Chapter 8 - The Mistress’s Betrayal
By the afternoon,
the news had spread through Cedar Falls like wildfire.
The prominent Miller family was in shambles.
But the biggest twist was yet to come.
A knock came at the farmhouse door around four o'clock.
My father opened it to find Vanessa standing there.
She wasn't wearing the red velvet dress anymore.
She was wearing a cheap puffer jacket and jeans,
her eyes red from crying.
"I have information,"
she said,
her voice trembling.
"I have the offshore passwords."
"I have the names of the people in Chicago."
My father didn't let her in.
He stood in the doorway,
a mountain of a man.
"Why are you here?"
he asked.
"He’s going to blame me!"
she sobbed.
"He’s going to tell the police it was all my idea!"
"I just wanted the money,
I didn't want any of this!"
"I have recordings of him talking about the insurance policy on Clara!"
I stood behind my father,
looking at the woman who had tried to steal my life.
She looked at me,
pleading.
"Clara,
please!
I can help you get everything back!"
"I don't need your help,"
I said,
my voice sounding stronger than I felt.
"My father already has everything."
My father looked at her with a profound sense of disgust.
"You’re a rat,
Vanessa,"
he said.
"And rats are only useful until the ship is fully underwater."
"Go to the police station."
"Talk to the District Attorney."
"Maybe they’ll give you a lighter sentence for cooperation."
"But don't ever come to this door again."
He closed the door in her face.
"Will she actually help?"
I asked.
"She’ll try to save herself,"
he said.
"And in doing so,
she’ll provide the final nails for Carter’s coffin."
"It’s poetic,
May you like
really."
"The woman he chose over his family is the one who will ensure he never sees the sun as a free man again."
