Chapter 3: The Missing Minutes
Vanessa's fingers barely touched the edge of Marcus's phone before he pulled it away.
“Don't.””
His voice was quiet.
That frightened her more than shouting would have.
She stopped.
Marcus looked at the screen again.
“Why were you trying to take this?””
“I wasn't.””
“You just grabbed for it.””
“I was trying to stop you from humiliating me.””
“No.””
His eyes lifted.
“You were trying to stop me from hearing something.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“This is getting twisted.””
Marcus pressed play.
The recording continued.
Onscreen, Evelyn sat exactly where she stood now.
Vanessa hovered over her.
The audio wasn't perfect, but it was clear enough.
“You're not sick enough to need this much attention.””
“I never said I was sick.””
“You didn't have to.””
“Please move away from me.””
“What are you going to do? Tell Marcus?””
The recording cut.
Marcus frowned.
The time jumped.
11:36.
Then 11:41.
Five minutes were missing.
He rewound.
Same thing.
“Why does it skip?””
Vanessa said nothing.
Marcus looked at her.
“Why are five minutes gone?””
“I don't know.””
“You don't know a lot today.””
“I didn't touch your stupid camera.””
Marcus checked the activity log.
The camera had been manually paused from an account.
His account.
Or Vanessa's.
Both had access.
Evelyn stood behind him, staring at the phone as though it were radioactive.
“Marcus, that's enough.””
He turned.
“No, Mom.””
“Please.””
“No.””
Evelyn's eyes pleaded with him.
“Son, some things don't improve by digging.””
“That depends on what's buried.””
The words came harder than he intended.
Evelyn looked away.
Marcus immediately softened.
“I'm sorry.””
She nodded.
But Marcus couldn't stop now.
He felt like a man discovering termites inside the walls of a beautiful house.
Every question exposed another hidden weakness.
Every answer made him wonder how much of his life had been staged.
He looked at Vanessa.
“Unlock your phone.””
She laughed once.
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because I'm entitled to privacy.””
“Absolutely.””
Marcus nodded.
“But you just accused my mother of lying. There's footage suggesting you're lying. Five minutes were deleted. If you've got nothing to hide, help me understand.””
“I don't need to prove anything.””
“You do if you want me to believe you.””
Vanessa stared at him.
There it was.
The true threat.
Not police.
Not divorce.
Not punishment.
Belief.
For nine years, Vanessa had known Marcus trusted her.
Perhaps more than anyone.
Now that trust had become conditional.
“Fine.””
She grabbed her phone from the coffee table.
Typed the code.
Held it out.
Marcus didn't take it.
“Open the security app.””
Vanessa hesitated.
Then did.
“Activity history.””
She tapped.
A list appeared.
Marcus leaned closer.
11:34 a.m.
Camera recording paused.
User: Vanessa Carter.
Marcus felt his throat tighten.
Vanessa quickly said,
“That doesn't prove anything.””
“It proves you paused the camera.””
“Yes, because I was changing clothes.””
Marcus looked around.
“In the living room?””
“No.””
“Then why pause this camera?””
“I didn't want it recording.””
“Why?””
“Because I live here!””
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
He felt tired suddenly.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
The kind of exhaustion that comes when a person realizes he may have to reconsider years of memories.
Vanessa continued.
“You're acting like I planned some attack.””
“You slapped an elderly woman.””
“She pushed me!””
Marcus looked at his mother.
Evelyn's eyebrows lifted.
“I did?””
Vanessa pointed.
“Yes. You did.””
Evelyn seemed genuinely shocked.
“I never touched you.””
“You stood up and shoved me.””
“I can barely stand without using the chair.””
“That's not true!””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Enough.””
Both women fell silent.
He looked at his mother.
“Mom, were the missing five minutes when she hit you?””
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.””
Marcus froze.
Vanessa's expression changed.
“What?””
Evelyn immediately seemed to regret speaking.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Then what happened in those five minutes?””
“Nothing.””
“Mom.””
“Please.””
“Something happened.””
Vanessa stared at Evelyn.
This time there was something new in her eyes.
Not intimidation.
Fear.
Marcus saw it.
His pulse increased.
“Mom.””
Evelyn moved toward the chair.
Marcus helped her sit.
She looked suddenly older.
Her fingers twisted together.
“Vanessa, leave the room.””
Vanessa's head snapped around.
“Excuse me?””
Marcus didn't look at her.
“I need to speak to my mother alone.””
“This is my house.””
“Mine too.””
“You don't get to throw me out of my own living room.””
Marcus finally turned.
“Then I'll take her somewhere else.””
Vanessa stared at him.
He could almost see her calculating.
Finally she turned and marched toward the kitchen.
Marcus waited until she disappeared.
Then crouched in front of his mother.
“What aren't you telling me?””
Evelyn pressed her lips together.
“Mom.””
“I wanted you to be happy.””
Marcus's chest tightened.
“What does that have to do with this?””
“Everything.””
She reached for his hand.
“You were thirty-three when you met Vanessa.””
Marcus nodded slowly.
“You loved her.””
“I still…”
He stopped.
He couldn't finish.
Evelyn continued.
“You were so sure. I'd never seen you that sure about anyone.””
“Mom, what happened?””
“Before the wedding…”
She stopped.
Marcus waited.
“Before the wedding what?””
Evelyn looked toward the kitchen.
Then whispered,
“She came to see me.””
Marcus frowned.
“When?””
“Three days before.””
“At your apartment?””
“Yes.””
“What did she want?””
“To make something clear.””
A chill moved through him.
“What?””
“She told me that after you married, she would come first.””
Marcus said nothing.
“That doesn't sound terrible by itself,” Evelyn added quickly.
“A wife should matter. Marriage should matter.””
“Keep going.””
“She said I needed to understand that you weren't mine anymore.””
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“She said that?””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me?””
“You would've confronted her.””
“Of course I would've!””
“Exactly.””
Evelyn squeezed his hand.
“You loved her.””
Marcus stood and paced once.
“Mom, that was nine years ago.””
“I know.””
“What happened after that?””
“For a while, nothing.””
Vanessa had been polite.
Sometimes distant.
Sometimes jealous of Marcus's closeness with Evelyn.
But there had been no obvious cruelty.
Not until the last few years.
“After your father died,” Evelyn said, “I think she became angrier.””
“Because I spent more time with you.””
Evelyn nodded.
“Did she threaten you?””
“Not then.””
“When did that start?””
Evelyn looked down.
“When I found out.””
Marcus stopped.
“Found out what?””
Evelyn didn't answer.
From the kitchen came the faint clatter of something hitting a counter.
Marcus lowered his voice.
“What did you find out?””
Evelyn's fingers trembled.
“A year ago, Vanessa asked me to help her find some documents in your office while you were traveling.””
Marcus remembered the trip.
A conference in Chicago.
“She said she needed an insurance statement.””
Evelyn nodded.
“I opened the desk drawer.””
Her voice weakened.
“There was an envelope.””
Marcus frowned.
“What envelope?””
“It had my name on it.””
Marcus stared.
“Why would there be an envelope with your name?””
“I wondered the same thing.””
“What was inside?””
Evelyn looked toward the kitchen again.
Then toward her son.
“Copies of documents.””
“What documents?””
“Your father's estate.””
Marcus felt confused.
“My father's estate was settled years ago.””
“I know.””
“Then what—”
“There were other papers.””
Her voice cracked.
Marcus crouched again.
“What papers?””
Evelyn whispered,
“Life insurance.””
Marcus blinked.
“My life insurance?””
She nodded.
“And someone had changed the beneficiary.””
Marcus slowly stood.
“That isn't possible.””
Evelyn looked devastated.
“Your signature was on it.””
He stared at her.
“But I hadn't signed it.””
The kitchen went silent.
Marcus turned toward the doorway.
Vanessa was standing there.
May you like
She had heard everything.
And the expression on her face told Marcus his mother wasn't mistaken.
