Chapter 13 - Vanessa says she panicked
Vanessa contacted Ethan the next morning.
He refused to meet alone.
They spoke at Denise’s office with personal counsel present later that week.
Vanessa cried.
According to Ethan, she said:
“I panicked.”
About what?
A strange older woman walking into the party.
Ethan asked:
“She said she was my guest.”
Vanessa:
“People say things.”
“She said she came to see her son.”
“I didn’t believe her.”
“Why not?”
No useful answer.
Then:
“She was carrying a grocery bag.”
Ethan apparently stared at her for a long time.
“That’s your explanation?”
“No.”
Then Vanessa admitted she knew Margaret Carter might come.
She had no current photo.
She did know I was sixty-two.
She knew I lived modestly.
She knew I had been angry on the phone.
She said she still did not recognize me.
That was plausible.
But she had made no effort to verify identity before humiliating me.
Why the hose?
Vanessa said:
“She wouldn’t leave.”
Not an accident.
Not exactly a confession to criminal intent either.
A deliberate attempt to force someone off private property.
Her lawyer later emphasized that point.
No one disputes she used water intentionally.
The question was consequence.
Ethan asked:
“Would you have done it if you knew she was my mother?”
Vanessa said:
“No.”
He answered:
May you like
“That is not helping you.”
Correct.
