Chapter 12 - The Reason She Wanted Lily Gone
The call lasted ninety-one seconds. Ortiz obtained phone records to identify the other party. They led to Renée.
During a second interview, Renée abandoned her story about helping an overwhelmed family. She admitted Vanessa had asked her to keep Lily in Tennessee while she arranged what she called a permanent solution.
“What permanent solution?” Ortiz asked.
“Vanessa didn't know,” Renée said. “She kept saying Daniel would stop asking once things were quiet.”
“She paid you with money belonging to the child.”
Renée looked at the table. “I found that out later.”
Ortiz produced a message in which Vanessa described the settlement account by name. Renée's face changed.
“Okay,” she said. “I knew whose account it was.”
The motive was ugly and ordinary. Vanessa resented every reminder that Daniel had loved Lily's mother. She resented the money saved for a little girl who wasn't hers. She had spent beyond the family's income, then used Lily's account to cover debts and pay Renée for the planned move.
But greed did not explain the way she spoke to Lily. The recordings did.
In one clip, Lily held a photograph of Julia, her mother. Vanessa took it from her.
“You want to know why everybody is tired of you?” she said. “You keep making everything about yourself.”
Lily reached for the photograph. Vanessa held it above her head.
When I saw that footage, I had to leave the room. Julia had been my daughter-in-law, not my daughter, but I had loved her. She would have found room at the table for every child in that house.
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Ortiz later discovered an email draft on Vanessa's computer. It was addressed to a school in Tennessee and listed Lily under a different surname.
The subject line was: NEW STUDENT—LEAH BELL.
