
Richard swallowed.
“About forty-eight million dollars.”
