Chapter 83: Vanessa Received the Summons
Vanessa Cole received the summons in a café with glass walls.
That was the first mistake.
She had chosen the table because she liked being seen when she looked fragile.
A pale cardigan.
No make-up, except the kind that took forty minutes to appear natural.
One hand resting on her bump.
The other curled around a cup she had barely touched.
She expected sympathy from strangers.
She did not expect a process server to say her name clearly enough for three tables to turn.
“Vanessa Cole?”
Her fingers tightened. “Yes?”
He placed the envelope on the table. “You are required to attend and give evidence in family proceedings relating to Lily Bennett.”
The surname hit her first.
Bennett.
Not Hayes.
Her face changed before she could stop it.
The server left.
The café kept looking.
Vanessa opened the envelope with hands that did not tremble until she saw the words.
Attempted pre-registration.
Hospital record.
Witness statement.
Audio recording.
Audio recording.
She stood too quickly.
The chair scraped across the floor, loud and ugly.
Outside, rain tapped the pavement with polite persistence.
Vanessa called Richard first.
He did not answer.
She called Rebecca Shaw.
No answer.
She sent three messages.
The last one read: They are making me testify.
Two ticks appeared.
No reply.
That was when fear arrived properly.
Not the dramatic kind she performed online.
The private kind that made her realise she had never been inside the Hayes family machine.
She had only been standing near it, useful while she moved in the right direction.
She had mistaken access for protection.
Now the difference was arriving in an envelope with her full name printed on it.
Vanessa walked fast to her flat, ignoring the damp on her shoes.
By the time she reached her building, Ethan was waiting by the entrance.
He looked almost as bad as she felt.
“What did you do?” he demanded.
Vanessa laughed, sharp and brittle. “That is brave, coming from you.”
“You submitted Lily’s registration.”
“I submitted nothing.”
“Your name is on the record.”
“Then ask your father why.”
Ethan went still.
There it was.
A crack.
For months, Vanessa had watched him defend Richard automatically, like a boy still hoping a cold father might clap once.
Now the defence did not come.
Vanessa lowered her voice. “You really thought you were the only one being used?”
Ethan stepped closer.
Not threateningly.
Desperately.
“Tell the truth in court.”
She stared at him.
“The truth?” she said. “Which part? The part where you let me walk into your wedding? The part where you let Clara stand there while everyone stared? The part where you told me the family would handle things if I kept pressure on her?”
Ethan’s face went grey. “I never told you to file anything about Lily.”
“No. You only created the stage. Richard wrote the script after you proved how easy it was.”
He flinched.
Good.
Vanessa wanted someone else to feel cornered.
For one second, she almost enjoyed it.
Then her phone rang.
Rebecca.
She answered at once.
A woman’s voice said, calm and thin, “Mr Hayes advises you to obtain your own legal representation. He will not be making further comment.”
The call ended.
Vanessa stared at the dead screen.
No car.
No solicitor.
No family representative.
No protection.
She had been invited into the scandal as a weapon and left in it as evidence.
For once, Vanessa Cole had an audience and no performance ready.
Then another message arrived.
From Daniel Reed.
A copy of the audio transcript was attached.