Chapter 13 - The Woman at Apartment 18B
Sofia was already inside when I called. She checked the locks while I sent the threatening messages to Chen. The detective didn't promise that every frightening text would lead to immediate protection. She documented them, advised us not to meet either suspect alone, and asked for the original phone.
The next morning, a woman named Mira Ellis contacted Priya. She'd been Adam's office assistant until he fired her two weeks earlier. Mira said she'd arranged the visits to 18B and paid the notary's invoice, believing at first they were ordinary estate appointments. Then Vanessa asked her to print photographs of Elena and attach labels such as DISORIENTED and NONCOMPLIANT.
"I said it felt wrong," Mira told us at Priya's office. "Adam told me rich families handle things privately. Then he asked me to backdate a visitor statement. That's when I quit."
She brought receipts, scheduling emails, and the name of the fake placement service. One message from Adam described Elena as "the remaining obstacle" to completing the property package.
Daniel stared at the email. "Same words he used about Dad."
Chen interviewed Mira separately and requested records from the pharmacy, bank, and condo management. The investigation was no longer resting on Sofia's phone alone. Every new witness, though, made me think about the years Mom had suffered without one person believing her.
That night Vanessa appeared at Sofia's apartment building with a gift bag. Security refused her access. She left an expensive coat and a note: SOFIA, WE CAN FIX THIS IF YOU STOP MAKING YOUR MOTHER THE ENEMY.
May you like
Sofia read it, then dropped the bag unopened into a closet. "She thinks I want the coat," she said. "I wanted her to love Grandma."
On the reverse of the note was a handwritten appointment time for a meeting at Adam's office the next day. Beside it, Vanessa had written three words: MATEO SIGNS FIRST.
