Chapter 3
Vanessa stopped breathing.
Laura’s voice filled the living room.
“I know this will sound impossible,” she said. “But Vanessa found me before you ever met her.”
I stared at the screen.
Vanessa had told me we met by chance at a grief fundraiser.
She said she understood loss.
She said she admired how I raised Noah alone.
Laura continued.
“She came to the hospital as a volunteer. She asked too many questions. About you. About Noah. About my estate.”
My hand tightened around Noah’s blanket.
“The nurses noticed. I noticed.”
Vanessa whispered, “Turn it off.”
I did not.
Laura coughed in the video, then steadied herself.
“I reported her for accessing my medical records. She was removed from the volunteer program. After that, strange things happened.”
My skin went cold.
“My medication went missing. My lawyer received fake emails from my account. Someone requested early copies of Noah’s trust documents.”
Noah’s trust.
The money Laura’s parents placed for him.
The house.
The life insurance.
Everything she protected for our son.
Laura’s eyes filled.
“If I die before telling you this, protect Noah. Do not let anyone make him feel guilty for remembering me. And check the trust. Someone has been looking for a way in.”
The video ended.
The room went silent.
Vanessa stood slowly.
“That woman was paranoid.”
Noah whimpered.
I closed the laptop.
Then I looked at Vanessa.
“You knew Laura.”
“She was sick.”
“You lied.”
“She hated the idea of you moving on.”
“You met me after she died.”
Vanessa smiled bitterly.
“Men like you are easiest when grief makes you lonely.”
The words landed like a confession.
Grace arrived as the police pulled into the driveway.
She saw Noah.
Saw Vanessa.
Saw the muddy bear.
Then she looked at me.
“What happened?”
May you like
I picked up the USB drive.
“Laura came back from the dead to warn us.”
