“I don't know.”
“Did she know Vanessa?”
Rebecca paused.
“Yes.”
Nathan stood.
“What?”
“I assumed you knew.”
“No.”
“Sarah mentioned her twice.”
Nathan's heart began pounding.
“What did she say?”
“That Vanessa had become unusually interested in your family.”
Nathan remembered how he met Vanessa.
A charity fundraiser eighteen months after Sarah died.
Vanessa said she recognized him from a business conference.
She claimed she knew who Sarah was only because of mutual friends.
That afternoon, Nathan went through Sarah's old storage boxes.
He found nothing at first.
Then he opened a folder containing receipts and medical paperwork.
Inside was a photograph.
Sarah.
Vanessa.
Together.
The picture was almost ten years old.
Both women stood at a charity event.
Vanessa's arm was around Sarah.
They were smiling.
Nathan stared at it.
On the back, Sarah had written:
V + me, Harbor House fundraiser.
They had known each other.
Vanessa lied from their first conversation.
Nathan kept searching.
An old notebook appeared beneath several files.
Sarah used it during the last year of her life.
Most pages contained mundane things.
Doctor appointments.
Grocery lists.
Preschool applications.
Then Vanessa's name appeared.
Vanessa called again today.
Says she only wants to reconnect.
Something about her makes me uncomfortable.
Another entry.
V asked too many questions about Nathan.
Income.
Travel.
Whether his parents visit.
Why?
And later:
She asked whether Nathan would ever remarry if something happened to me.
I told her that was a strange question.
She laughed.
Nathan had to sit down.
The final entry mentioning Vanessa was dated twelve days before Sarah's aneurysm.
Found Vanessa talking to Emily at preschool pickup.
She said it was coincidence.
It wasn't.
Nathan read the sentence three times.
Vanessa knew Emily before Sarah died.
The following morning, his attorney called.
“You need to come in.”
Nathan arrived with his brother.
Attorney Rachel Monroe spread several documents across a conference table.
“Did Vanessa ever ask you to update Emily's guardianship arrangements?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“A few months ago.”
“What did you sign?”
“Nothing important. Emergency school forms, maybe medical authorization.”
Rachel pushed a paper toward him.
Nathan recognized his signature.
TEMPORARY GUARDIAN AUTHORIZATION.
It named Vanessa.
“That's normal,” Nathan said.
“For emergency care, yes.”