Vanessa: He will.
He just needs time to realize she needs independence.
Nathan looked up.
“Why didn't you show me?”
Claire started crying.
“She’s my sister.”
“So was Sarah someone's daughter.”
Claire covered her face.
“I know.”
“Did Vanessa know Sarah?”
“Yes.”
“How well?”
Claire lowered her hands.
“They went to college together.”
Nathan felt as though the room tilted.
“How well?”
“They were roommates for one year.”
Every story Vanessa told him collapsed at once.
“What happened?”
“They hated each other by the end.”
“Why?”
Claire hesitated.
“Because Vanessa wanted Sarah's life.”
Nathan stared.
Claire continued.
“Sarah was engaged to you. She had the friends Vanessa wanted. Her family had money. People liked her.”
“Vanessa had plenty.”
“It was never about money alone.”
“What was it about?”
Claire looked toward the window.
“Winning.”
Nathan said nothing.
“Vanessa competed with everybody. If someone had something she wanted, she couldn't enjoy anything until she had something better.”
“She wanted me?”
Claire's silence answered.
“Did Sarah know?”
“Yes.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“Did Vanessa ever threaten her?”
“I don't know.”
“Claire.”
“She said terrible things.”
“What things?”
“After Sarah got pregnant, Vanessa said she'd ruined your life.”
Nathan remembered Sarah being happier during pregnancy than he had ever seen her.
“She said you would eventually resent Sarah because everything would revolve around the baby.”
“Did she contact Sarah after Emily was born?”
“Yes.”
“How often?”
“I don't know.”
Nathan stood.
“Where is the locket?”
Claire went upstairs.
She returned with a small jewelry box.
Inside was Sarah's silver locket.
The chain had snapped.
Nathan picked it up.
The photograph remained inside.
Claire whispered, “Vanessa was going to throw it away.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Why?”
“She said after the wedding there needed to be boundaries.”
“Between my daughter and her dead mother?”
Claire began crying again.
Nathan put the locket in his pocket.
Police did not arrest Vanessa for being cruel.
Cruelty alone doesn't always fit neatly into criminal categories.
But the investigation into the forged emails and financial records created a different problem for her.
Digital forensic specialists traced the fake email account to a laptop registered to Vanessa's consulting company.
The boarding-school paperwork came from the same device.
So did requests for Emily's trust documents.
Then investigators found something else.
Vanessa had accessed Nathan's life insurance account.
Beneficiary information.
Policy value.
Emergency contacts.