Chapter 4
My father’s body was exhumed.
A second examination found traces of a drug that could trigger heart failure.
The medication matched pills discovered inside Eric’s repair shop.
Dad had not died naturally.
Someone had poisoned him.
The day before his death, he called me six times.
I had been in a meeting and did not answer.
Vanessa told me he only wanted help resetting his television.
That was another lie.
Phone records showed Dad also called Susan.
She saved his final voicemail.
“Eric knows I changed the will,” Dad said. “If something happens to me, tell Daniel to protect Noah.”
Susan had been overseas during his death.
When she returned, Eric claimed Dad’s concerns came from medication-related confusion.
She believed him.
We all believed him.
Dad’s original will explained the fear.
He left most of his remaining shares in Mercer Development to Noah.
Eric received a modest property and no control of the company.
A handwritten note said Eric had stolen money from employees and threatened Dad when confronted.
Dad planned to report him.
Eric poisoned him first.
Then he forged a new will restoring his inheritance.
But he could not use it while I controlled the company.
That was why I had to die after the wedding.
Vanessa requested a meeting from jail.
Detective Brooks advised me not to go.
I went because Eric was still missing.
Vanessa entered the interview room wearing a jail uniform.
Without the fake belly and expensive makeup, she looked like a stranger.
“Where is my brother?”
“I don’t know.”
“You planned everything with him.”
“He stopped answering me.”
“You helped him murder my wife.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I never touched Emily’s car.”
“But you knew.”
“Not at first.”
Vanessa said Eric hired her to meet me after Emily died.
He promised her five million dollars if she married me and convinced me to change my will.
The fake pregnancy was her idea.
She believed I would rush into marriage if I thought our baby needed a stable family.
“What happened to the real medical appointments?”
“Eric paid a nurse.”
“What nurse?”
“His wife.”
I stared at her.
Eric had told our family that he divorced his wife, Caroline, ten years earlier.
No one had seen her since.
Vanessa said they were still legally married.
Caroline worked at a private women’s clinic under her maiden name.
She created false ultrasound reports and allowed Vanessa to use the office after hours.
“Where is Caroline now?”
“She has the money.”
“What money?”
“The cash Eric stole from your father.”
Vanessa offered to reveal Caroline’s address in exchange for protection.
Police found the house empty.
In the garage, they discovered medical supplies, forged documents, and a freezer containing blood samples labeled with my name.
Caroline had helped Vanessa drug me.
She used those samples to create medical reports claiming I suffered from a degenerative neurological condition.
The forged diagnosis would have allowed Vanessa to seize control of my estate before killing me.
Upstairs, officers found a crib.
Baby clothes filled the closet.
A hospital bracelet lay on the dresser.
The name printed on it was Grace Mercer.
The birth date was three months earlier.
Vanessa had not invented every part of the pregnancy story.
A real baby existed.
Caroline had delivered her in secret.
DNA testing showed Eric was the father.
Then police examined the forged adoption papers beside the crib.
After marrying me, Vanessa planned to present Grace as our biological daughter.
The child would become another heir to my estate.
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But the nursery was empty.
Eric had taken the baby.
