Chapter 14
The FBI opened their investigation three days later.
Two agents showed up at the mansion—Special Agent in Charge Harper, a woman in her forties with a no-nonsense attitude, and her partner, Special Agent Torres (no relation to Daniel, as it turned out).
They laid out what they had.
“We’ve been looking at Vanessa Reed for years,” Agent Harper admitted. “The Torres and Chen deaths were too similar. Too convenient. But we never had enough. No witnesses. No forensics. No probable cause. Every time we got close, she’d disappear. Resurface in another state with another name. Another grieving millionaire.”
“Another name?” Michael asked.
“Vanessa Reed is the name she was born with,” Agent Torres said. “But she’s used at least six others. Vanessa Taylor. Vanessa Price. Vanessa St. Claire. Each identity comes with a new backstory. A new tragic past designed to make wealthy widowers want to rescue her.”
“She’s a ghost,” Harper added. “Until now. Your case is the crack in her armor. For the first time, there’s concrete evidence of her pattern. Abuse of stepchildren. Control of the household. Isolation of the husband. It’s exactly what she did in Miami and New York. And this time—she left proof.”
She nodded at Ethan, who was sitting quietly on the couch listening.
“The videos your son recorded are the break we’ve been waiting for. They establish motive, intent, and a consistent pattern of behavior. If we can prove that pattern extends to murder… we can put her away for the rest of her natural life.”
“What do you need from us?” Michael asked.
“Everything,” Harper said. “All your financial records. All communications between you and Vanessa since you met. Full access to the security footage from your house. And the children—we’ll need to interview them. Gently. By specialists who work with child victims. Nothing traumatic. But we need their testimony on record.”
Ethan spoke up.
“I’ll talk,” he said. “I’ll tell them everything. I don’t care if I have to say it a hundred times. I just want her gone.”
Lily nodded.
“Me too. She’s a bad lady. Bad ladies should go to jail.”
Agent Harper smiled. It was the first time Michael had seen her look anything other than professional.
“You two are very brave,” she said. “Braver than most adults I know.”
When the agents left, Richard turned to Michael.
May you like
“You realize what this means,” he said. “The FBI’s involvement changes the entire landscape of the custody trial. Vanessa’s lawyers will know the Feds are circling. They’ll advise her to settle. To walk away. To cut her losses.”
“Or,” Michael said, “it will make her more dangerous than ever. Because now she knows if she loses this trial, she loses everything. Her freedom. Her money. Her life. Cornered animals are the most dangerous kind.”
