Chapter 2 - What Was Left Behind
Vincent stared at Vanessa while the ambulance siren drew closer. "You told me Elena took everything."
"I was trying to spare you."
"By making a pregnant woman carry evidence down the stairs?"
Vanessa's gaze flicked toward me. It held a warning. Vincent saw it and moved to block her view.
"Rafael, stay with Clara," he said. "And don't let anyone touch this case."
The locksmith arrived while the paramedics were checking my blood pressure. One clasp had already split. Vincent insisted the other be opened without damaging the contents. When the lid lifted, I saw a folded cream cardigan, a silver brush, a wedding veil, and a ring box. Vincent picked up the ring and turned it toward the light.
"She wore this every day," he said. "You told me she'd sold it."
Vanessa began to cry. "I only repeated what my father told me."
"Richard Sterling told you? Your father handled her disappearance."
"He handled the legal side."
Vincent pressed along the lining. The case was still far too heavy for a few clothes. A false panel lifted from the bottom. Inside lay an old phone, a sealed letter, and a hospital report from the week Elena vanished.
Vincent read the report once. Then again.
"Pregnancy confirmed," he said. His voice sounded unfamiliar. "She was carrying my child."
I watched the man who terrified half the city sit on the bottom stair like his legs had stopped working.
The lead paramedic checked my pulse. "Miss Bennett, we're taking you in. We can't diagnose what's causing this pain here."
I nodded, but my eyes stayed on the suitcase. Vanessa had not asked about me or the baby once. She was staring at the old phone as though it might explode.
"The phone," I said. "Don't let her take it."
Rafael placed it in a clean evidence bag. "The police will get everything."
Vincent looked at me. "I'm sorry, Clara. I should have seen what was happening in my house."
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As they wheeled me toward the ambulance, he opened the sealed letter. A single sentence had been written across the first page in Elena's handwriting:
If they tell you I abandoned you, ask who locked the nursery door.
