Chapter 7 - Vivienne’s Story Falls Apart
Vivienne sat across from Detective Brooks wearing jail-issued clothing instead of white silk.
She still tried to look superior.
It no longer worked.
Her attorney sat beside her.
Brooks placed a photograph of West Briar on the table.
Vivienne did not touch it.
“Never seen it.”
Brooks placed an invoice beside it.
“You approved renovations there.”
“I approve hundreds of invoices.”
Another document.
“Your brother’s company stored security equipment there.”
“Ask Damian.”
Then Brooks played Elena’s recording.
You stole from my husband.
Vivienne’s expression barely moved.
Until her own voice answered from the speaker.
I took what Cassandro never would have given us.
Her attorney immediately said, “Stop the recording.”
Brooks did.
Vivienne stared at the table.
Outside the interview room, Cassandro watched through glass.
He remembered every dinner.
Every birthday.
Every Christmas Vivienne had spent inside his home.
She had held Audrey at her first birthday party.
She had hugged Elena after Audrey was born.
She had sat beside Cassandro the morning after Elena disappeared and told him she would help him survive it.
The betrayal was almost too large to feel at once.
Brooks returned fifteen minutes later.
“She isn’t talking.”
Cassandro asked, “What about Damian?”
“Same.”
“Can you search the house?”
“We’re close.”
Close was not enough.
Then Cassandro received another surprise.
Elena’s attorney, Rachel Mendel, arrived carrying a sealed document pouch.
“I should have come earlier,” she said.
Cassandro stared at her.
“Earlier meaning when?”
“The morning after Elena disappeared.”
His anger rose.
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because Elena instructed me not to contact you unless certain conditions were met.”
“What conditions?”
Rachel removed a notarized memorandum.
Elena had been preparing to report financial crimes.
She had believed someone might be using Cassandro’s credentials.
And she did not know how high the corruption went.
Including whether Cassandro himself knew.
Cassandro stared at the document.
“She suspected me?”
“She was afraid of being wrong.”
The words hurt more than he expected.
Rachel continued.
“Elena told me if she missed our meeting, I should wait seventy-two hours, then contact federal authorities.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
Cassandro looked up sharply.
“Then why wasn’t I told?”
“Because the investigation was still developing.”
Rachel placed one final item on the table.
A storage-unit receipt.
Elena had rented the unit two days before she disappeared.
Inside, she said, should be copies of everything.
Cassandro looked at Brooks.
“When can we open it?”
Brooks already had her phone out.
“As soon as I get the warrant.”
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Vivienne had been terrified of what Audrey heard.
But Elena had prepared for something far bigger than a child’s memory.
