Don't Go to That Car

Chapter 4: The Wife Who Lied

Alexander rose slowly.

Vanessa did not look shocked.

She looked annoyed.

That frightened him more than guilt would have.

"Where is Clara?" Alexander asked.

Vanessa looked at the letters in his hand. "Still chasing ghosts?"

"Where is she?"

Vanessa smiled faintly. "Alive, if that is what you want to hear."

Lena hid behind Alexander.

Vanessa's eyes moved to the child. "You should have stayed where you were safe."

"Safe?" Lena cried. "You locked us in rooms."

Vanessa's face hardened. "You were being protected."

Alexander stepped closer. "From what?"

"From the world your father built."

"My father is dead."

"No," Vanessa said. "Your father disappeared from public life. There is a difference."

Alexander froze.

Richard Vale had supposedly died three years ago after a sudden illness. The funeral had been private. The body had not been shown. Alexander had accepted it because he had already lost too much.

Vanessa walked toward the desk.

"Richard started the trial program decades ago. Children with rare genetic markers. Children from poor families. Children no one would fight for. Clara found the records. She planned to expose him."

"So he tried to kill her."

"He tried to stop her."

"And you helped him."

Vanessa's voice sharpened. "I helped keep this family alive."

"No," Alexander said. "You helped bury my wife."

Before Vanessa could answer, the lights in the estate went out.

Lena gasped.

Outside the window, black cars rolled through the open gates.

Vanessa smiled sadly.

"They are already here."

A voice came from the hallway.

Old.

Calm.

Familiar.

"Alexander, you always were too emotional."

Alexander turned.

His dead father stepped into the doorway.