Chapter 9 - THE OLD PHONE
Rosa’s apartment looked as if someone had searched it with purpose.
Closet doors were open.
Drawers had been emptied.
Couch cushions had been lifted.
Yet her television remained.
Her jewelry remained.
Cash inside a kitchen envelope remained.
Only the old phone was missing.
Detective Mercer stood near the doorway.
“Why would anyone want that phone?”
Rosa looked toward Adrian.
“Because I used to record voice notes.”
Mercer took out a notebook.
“What kind of voice notes?”
“My English classes.”
Rosa looked embarrassed.
“I practice words while I clean.”
Adrian suddenly understood.
“You accidentally recorded Vanessa.”
Rosa nodded.
“Maybe.”
“When?”
“The day she talked to Clara in the laundry room.”
Mercer stepped closer.
“Did you hear the recording?”
“I listened once.”
“What was on it?”
Rosa closed her eyes, trying to remember.
“Vanessa said Olivia needed to learn consequences.”
“She said Adrian would never send Olivia away unless something serious happened.”
“She offered Clara money.”
Mercer wrote quickly.
“What did Clara say?”
“She said no.”
“What else?”
“Vanessa told her she was making a mistake.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“Did Vanessa know the phone existed?”
Rosa nodded.
“She saw it charging.”
“Did she know it was recording?”
“I don’t know.”
Mercer looked around the apartment.
“Was the recording backed up anywhere?”
Rosa’s eyes widened.
“I don’t know.”
Adrian pulled out his phone.
“What kind of phone?”
Rosa told him.
Olivia, who had remained in the hallway with Adrian’s sister and Emma, suddenly stepped inside.
“Was it connected to your Google account?”
Rosa frowned.
“Yes.”
Olivia looked at her father.
“It might be backed up.”
Mercer raised an eyebrow.
“Can you check?”
Rosa nodded.
Twenty minutes later, they found an automatic audio backup.
The recording was still there.
Everyone went silent as Rosa pressed play.
The first thirty seconds contained only washing machine noise.
Then Vanessa’s voice appeared.
“You’re being stupid.”
Clara answered.
“I’m not lying about Olivia.”
“You wouldn’t be lying.”
“Yes, I would.”
“She leaves Emma alone sometimes.”
“No, she doesn’t.”
“She’s fourteen.”
“She sits beside the crib reading.”
“She loves that baby.”
Vanessa’s voice hardened.
“That’s exactly the problem.”
Adrian felt his stomach twist.
The recording continued.
“Adrian treats Olivia like she’s made of glass because Rachel died.”
Clara responded immediately.
“Don’t talk about his daughter like that.”
“I’ll talk about anyone in my house however I want.”
“It’s Adrian’s house too.”
A short silence followed.
Then Vanessa spoke.
“I can give you ten thousand dollars.”
“For what?”
“You tell Adrian you found Olivia downstairs with Emma near the staircase.”
“No.”
“Fifteen.”
“No.”
“Twenty.”
“No.”
“You’re a nanny.”
“And?”
“That is more than you make in months.”
“I said no.”
Vanessa laughed.
“You really think you’re family here.”
Clara’s answer came calmly.
“No.”
“I think children deserve adults who don’t use them to manipulate people.”
The recording ended with a door opening.
Rosa’s voice could be heard asking whether anyone needed clean towels.
Detective Mercer stopped the audio.
Nobody spoke.
Adrian walked toward the window.
His hands were shaking.
Olivia stood behind him.
“She was going to frame me.”
Adrian turned.
Olivia looked smaller than she had a moment earlier.
For all her courage, she was still fourteen.
He crossed the room and hugged her.
“I’m sorry.”
Olivia’s eyes filled.
“What if Clara had said yes?”
“She didn’t.”
“But what if she did?”
Adrian had no answer that could make the thought disappear.
So he told her the truth.
“Then I hope I would have eventually learned to listen.”
Olivia pulled back.
“You didn’t before.”
“No.”
Adrian nodded.
“I didn’t.”
Detective Mercer approached them.
“We have enough now to request a warrant regarding the financial records.”
“And the stroller?”
“That investigation is moving too.”
“What about Rosa’s apartment?”
“We’ll check cameras.”
Mercer looked at Rosa.
“If Vanessa arranged this, contacting you directly would be a serious mistake.”
Rosa nodded.
Then her replacement phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone looked at it.
Mercer raised one hand.
“Answer.”
Rosa pressed speaker.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then Vanessa’s voice came through.
“Rosa.”
Adrian’s eyes widened.
Mercer immediately began recording.
Vanessa continued.
“I think you have something that belongs to me.”
Rosa looked at Mercer.
He motioned for her to continue.
“What?”
“The recording.”
Rosa swallowed.
“What recording?”
Vanessa’s voice became cold.
“Don’t play games.”
“You were always smarter than Adrian gave you credit for.”
Adrian stared at the phone.
Vanessa laughed softly.
“So tell him something for me.”
Rosa’s hand trembled.
“What?”
May you like
“Tell him if he keeps digging, he’s going to find things he wishes he hadn’t.”
Then the call ended.
