Chapter 17 - Before the Wedding
I met Vanessa two years after Grace died.
At the time, I thought her patience was kindness.
Now every memory felt contaminated.
Laura built a timeline.
Vanessa met Lucas with Caleb Ross six months before our wedding.
Silver Pine was not formed yet, but emails showed they were already discussing "family asset access."
Derek had forwarded copies of my travel calendar before I ever put a ring on Vanessa's finger.
"She planned this before marrying you," Aaron said.
I stared at the screen.
"Maybe she married me because of it."
That realization should have made me angry.
Instead, it made me embarrassed.
Then Ella came into the conference room carrying a paper cup of hot chocolate.
She looked at my face. "Are you sad?"
I smiled badly. "A little."
She climbed into the chair beside me.
"Because Vanessa doesn't love you?"
The question landed harder than anything the lawyers had said.
"Maybe."
Ella sipped her drink. "I still love you."
I turned away for a second because I could not let my daughter watch me break completely.
When I looked back, she was drawing circles on a legal pad.
"Daddy?"
"Yeah?"
"When Mommy Grace died, did she know where I would live?"
"With me. She wanted you with me."
Ella nodded. "Vanessa said Mommy wrote another paper."
Everyone in the room stopped.
"What paper?"
"She said Mommy made a rule that if you couldn't take care of me, Vanessa would get the house."
Laura slowly stood.
"Grace never wrote that."
Ella looked confused.
"Vanessa showed me a paper with Mommy's name."
May you like
Laura's face changed.
"Then there may be another forged document we haven't found."
