Chapter 7 - Messages From a Father Who Never Wrote Them
The screenshots Mia remembered were no longer on her phone.
Vanessa had deleted them.
But deleting something was not always the same as erasing it.
A digital forensic specialist recovered fragments from an old family tablet synced to Vanessa's cloud account under a warrant obtained by investigators.
Marcus was shown only what his attorney was permitted to review.
The messages appeared to come from him.
Grace is exhausting.
Do whatever you need to do.
Maybe she needs to learn that everything isn't about her.
And the worst:
Sometimes I wish it were just you, me, Mia and the boys.
Marcus stared at the sentence.
“She showed this to Grace?”
“According to both girls,” Allison said.
Marcus's hands closed into fists.
“She made my daughter think I didn't want her.”
Allison said nothing.
There was nothing useful to say.
The technical examination suggested the screenshots had not come from Marcus's phone.
They had been generated from a messaging app mockup that allowed users to create realistic conversations.
Vanessa had downloaded such an app.
The installation date was six days before Mia remembered seeing the first screenshot.
It was one more brick in the wall Vanessa had constructed around Grace.
If Grace complained, Vanessa could tell her Marcus agreed.
If Mia protested, she could show her “proof.”
If Marcus noticed Grace withdrawing, Vanessa could explain that Grace was moody.
Every person had been given a different version of reality.
At Denise's house that evening, Marcus sat outside while Grace played with the dog.
He wanted to apologize.
He had apologized every day.
But the words were beginning to sound inadequate.
Grace sat beside him.
“Are you going away again?”
Marcus looked at her.
“I don't know.”
“For work?”
“Maybe eventually.”
She nodded.
He could see her trying to hide disappointment.
Marcus spoke carefully.
“I made a mistake.”
Grace frowned.
“Marrying Vanessa?”
He wasn't expecting that.
“No. I mean... maybe. But that's not the mistake I'm talking about.”
“What one?”
“I thought providing for you meant working hard enough that you would never worry about money.”
Grace listened.
“I didn't understand that being there mattered just as much.”
She picked at the seam of her sleeve.
“Vanessa said you liked hotels better than us.”
Marcus's throat tightened.
“That wasn't true.”
“I know.”
“How?”
Grace looked toward the kitchen.
“Mia told me.”
Marcus smiled sadly.
Mia had become Grace's source of truth when he had failed to be.
Grace leaned against him.
Then she whispered, “Dad?”
“Yes?”
“There was another paper.”
Marcus looked down.
“In your office?”
Grace nodded.
“What was it?”
“I don't know. It had a picture of our house.”
His expression changed.
“What kind of picture?”
“A little one at the top.”
“Do you remember any words?”
Grace thought.
“One.”
“What?”
She looked at him.
“Transfer.”
Marcus went still.
The missing money might not have been Vanessa's only plan.
May you like
He called Allison immediately.
“Check everything connected to the house.”
