Chapter 10 - The Lake House
There had not been a nursery at the lake house in fifteen years.
That was the first thing Richard said.
The second was, “Why would the alarm label it that?”
Owen checked the archived floor plan.
“It’s not a room label. It’s a sensor name.”
Mara frowned. “A sensor named nursery?”
“Someone added it six months ago.”
Police surrounded the property before Richard was allowed near it.
Anna stayed in the vehicle with Leo and Mrs. Bell.
From the road, the lake house looked abandoned: gray siding, dead leaves, dark windows.
Then one upstairs curtain moved.
Anna saw it.
“So did you see that?” she asked the officer beside the car.
He radioed it in.
Minutes later, officers entered.
They found no Vanessa.
No Graham.
But the room behind the moving curtain had been converted into a child’s bedroom.
A crib.
Diapers.
Toys.
Clothes in Leo’s size.
Anna’s hands went cold.
“They were planning to bring him here.”
Richard looked sick.
On the dresser sat a folder.
PETITION FOR TEMPORARY GUARDIANSHIP.
The papers alleged Richard was suffering from severe depression, abusing alcohol, and neglecting his son.
Attached were photographs.
Richard asleep at his desk.
Richard holding a whiskey glass at Claire’s funeral.
Richard arguing with Anna in the driveway.
Every image was real.
None told the truth.
“They built a story,” Anna said.
Mara nodded. “A convincing one.”
The petition named Vanessa as proposed guardian.
And Graham as her attorney.
Then an officer found a second file in the closet.
EMPLOYEE INCIDENTS — ANNA REYES.
Anna opened it.
The reports accused her of leaving Leo unattended, shouting at him, mishandling medication, and taking money from the household.
Her signature appeared on written warnings she had never seen.
“They were going to blame me for everything,” she whispered.
Richard took the file from her.
“They were going to remove you, discredit me, and take Leo.”
Mara said, “And the staircase incident may have been part of that plan.”
Anna stared at the crib.
A terrible thought formed.
“What if she didn’t mean to kill him?”
Richard’s eyes hardened.
“What difference does that make?”
“She may have wanted him hurt badly enough to blame me. Enough to prove you kept dangerous staff around him.”
Mara looked at her. “That fits the paperwork.”
Then the house alarm chirped.
Owen checked his tablet.
“Motion. Basement.”
Officers rushed downstairs.
They found a hidden room behind a wine rack.
Inside was a desk, three monitors, and live camera feeds.
One feed showed the mansion.
One showed the cottage.
The third showed the witness apartment.
Anna stopped breathing.
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On that third feed, someone was standing inside the apartment they had left only hours earlier.
Vanessa looked directly into the camera and smiled.
