Chapter 10 - THE FIRST WIFE
Claire Vale’s medical records became the center of the investigation.
Nathan resisted at first.
Not because he did not want truth.
Because he was afraid of it.
Claire’s cancer had been aggressive.
Rare.
Doctors had told Nathan there was no reason to suspect anything except terrible luck.
But Miriam’s video proved Vanessa had access to Claire’s medical world years before they met.
Detective Brooks tracked Vanessa’s former identity.
Before becoming Vanessa Langford, she had worked as Vanessa Reed.
She was an administrative contractor for a private oncology logistics company.
One of her responsibilities involved medication deliveries.
Claire’s clinic had been a client.
Nathan sat in a conference room while a medical investigator explained that nothing yet proved poisoning, tampering, or deliberate harm.
He listened carefully.
He refused to accuse without evidence.
But something else emerged.
Vanessa had accessed Claire’s appointment records seventeen times.
Far beyond what her job required.
She had also accessed Nathan’s contact information.
Travel calendar.
Insurance documents.
Family emergency contacts.
Claire had been dying while Vanessa studied the Vale family.
Nathan felt violated in a way he could not describe.
Then Julian requested to speak with him.
Nathan almost refused.
Oliver changed his mind.
“He tried to help me.”
Nathan looked at his son.
“He left you there.”
“I know.”
“But he came back.”
Nathan frowned.
Oliver explained that after Julian first found him, small packages began appearing through a service opening.
Food.
Batteries.
Paper.
Once, a screwdriver.
Julian had been trying to help without being caught.
It was not enough.
But it was not nothing.
Nathan agreed to the meeting.
Julian entered with a detective.
He looked at Nathan and immediately said, “I’m sorry.”
Nathan remained silent.
Julian continued.
“I don’t expect forgiveness.”
“Good.”
“I just need you to know something about Claire.”
Nathan’s expression changed.
“What?”
“My mother talked about her.”
“When?”
“When I was sixteen.”
That was before Vanessa married Nathan.
Julian remembered Vanessa visiting his aunt after years of limited contact.
She talked about a wealthy family.
A sick woman.
A widower.
A child who would inherit everything.
Julian had assumed it was gossip from work.
Then he saw Nathan’s engagement announcement two years later.
He recognized Vanessa.
“I asked her if she planned it.”
Nathan stared.
“What did she say?”
“She told me rich families plan everything.”
“So why shouldn’t she?”
Nathan felt disgust.
“Did she say she hurt Claire?”
“No.”
“Did she imply it?”
Julian hesitated.
“She said Claire’s death opened a door.”
That sentence followed Nathan for days.
Not proof.
But enough to destroy every remaining memory of Vanessa as a coincidence in his life.
Oliver was discharged from the hospital one week after his rescue.
Nathan refused to return him to the estate immediately.
They moved into Margaret’s townhouse.
Oliver slept in Nathan’s room the first night.
He woke three times.
Each time he touched Nathan’s shoulder to make sure he was there.
At 3:06 a.m., Oliver whispered, “Dad?”
Nathan opened his eyes.
“What is it?”
“There’s something I didn’t record.”
Nathan sat up.
Oliver stared into the darkness.
“I heard Vanessa and Mr. Shaw talking about Mom.”
Nathan’s pulse slowed.
“Claire?”
Oliver nodded.
“What did they say?”
The boy struggled to remember.
Then he repeated the sentence.
May you like
“Shaw said the first wife was easier because nobody looked for a crime.”
Nathan did not sleep again.
