Chapter 6 - The ReceiptsA heavy black Lincoln Navigator pulled up quietly to the curb outside the gates. The driver stepped out, opened a large black umbrella, and hurried around to open the rear door for me.
Maya stared at the luxury vehicle in total shock. “Where are you going? Do you have family?”
“I have a grandson,” I said, looking back at the glowing lights of the mansion.
“Then call him!” Maya urged. “Tell him what happened!”
“Not yet,” I replied, turning to face her with a warm, commanding smile. “Who are you really, ma'am?” Maya whispered.
“I am the woman who owns those gates,” I said softly. “Sit down in the car, dear. You won't spend the night in the rain because of me.”
Inside the warm leather interior of the car, my private investigator, Marcus, handed me a sealed manila folder and a hot cup of tea.
Maya looked out the back window as the driver loaded our bags. “Since when do maids get picked up in cars like this?”
Back inside the mansion, Julian was watching us from the second-floor balcony through a pair of binoculars.
“Someone sent a luxury car for that old woman,” Julian muttered to Vanessa, his brow furrowed. “The driver held an umbrella over her like she was royalty.”
Vanessa frowned, pouring herself another glass of wine. “Who?”
“I don't know,” Julian said nervously. “That's the problem. What if she tells Elijah what she heard?”
“Whom could she tell?” Vanessa scoffed. “Now she is a documented thief. Nobody will take her word over mine.”
Suddenly, Vanessa’s phone buzzed. It was an urgent face-time request from Elijah, who was working in his home office down the hall. She answered immediately, smoothing her dress.
“Dear?” Vanessa cooed into the screen. “I know it's late... but I couldn't wait to tell you. I just took a test. I am pregnant. Six weeks.”
In his office, Elijah gasped, dropping his pen. “Are you... Are we expecting a baby?”
“Yes!” Vanessa cried happily. “Go back to your room, Elijah. I don't want to wait another day for our wedding. Marry me tomorrow night. Just us, right here in the chapel. On Saturday we can repeat everything for your grandmother when she arrives.”
Elijah smiled brightly, tears filling his eyes. “I’m on the first flight back from my meeting tomorrow night, honey. I love you.”
Vanessa hung up the phone, a triumphant smirk spreading across her face. “He will sign the power of attorney tomorrow evening,” she told Julian. “Here is the picture of the ultrasound I bought off the internet.”
Sitting in the back of my car, Marcus opened his laptop and played an audio recording taken from hidden micro-fetal monitors installed in the house.
“44 years later,” I murmured, looking at the digital files on the screen. “This house, the company that pays for it, and the boy she’s marrying—that’s the only family I have left. I raised Elijah since he was ten years old after his parents passed.”
Maya looked at me, bewildered. “Then why did you let her do all those horrible things to you? Why let her make you kneel?”
“Because people show their true colors when they think you can't be of any use to them,” I said, my voice hardening. “I needed to see her real face. Now I see it clearly.”
May you like
Marcus tapped the screen. “Mrs. Vance, your husband’s original security system recorded everything. Every minute of her stepping on your hand, hiding the jewelry, and forging the doctor's reports. It’s all here.”
“Bring it to me tomorrow,” I commanded. “At 8:00 PM in the grand foyer.”
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