Chapter 4 - VANESSA THOUGHT MARISSA KNEW
Vanessa called the next morning.
Marissa almost declined.
Maya said:
“Answer.”
So she did.
Vanessa was crying.
“I’m sorry.”
Marissa stared out the kitchen window toward the pool.
“For sleeping with my husband or signing documents about my house?”
Silence.
Then:
“Both.”
That was at least honest.
Marissa asked:
“What did you think you were signing?”
“A vendor agreement.”
“And the trust amendment?”
“I thought it was already approved.”
“By me?”
“Yes.”
Marissa almost laughed.
“Why would I approve paying my neighbor one hundred eighty thousand dollars a year to manage my house?”
Vanessa cried harder.
“Caleb said you were stepping back.”
“From what?”
“Everything.”
That word landed strangely.
Vanessa explained.
Caleb had told her Marissa planned to reduce her role in Hale Family Properties because she was “burned out.”
He said the marriage had been effectively over for a year.
He said Marissa would remain in the city penthouse while Caleb took primary residence at the suburban property.
Vanessa believed she would eventually move in.
Marissa closed her eyes.
“And you believed I agreed to this?”
“At first.”
“At first?”
Vanessa hesitated.
There it was.
“When did you stop believing?”
“Two months ago.”
“And the affair?”
“Four months.”
Marissa’s jaw clenched.
“So you knew he was lying halfway through and stayed.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Vanessa cried.
“Because by then I wanted the life he promised.”
Not love.
Life.
Marissa appreciated the honesty even while hating it.
“What life?”
Vanessa whispered:
“This house.”
That answer hurt differently.
Caleb had not merely offered himself.
He offered Marissa’s assets.
Her home.
Her pool.
Her family trust.
He seduced Vanessa with a future financed by someone else.
Then Vanessa added something important.
“He told me the red alarm was tied to estate security and that you never used it because you hated public scenes.”
Marissa went still.
“Why would he tell you that?”
Vanessa hesitated.
“Because he said if we ever got caught here, we should leave before you pressed it.”
That was why Caleb panicked.
May you like
He had planned for discovery.
Just not for Marissa arriving three hours early.
