CHAPTER 6: Vanessa Enters

Vanessa pushed into the lounge ten minutes later, trailed by a worried attendant. Her face was bright with anger, but fear had begun to show beneath it.
"This is ridiculous," she said. "My father has done business with the Coles for years."
Adrian turned from the window. "Your father has asked the Coles for favors for years. That is not the same thing."
Vanessa stopped.
"You worked in my house," she said to Maya, as if repeating it could restore the old order.
"I did."
"Why? To spy on us?"
Maya did not answer quickly. "To learn the truth about my father's death. Your family helped bury it under contracts and polite dinners."
Vanessa blinked. "My father wouldn't do that."
"He would," Adrian said. "And he did."
Maya opened her handbag and placed a slim folder on the table. "False invoices. Shell companies. A canceled transfer dated the week my father died. Your father's signature is on three documents."
Vanessa stared at the pages. For the first time, she looked less like a cruel heiress and more like a daughter realizing her house had been built over someone else's grave.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered.
Maya's eyes softened, but not enough to forget. "You never asked who I was. You only told me what I was."