Chapter 3 - Anna’s Final Message
Marcus returned to the mansion only once.
Police had sealed the kitchen and Cassandra’s suite.
The rooms felt colder without Lily.
Anna’s old studio remained untouched at the end of the west hallway.
Marcus entered using a key he had carried for four years.
Paintings leaned against the walls.
Anna had been a medical illustrator and children’s-book artist.
Her final unfinished project showed a girl following a white fox through a forest.
Lily loved the drawing.
Marcus had avoided the room because it preserved Anna too perfectly.
Now he searched it.
Victor had handled Anna’s estate.
Cassandra had photographed trust documents hidden in Marcus’s study.
But Anna often kept personal notes inside paintings.
She said digital secrets could be hacked.
Canvas required someone to look.
Marcus removed the unfinished fox painting from its frame.
Behind it was a memory card.
The card contained one video.
Anna sat in the studio wearing a red sweater.
She looked tired.
“Marcus,” she said, “if you are watching this, something happened before I could explain.”
Marcus stopped breathing.
Anna continued.
“Someone has accessed the Lark files.”
Project Lark was the original artificial-intelligence framework behind Vale Technologies’ healthcare systems.
The official history credited Marcus’s father and grandfather.
Anna believed Daniel Vale created the first architecture.
She had been researching Daniel’s removal from the company.
“I found evidence that Daniel was framed,” Anna said. “Your grandfather and Victor’s father falsified patent dates. Daniel did not steal from the family. The family stole from him.”
Marcus sat on the studio floor.
Cassandra’s anger had a real foundation.
Her father had been betrayed.
But Anna’s message continued.
“Daniel’s daughter contacted me. Her name is Cassandra. At first, she wanted records. I agreed to meet her.”
Marcus stared at the screen.
“She became angry when I refused to release the patents publicly without legal review. She said the Vale name deserved to burn. Victor has been helping her. I believe he wants to use the scandal to take control.”
Anna described dizziness after drinking tea during a meeting with Cassandra.
She had collected a sample.
The sample was hidden in the studio.
Marcus searched the cabinet Anna indicated.
Behind art supplies was a sealed vial.
Police took it for testing.
It contained the same cardiac-triggering compound found in Anna’s blood.
The video ended with Anna speaking directly to Marcus.
“Do not hide the truth to protect the company. If Daniel was robbed, correct it. But protect Lily. Cassandra asked too many questions about the trust. She looked at our daughter as if Lily were a key.”
Marcus watched the message three times.
Grief became rage.
Then shame.
Anna had tried to tell Victor.
Victor convinced Marcus she was overwhelmed.
Marcus remembered saying, “You need rest, not another investigation.”
Anna had looked at him with disappointment.
He had failed to listen.
This time, he would not.
Marcus released part of the video through his attorney.
He did not share Anna’s private words about their marriage or Lily.
He released the evidence concerning Daniel Vale.
Vale Technologies commissioned an independent historical audit.
Within days, the audit confirmed that Daniel had developed early versions of the company’s predictive engine.
Marcus’s grandfather had removed his name and accused him of theft.
Cassandra’s father had been wronged.
Marcus announced that Daniel’s contribution would be restored publicly.
A compensation trust would be created for Daniel’s legitimate heirs.
Reporters expected Marcus to deny everything.
Instead, he admitted the company’s founding story was incomplete.
“An injustice against Daniel Vale does not justify abuse against Lily,” he said. “Both truths must be faced.”
Cassandra’s public support weakened.
She had built her defense around the idea that Marcus would protect the family legacy at any cost.
He refused.
But Cassandra still possessed supporters.
Some believed her cruelty toward Lily was fabricated.
Others argued the footage showed only one bad moment.
Then the gala board released additional videos Marcus had sent.
Cassandra forcing Lily to stand for three hours.
Cassandra tearing Anna’s drawings.
Cassandra whispering that Marcus wished Lily had died instead of Anna.
Public opinion changed.
Brighton Children’s Foundation removed Cassandra.
Brands canceled partnerships.
Her consulting clients left.
She was arrested on charges related to child endangerment, unlawful administration of medication, fraud, and conspiracy.
Victor and Dr. Rourke were arrested soon afterward.
Cassandra posted bail using a property owned by Julian Rowe.
Then she disappeared.
Her ankle monitor was found beside a highway.
Police issued a nationwide alert.
Marcus increased security around Lily.
Naomi discovered that Cassandra still had access to one employee inside Vale Technologies.
Someone had downloaded Anna’s trust records the night Cassandra fled.
The employee was Owen Price, Marcus’s personal assistant.
Owen had worked for him for six years.
He knew Lily’s school, medical schedule, and security codes.
When confronted, Owen vanished.
His apartment contained cash and a photograph of Cassandra with a newborn baby.
On the back was written:
ELISE, 2014.
Cassandra had a daughter.
No child appeared in her public records.
The hospital bracelet in the photograph came from a private clinic in Idaho.
Detective Ruiz traced the birth.
The mother was listed as Cassandra Vale.
The father was blank.
The baby entered emergency foster care six months later after Cassandra disappeared from the state.
A couple adopted her.
Her new name was Mia Foster.
She was eleven years old.
Cassandra had spent months abusing Lily while presenting herself as a woman ready to become a loving stepmother.
Meanwhile, she had abandoned her own child.
Marcus wanted to understand why.
Ruiz warned him not to contact the adoptive family yet.
Mia’s parents deserved privacy.
But Cassandra contacted them first.
She appeared outside Mia’s school.
Security footage showed her attempting to convince the girl to enter a car.
Mia ran back inside.
Cassandra escaped before police arrived.
The adoptive parents received a message afterward.
YOUR DAUGHTER HAS SOMETHING THAT BELONGS TO ME.
Mia’s mother searched the belongings Cassandra left at the foster agency years earlier.
Inside an old stuffed rabbit, she found a metal key.
The key opened a private deposit box registered under Daniel Vale’s name.
Cassandra had hidden it with her baby before abandoning her.
The box might contain the original Lark patents.
It might also contain evidence proving who killed Anna.
Cassandra no longer wanted only control of Vale Technologies.
She needed the key before police reached the truth.
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And now two children stood between her and the secret.
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