Chapter 4
I wanted to drive straight to Adrian Cole's house.
I wanted to drag him into the street and demand answers.
Instead, I stood inside the hospital, staring at the photograph of his name.
Vanessa's brother.
The man who had signed Elena's death certificate.
The man who had hugged me at her funeral.
I remembered Adrian standing beside Vanessa as the coffin was lowered.
He had rested a hand on my shoulder.
"She's at peace now, Marcus."
At peace.
While Elena had been alive.
Trapped.
Possibly screaming for help.
I gripped the edge of a nearby counter.
"Find him."
Detective Brooks nodded.
"We're locating both of them."
"He's a doctor."
"I know."
"He told me my wife was dead."
"We're examining the hospital records."
I lowered my voice.
"He made me bury a stranger."
Brooks looked at me steadily.
"We don't yet know whose remains were buried. We're working to establish that."
The uncertainty was almost worse than the truth.
Somewhere, there might be another family grieving someone they didn't even know was missing.
I sat down.
My hands wouldn't stop shaking.
An hour later, Elena's attending physician came to speak with me.
"Mr. Bennett, your wife is stable."
I nearly collapsed with relief.
"Can I see her?"
"Briefly. She's severely malnourished and dehydrated, and we're investigating injuries that suggest prolonged confinement."
I swallowed.
"How long?"
"We can't determine that from an examination alone."
"What about her memory?"
"She's alert at times, but exhausted and frightened."
I followed him into her room.
Elena lay beneath white hospital sheets.
A heart monitor beeped softly beside her.
Her hair had been brushed away from her face.
For the first time, I could see how much weight she'd lost.
I approached slowly.
"Elena?"
Her eyes opened.
For one second, fear flashed across them.
Then she recognized me.
"Marcus."
I sat beside her.
I touched her cheek.
She leaned into my hand.
And I broke.
"I'm sorry."
The words came out before I could stop them.
"I'm so sorry."
She looked confused.
"Why?"
"I believed them."
A tear rolled down my face.
"I believed you were dead."
She lifted her hand.
"That was the point."
I stared at her.
"What happened?"
She glanced toward the door.
"Is Lily safe?"
"Yes. She's with a hospital social worker and Detective Brooks is arranging protection."
Elena closed her eyes.
"Thank God."
I held her hand.
"Tell me."
She drew a trembling breath.
"Fourteen months ago, I discovered something about our family foundation."
I frowned.
The Bennett Family Foundation funded scholarships, housing assistance, and medical care for families across Georgia.
Elena had managed its operations.
She loved that organization.
She had built it from a small community project into something meaningful.
"What did you discover?"
"Money was disappearing."
My stomach tightened.
"How much?"
"Millions."
I stared.
She looked at me.
"Someone was sending foundation money through fake medical charities and private consulting companies."
"Who?"
She swallowed.
"Adrian."
I felt my jaw tighten.
"And Vanessa?"
Elena's eyes filled.
"She helped him."
The room seemed to tilt.
"No."
"I'm sorry."
I stood.
I couldn't breathe.
Vanessa.
The woman who had held me while I cried over Elena's grave.
The woman I had kissed.
The woman I had planned to marry.
Elena watched me.
"You trusted her."
I couldn't look at her.
"Yes."
She looked away.
I knew what she was thinking.
And I hated myself for it.
"Elena, I thought—"
"I know."
Her voice was soft.
"They made sure you thought I was gone."
I sat again.
"How?"
She took a shaky breath.
"I confronted Adrian."
"Where?"
"At his clinic."
She stared at the ceiling.
"He said he could explain the transfers. He wanted to show me the records."
Her hand trembled in mine.
"I remember drinking coffee."
Then her voice broke.
"After that, everything became blurry."
I leaned closer.
"What happened?"
"I woke up in a room I didn't recognize."
She began breathing faster.
"There were no windows."
I squeezed her hand.
"You're safe now."
"Adrian told me you believed I was dead."
I felt sick.
"He showed me a recording of my funeral."
I stared at her.
"He showed you that?"
She nodded.
"He said Lily would be safer if I stayed quiet."
Her eyes filled.
"He told me they could make her disappear too."
I pressed her hand against my forehead.
I couldn't speak.
Elena continued.
"At first, they kept me somewhere else. A medical facility. Then they moved me."
"Under the pool?"
She nodded weakly.
"A few months ago."
My throat tightened.
"Why our house?"
She looked terrified.
"Because I had hidden evidence there before they took me."
I stared at her.
"What evidence?"
"The original foundation records."
"Where?"
She hesitated.
"Behind the nursery wall."
I frowned.
"Lily's old nursery?"
Elena nodded.
"I designed a hidden compartment during the renovation."
I remembered the nursery.
The pale yellow walls.
The painted stars.
The small wooden rocking chair.
Vanessa had insisted on converting it into a guest bedroom.
I had refused.
It was the one room I couldn't bear to change.
Elena whispered, "They never found it."
My heart pounded.
"What did you hide?"
"A drive. Copies of transfers. Messages. Names."
Her fingers tightened.
"Enough to expose them."
Then she leaned toward me.
"Marcus, listen carefully."
I moved closer.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Vanessa didn't just want the money."
I felt cold.
"Then what did she want?"
Elena's eyes filled with fear.
"She wanted Lily."
I stared at her.
"Our daughter?"
Elena nodded.
"Why?"
"Adrian said Lily was the only thing keeping them from controlling everything."
I didn't understand.
Then I remembered the foundation's trust documents.
After Elena's death, certain assets were held for Lily.
I had never studied the fine print.
I had been drowning in grief.
And Vanessa had offered to help manage the paperwork.
My stomach turned.
Elena started coughing.
The nurse came in and checked her monitor.
"We need to let her rest."
I stood reluctantly.
But Elena grabbed my wrist.
"Marcus."
I bent down.
"Yes?"
"Promise me something."
"Anything."
"Don't go back to the house alone."
I stared at her.
"Why?"
She swallowed.
"Because someone else knows what's behind that nursery wall."
"Who?"
Her eyes widened.
Before she could answer, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
A photograph appeared on the screen.
My daughter's pink hair bow lay on the back seat of a car.
Underneath was a message.
YOU FOUND YOUR WIFE.
NOW LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN FIND YOUR DAUGHTER.
May you like
I spun toward the door.
And screamed Lily's name.
