The Lie Vanessa Prepared
Chapter 05 - The Lie Vanessa Prepared
Hawthorne House had been designed as a fortress disguised as a home. Daniel installed the security system after a kidnapping threat years earlier, never imagining it could be used against his own children. Vanessa now controlled every lock from the tablet in her hand.
She ordered the guards to take Lily downstairs. Rosa protested, but Vanessa reminded her that one phone call could end her job and cancel the medical insurance that covered her husband’s treatment. Rosa went silent, ashamed.
Lily allowed herself to be escorted into the library because Ethan needed the guards away from his room. She also needed time to think. Vanessa followed and closed the doors.
On the desk waited a neat stack of printed pages. Vanessa had prepared for Lily’s return. There were old emails showing Lily’s anger after Daniel remarried, photographs from a college party, and a statement from Martin Voss describing her as financially reckless and emotionally unstable.
“You see?” Vanessa said. “I do not need to prove you are wrong. I only need to make your father doubt you.”
Lily understood the strategy. Vanessa had isolated Ethan while turning Daniel’s guilt about his daughter into suspicion. Every family wound had become a tool.
“What do you really want?” Lily asked.
“Control of the company before your father destroys it.”
Daniel’s international deal had placed Hawthorne Industries under enormous pressure. If it failed, the board could remove him. Ethan’s future voting shares, combined with the foundation’s holdings, could determine who took power. Vanessa claimed she was saving the company, but the transfers in the envelope led to private accounts, luxury properties, and a consulting firm connected to Martin.
“You drugged a sixteen-year-old for money,” Lily said.
Vanessa flinched at the word, then recovered. “I gave him something to calm down. Do not turn this into a tragedy.”
“It became a tragedy the moment he was afraid to sleep.”
Vanessa leaned closer. “Your father will believe me. He always does.”
Lily’s phone vibrated in her pocket. Daniel had read the message, but there was no reply.
Then the lights flickered. Somewhere upstairs, an alarm began chirping. Vanessa glanced at the tablet and cursed.
Ethan had entered the emergency code.
May you like
The library doors unlocked for less than five seconds. Lily shoved them open and ran. Behind her, Vanessa screamed for the guards. Lily reached the staircase just as the front entrance opened.
Daniel Bennett stood in the doorway, still wearing his travel suit, staring at the chaos inside his home.
