Chapter 4 - Rachel Had Packed Lily’s Life
Police opened the remaining crates.
The contents formed a disturbing inventory.
Lily’s birth certificate.
Her passport.
Vaccination records.
Favorite books.
Clothes.
Family photographs.
Daniel’s watches.
Caroline’s jewelry.
Financial records from Daniel’s study.
Even a framed photograph of Lily with her late mother.
This was not random theft.
Someone had packed the pieces of an entire life.
Daniel looked at Rachel.
“How long?”
She refused to answer.
Vanessa did.
“Six weeks.”
Rachel spun toward her.
“Shut up.”
Vanessa began crying.
She admitted the wine had been sold gradually to generate cash that
Daniel would not immediately trace.
Rachel knew the collection well enough to choose valuable bottles whose
absence might be missed only during inventory.
Daniel felt sick.
He had trusted Rachel because she had been Caroline’s closest friend.
After Caroline died, Rachel helped with Lily.
She became part of the household.
Now she had been quietly dismantling it.
But Daniel still did not understand why Vanessa was involved.
Vanessa was Caroline’s younger sister.
Lily’s aunt.
May you like
Then Vanessa said something that changed the entire story.
“Rachel told me Lily wasn’t safe with you.”
