Chapter 5 - VANESSA WANTED MORE THAN A PLACE AT THE TABLE
Vanessa told police she had not locked Lily inside.
Margaret had.
That turned out to be mostly true.
Security footage showed Margaret leading Lily down the catering hallway.
Vanessa followed.
The storage-room camera had no interior view.
But audio from the corridor microphone captured voices.
Lily:
Why can’t I sit with Mom?
Margaret:
Because tonight is for family.
Then a door closing.
Then Lily crying.
Vanessa’s voice:
She’ll get over it.
Margaret:
Claire won’t.
Vanessa laughed.
Let her make a scene.
That last sentence stayed with Claire.
Vanessa wanted the explosion.
Why?
Because she needed Claire gone.
Not emotionally.
Legally.
During discovery in the divorce, Claire found draft emails between Vanessa and Aaron.
Vanessa:
If she leaves angry, you can finally stop hiding us.
Aaron:
It’s not that simple.
Vanessa:
It is if she files first.
Vanessa believed a furious divorce would clear the way for her.
What she did not understand was how Aaron’s finances actually worked.
The Hale trust was protected.
May you like
Marrying Aaron would not make Vanessa owner of it.
But Aaron had been telling her something else.
