Chapter 6: The Man Behind the Plan
"How did you get this number?" I said.
"Vanessa." A pause.
"She's quite upset with you.
I thought it might be better if I handled this directly."
I stayed on the floor of the storage unit with the photographs in my hand.
I didn't stand up.
I didn't want him to hear me moving.
"What do you want, Mr.
Morrow?"
"The same thing I've always wanted.
A simple transaction.
The house is worth considerably more than the market suggests.
I'm prepared to offer you a number that would set you and your daughter up very comfortably."
"My daughter's house."
"Technically, yes.
Which is precisely why this has been complicated." His voice stayed easy.
Conversational.
The voice of a man who had made difficult phone calls many times and found them all manageable.
"A child can't sell a property.
A guardian can."
"So you needed a guardian."
"We needed a cooperative one."
"And Vanessa was going to be that."
"She was going to be your wife," he said.
"Which is even better.
A spouse has standing in ways a guardian doesn't.
Especially once a child reaches a certain age and the original will becomes subject to review."
I looked at the guardianship filing on the floor beside me.
Plan A.
Vanessa as guardian.
When that failed, Plan B.
Vanessa as wife.
"How long have you been planning this?" I said.
"Long enough to be frustrated that a teddy bear has set us back." He said it without humor.
"Mr.
Calloway, I want to be direct with you.
What you have in that storage unit is a collection of documents that will take years to litigate.
I have solicitors who do nothing else.
You have a six-year-old daughter and a job.
Think about what a legal fight costs.
Think about what it costs Sophie."
There it was.
The threat dressed as concern.
"Are you threatening my daughter?"
"I'm describing reality." His voice didn't change.
"Sell the house.
Take the money.
Walk away.
Sophie grows up comfortable.
Everyone moves on."
"And if I don't?"
The pause was shorter this time.
"Then Vanessa files a formal complaint alleging that you have been emotionally unstable since your wife's passing and that Sophie's welfare is at risk.
She has documentation.
Witnesses.
A record of your behavior today at the pool, which, taken out of context, looks quite alarming."
My hand tightened on the phone.
"She was the one who pushed Sophie toward that pool."
"She was the one who was present when Sophie fell," he said.
"It's a question of who tells the story first."
I looked at the security camera mounted at the entrance of the storage facility.
Then I thought about the cameras at the house.
The one I had installed eighteen months ago after a break-in two streets over.
The one that covered the back garden and the pool.
I had forgotten about it entirely.
"I need to think," I said.
"Of course.
Take the evening.
But Mr.
Calloway — don't take longer than that.
Vanessa is already speaking with her solicitor."
He ended the call.
I sat in the silence of the storage unit for thirty seconds.
Then I called my brother.
"Marcus," I said when he picked up.
"I need you to go to my house and pull the memory card from the garden camera.
Don't let anyone in.
Don't talk to anyone.
Just get the card and call me back."
"Daniel, what's going on?"
"I'll explain everything.
May you like
Just get the card."
I started loading the boxes into my car.
