Chapter 4 - The Alibi in Silk
Back at the Mercer Island estate, the masquerade of grief was in full, sickening swing.
Vanessa Mercer stood before the gilded mirrors of the master bathroom, dabbing a cotton pad soaked in rosewater under her perfectly contoured eyes. Her champagne-colored silk gown was immaculate, not a drop of seawater staining its hem. On the marble counter rested a diamond-encrusted Cartier watch.
The time was 1:15 AM.
Behind her, the double doors of the master suite swung open. Grant Cole stepped into the room, smelling of salt spray, diesel fumes, and wet wool. His navy watch cap was pulled low over his forehead, and his jaw was set like concrete.
"Is it done?" Vanessa asked, not turning around. She watched his reflection in the glass.
Grant reached into his soaked jacket pocket and produced the silver star charm. It caught the chandelier light, glittering cold and sharp. "The kid didn't make a sound when I snatched it from the bag. But Daniel dove in after her. He pulled her out."
Vanessa’s hand froze with the cotton pad hovering an inch above her cheekbone. She turned slowly, her gaze turning lethal. "He pulled her out?"
"The currents didn't drag her under in time," Grant said defensively, crossing his arms. "Daniel is ex-Navy, Vanessa. He knows the reef channels better than anyone. He took her to the mainland hospital."
"You idiot!" Vanessa hissed, slamming the cotton pad onto the marble counter. "The girl was supposed to be at the bottom of the shelf! An accidental fall while Daniel was drunk! That was the narrative! Now he's on the mainland, talking to Hayes, talking to anyone who will listen!"
"He doesn't have proof," Grant growled, his voice low and dangerous. "I handled the photographer. Her car went fifty feet down the embankment on Route 9. The memory card is melted into slag. And Daniel’s phone is at the bottom of the bay."
Vanessa took a deep, steadying breath, pressing her palms against the cool edge of the vanity. She closed her eyes, running the calculation through her razor-sharp corporate mind.
"The media is already outside the mainland hospital," she said, her voice regaining its smooth, sociopathic calm. "I gave an exclusive statement to the Cape Haven Herald twenty minutes ago. I played the shattered stepmother. I spoke of Daniel’s deteriorating mental health, his survivor's guilt over Claire, his violent paranoia. By morning, the public will view him as a deranged lunatic who tried to take his daughter with him in a tragic suicide-murder attempt."
She walked up to Grant, her slender fingers reaching out to take the silver star from his palm. She examined the small, delicate jewelry. On the back of the star, a microscopic seam was visible along the rim.
"Did you run the decryptor?" she asked.
"I need the terminal at the north bunker," Grant replied. "The encryption Claire used has a twenty-four-character dual-key. The star holds the public key. The private key is tied to Lily’s biometric signature."
Vanessa’s lips curled into a faint, cruel smile. "Biometrics? You mean a retina scan? Or a fingerprint?"
"A fingerprint," Grant said. "Right thumb."
Vanessa looked down at the silver star, then tucked it into the bodice of her silk dress. "Then we don't need Lily alive for long. We just need her hand."
She turned toward the walk-in closet, retrieving a tailored black trench coat and a pair of leather gloves.
"Where are you going?" Grant asked.
May you like
"To the hospital," Vanessa said, checking her reflection one last time. "To claim my beloved stepdaughter. And if Daniel tries to stop me, my private security guards have orders to shoot him on sight under the legal protection of the emergency restraining order."
***
