Vanessa’s Version of the Truth
Chapter 08 - Vanessa’s Version of the Truth
Vanessa gave an interview two days later.
She did not mention Laura by name.
She spoke about “families devastated by untreated mental illness” and “the burden carried by caregivers.”
The implication was obvious.
Public sympathy moved toward Charles.
Ethan confronted Vanessa at her apartment.
“You leaked the hearing.”
“No.”
“You gave that interview.”
“I defended the man I love.”
Ethan looked around.
Photographs of Vanessa and Charles covered the walls. Awards from the Cole Foundation filled a shelf.
“You met my mother as her nurse.”
“I was assigned to her for eleven weeks.”
“Then you became my father’s assistant.”
“Years later.”
“Six months later.”
Vanessa’s composure cracked.
“She frightened people.”
“Did she frighten you?”
“She knew about Charles and me.”
Ethan stared at her.
Vanessa admitted the affair began before Laura entered treatment.
Laura discovered them together in the east wing.
The confrontation triggered a panic attack.
Charles used the episode to persuade Laura to seek treatment.
Vanessa insisted Laura’s crisis was real.
Ethan agreed.
“That doesn’t make what you did afterward legal.”
Vanessa turned away.
“I believed Charles when he said contact with the children would make her worse.”
“For seventeen years?”
Vanessa’s silence answered him.
Ethan noticed a locked drawer beneath her desk.
Vanessa stepped between him and it.
“What’s inside?”
“Private files.”
He did not force it.
Instead, he called Laura’s attorney.
A subpoena was issued.
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Inside the drawer investigators found copies of every letter Laura wrote to Ethan and Grace.
None had ever left Vanessa’s possession.
