Chapter 7: What Donna Had Built
Donna didn't wait for me to speak.
"Before you say anything," she said, "I want you to know that Laura had nothing to do with the original plan.
She only knew what I told her.
Which wasn't everything."
"Then tell me everything now," I said.
Claire had moved to stand beside me.
I put the call on speaker and set the phone on the table.
Laura hadn't moved from her chair.
"The money wasn't a loan repayment," Donna said.
"It was a buyout."
"Of what?"
"A business.
A small one.
Nothing you'd know." A pause.
"Vanessa and I have been running a domestic staffing agency for fourteen months.
We place housekeepers, nannies, caregivers.
Mostly in wealthy households."
The kitchen was absolutely still.
"We had a partner," Donna continued.
"He wanted out.
He also wanted more than his share.
The forty thousand was to buy him out quietly, before he could make things difficult."
"What kind of difficult?" I said.
"The kind where he talks to people he shouldn't talk to about how we source our workers."
I looked at Rosa.
She was standing near the doorway, very still, her face unreadable.
"How do you source your workers?" I said.
Donna didn't answer immediately.
"Donna."
"Some of them came through legitimate channels," she said.
"Some of them — the partner handled that side.
I didn't ask enough questions."
"Rosa," I said without looking away from the phone.
"Did anyone from an agency contact you?
Before you came to work for us?"
Rosa's voice was careful.
"A woman called me.
She said she had a family who needed help.
She arranged everything.
I thought she was a recruiter."
"What was her name?"
Rosa looked at the phone on the table.
"She said her name was Donna."
Laura made a sound.
A small, broken sound.
"You placed Rosa in our house," I said to the phone.
"You placed her here.
And then you sent Vanessa to monitor her.
To make sure she stayed quiet."
"It wasn't like that—"
"She threatened her with immigration.
That's exactly what it was like."
Donna went quiet.
"The account," I said.
"The eight thousand Laura moved.
Where did it go?"
"To the partner."
"His name."
"Daniel—"
"His name, Donna."
A long pause.
"Marcus Hale.
He has a record.
Fraud, mostly.
He's the one who managed the worker sourcing.
If he talks, it doesn't just hurt me — it creates problems for every family who used our agency.
Including yours."
"Because Rosa's paperwork—"
"Is fine," Donna said quickly.
"Rosa's documentation is completely legitimate.
I want to be clear about that.
Whatever Marcus did with other placements, Rosa's file is clean.
I made sure of that personally."
"Why?" Claire said.
A beat of silence.
"Because she was going into a house with a baby.
I wasn't going to—" Donna stopped.
"I drew a line somewhere."
"You drew a line," Claire said, "and then you sent Vanessa to threaten her anyway."
"I didn't send Vanessa to threaten anyone.
I asked her to keep an eye on things.
I didn't know she'd—" Another stop.
"I didn't know about the stroller.
Or the high chair.
I swear to you, Daniel.
I didn't know."
I believed her.
That was the worst part.
I believed her about that specific thing, which meant everything else was still true.
"Marcus Hale," I said.
"Does he know about our house?
Our address?"
"Yes."
"Does he know about the baby?"
The pause before her answer was too long.
"Donna."
"He made a comment," she said.
"Last week.
About how it would be a shame if a family like yours got caught up in an investigation.
I thought he was just — I thought it was a threat toward me.
I didn't think he meant—"
"You didn't think," I said.
I ended the call.
Claire was already looking up Marcus Hale on her phone.
She turned the screen toward me thirty seconds later.
Three results.
A court record.
A business registration.
And a photo.
I recognized the face.
He'd been at our house in March.
May you like
Donna had brought him to a dinner party.
He'd held the baby.
