Chapter 6 - The Family Meeting
By morning, everyone knew enough to be dangerous.
Mark's mother, Evelyn, demanded a family meeting.
I wanted to refuse.
Mark said, "If she knows something, I need to hear it."
We went without Chloe.
My friend Tessa stayed at our house with a police patrol checking the street.
Evelyn sat at the head of her dining table like she was about to host Christmas instead of discuss attempted harm to her granddaughter.
Vanessa was not there.
Thank God.
Evelyn folded her hands.
"This has gone too far."
"Your daughter pushed Chloe toward a moving SUV."
"She says that is not what happened."
"We have video."
"You have partial video."
Mark leaned forward.
"Mom."
She looked at him.
"Your sister is under enormous pressure. She has made mistakes, but calling her a monster will not fix them."
"What mistakes?"
Evelyn hesitated.
"You knew about the money," I said.
"No."
"You knew something."
Her eyes flicked toward Mark.
"Vanessa borrowed from the company."
"Two million dollars?" Mark asked.
"I didn't know it had become that much."
"You covered for her."
"She was going through a divorce. She owed people money. Your father would have wanted us to help."
"My father left a warning about her."
Evelyn's face drained.
"What warning?"
Mark put the letter on the table.
She read it.
Her hands began to shake.
"Where did you get this?"
"Dad's desk."
Evelyn whispered, "He told me he destroyed it."
"What?"
She looked up.
"The blue drive."
Mark stared at her.
"You knew about that too?"
Tears filled her eyes.
"Your father confronted Vanessa the night before he died."
"What did Dad say?"
Evelyn closed her eyes.
"He said if Vanessa did not return the money by Monday, he would go to the police."
Mark went still.
His father had died on Sunday.
May you like
Then Evelyn said the sentence that changed everything.
"The last person I saw go into your father's study that night was Vanessa."
