Chapter 5 - THE ECHO OF A MOTHER
I threw my arms up and ducked. The heavy metal tire iron smashed into the drywall inches above my head, raining white plaster dust over my hair. The force of the swing threw Vanessa off balance, her heels slipping on the smooth concrete floor. Before she could recover and swing again, the side door of the garage was kicked open with enough force to shatter the wooden frame. “Drop it!” a voice bellowed. Two police officers stood in the doorway, weapons drawn. Behind them, backlit by the flashing strobes of the cruisers, stood Luca. Vanessa froze, the iron still raised. For a second, I thought she was going to swing anyway. Her eyes were completely unhinged, wild and desperate. But as she looked at the officers, the reality of her situation seemed to finally crack through her delusion. The tire iron clattered to the floor. “On the ground! Hands behind your back!” the officer shouted. Vanessa slowly lowered herself to her knees. As the officer cuffed her, she didn't look at them. She looked at Luca. “I loved you,” she spat, her voice venomous. “I made you a better man. Catherine was weak. She was going to leave you, Luca. I just sped up the process.” Luca didn't say a word. He didn't even look angry anymore. He looked entirely repulsed. He stepped around her as if she were a piece of garbage on the floor and walked straight to me. “Are you hurt?” he asked, his hands hovering over my shoulders as if afraid to break me. “No,” I breathed, my knees finally giving out. I slid down the wall, gasping for air. “I’m okay.” Luca knelt beside me, retrieving his father’s revolver from the floor and engaging the safety before setting it aside. “You shouldn't have come out here, Hannah. You could have been killed.” “She was going to escape,” I whispered. “She wouldn't have gotten far.” He ran a hand over his face. “Thank you. For everything.” The officers hauled Vanessa to her feet. As they walked her past us, she stopped, glaring down at me. “Watch your back, Hannah,” she hissed. “You think you know all the secrets in this house? You don't know half of it. Ask Teresa about the hospital. Ask her what happened the night Catherine actually died.” “Keep moving,” the officer snapped, shoving her forward. I stared after her as she was loaded into the back of the cruiser. My heart, which had just started to slow down, began to hammer all over again. Ask Teresa about the hospital. Luca frowned, watching the car pull away. “Don't listen to her. She’s trying to poison the well on her way out.” But the seed was planted. We walked back into the house. The police had restored the breaker, and the mansion was flooded with light again. It felt jarring, exposing the mess of the evening. The shattered wood from the office door. The abandoned plates of cold food in the dining room. I walked straight to Teresa’s suite. When I unlocked the door, Teresa was clutching Leo on the bed, her face streaked with tears. When she saw Luca, she let out a sob of relief. Luca sat on the bed, pulling both his mother and his son into a tight embrace. I stood by the door, feeling like an intruder on a private, sacred moment of healing. I turned to leave and give them space. “Hannah, wait,” Teresa called out, her voice raspy. I stopped. Teresa gently pushed Leo back against the pillows. “Sweetheart, close your eyes for a minute. Daddy and I need to talk to Hannah.” Leo obediently squeezed his eyes shut, his thumb finding his mouth—a habit Vanessa had strictly forbidden. Luca didn't correct him. He just stroked his son’s hair. Teresa looked at me, her dark eyes entirely serious. “What did Vanessa say to you in the garage?” I hesitated, looking at Luca. He nodded encouragingly. “She told me to ask you about the hospital,” I said softly. “She said to ask what happened the night Catherine actually died.” Luca frowned. “Mom, what does that mean? Catherine died at the scene of the crash.” Teresa’s hands began to tremble. She looked down at her lap, her fingers twisting the beads of her rosary until I thought the wire would snap. “Mom?” Luca prompted, a note of fear creeping into his voice. “She didn't die at the scene,” Teresa whispered. The room went dead silent. “The police report said she died on impact,” Luca said slowly, standing up. “The police report was altered,” Teresa confessed, tears spilling down her wrinkled cheeks. “By me.” Luca took a step back, looking at his mother as if he didn't know her. “What are you talking about? Why would you alter the police report?” Teresa reached into the pocket of her cardigan. She pulled out a small, folded piece of paper. It was yellowed with age. She held it out to Luca. “Because Catherine survived the crash, Luca. She was trapped in the car for three hours before the ambulance arrived. And when they finally got her to the hospital... she was awake.” I covered my mouth. Luca snatched the paper from his mother’s hand. He unfolded it. It was a hospital admission form. At the bottom, in Catherine’s messy, distinctive handwriting, was a signature. “She was alive?” Luca’s voice cracked, a devastating sound of pure agony. “I was at the office. I didn't get the call until morning. You told me she was gone before they found her. Why would you lie to me?” Teresa sobbed, reaching for his hand, but he pulled away. “Because she made me promise!” Teresa cried. “She knew whoever did this was coming back to finish the job! She knew it was someone inside our circle!” “She was my wife!” Luca shouted, waking Leo, who immediately began to cry. I rushed to the bed, picking the boy up and holding him tight. “She was protecting you!” Teresa pleaded. “She survived the surgery, Luca. But her injuries were too severe. She lasted exactly two days in a secure, private wing under an assumed name. I was with her the entire time.” Luca stared at the paper. “Two days. I could have said goodbye.” “She didn't want you to see her like that,” Teresa wept. “And she gave me something. Something she made me swear to hide until the monster in our house was found.” Teresa reached behind her neck. She unclasped a heavy, gold locket she had worn every single day since I started working at the mansion. She clicked it open and pulled out a tiny, folded micro-SD card. “Arthur’s dashcam,” Teresa whispered. “Catherine managed to pull it from the wreckage before they cut her out.”
