“Your father knew.”
She didn’t answer.
I took that as confirmation.
“He told me the penthouse was our fresh start,” she whispered.
“He said we’d finally have the life we deserved.”
I looked around the house Thomas had built.
A fresh start.
How strange that two people could use the same words and mean such different things.
“Vanessa, did you know Jared planned to pressure me into signing away the access rights?”
Silence.
Then:
“I knew Dad wanted you to agree.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Her breathing grew uneven.
“Jared said it would be easier if you weren’t living with us.”
I stared into the darkness.
“He told you to make me leave.”
A long pause.
“Yes.”
My eyes filled with tears.
I had suspected it.
I had even read the strategy.
But hearing Vanessa say it aloud was different.
“He said you’d go to the cabin,” she continued.
