Chapter 17 - Beyond the Gate
The caller was Vanessa.
"Why did you lock me out of the camera?" she demanded.
Daniel kept his voice low. "Leave the property. Officers are on their way."
"I used to live there."
"You won't be coming inside."
On the screen she turned toward the house, lowering her hood. Her hair was wet and her face looked exhausted. For a moment he saw a frightened woman rather than the person he'd been afraid of for days.
Then she said, "You have no idea how much of your life I could destroy."
"You've already done enough."
She looked toward the nursery. "Is he sleeping?"
"He's safe."
"Because of me, he had six weeks of a real family."
Daniel tightened his grip on the phone. "A real family doesn't have to turn the cameras off before it touches a child."
Vanessa hung up. She moved toward the side entrance, then stopped when police lights appeared at the corner. Ortiz's team detained her without a struggle. Investigators later searched her belongings under proper authorization and recovered a drive containing expense files, draft statements, and the same carefully cropped images she'd sent to neighbors.
One draft accused Maria of leaving the iron within reach of the crib. Another instructed a lawyer to describe Daniel as incapable of caring for Noah without Vanessa.
Daniel sat at the kitchen table after the police left. He expected to feel victorious. Instead he felt tired enough to fall through the chair.
Ruth poured him a glass of water.
"She's not getting into that room tonight," she said.
"I know."
"Then go hold your son."
He did. Noah stirred, opened his eyes, and gripped Daniel's thumb.
May you like
The next morning, Simone called with news that made his knees go weak.
"The prosecutor has reviewed the new files," she said. "Vanessa is being charged. And they're asking Maria to testify about what she saw."
