Chapter 41 Margot's deception
Vivienne's POV
The police station was only about fifteen minutes away. Raphael drove and I sat in the passenger seat, watching the houses and shops go by.
Everything looked so normal, so peaceful. It was hard to believe that somewhere out there, Margot and Claudine were plotting against me.
At the station, we were directed to a desk where a female officer sat. She looked to be in her forties, with kind eyes and a no-nonsense expression.
"How can I help you today?" she asked.
Raphael looked at me and I took a deep breath. "I've been receiving threatening text messages."
The officer pulled out a form and a pen. "Okay, let's start from the beginning. What's your name?"
“Vivienne" I said, then gave her my full name and address.
"And when did you start receiving these messages?"
"Last night. Around seven thirty in the evening," I said.
"Can I see the messages?" she asked.
I pulled out my phone with shaking hands and showed her the screenshots I'd taken. She read through them carefully, her expression getting more serious with each one.
"Do you know who's sending these?" she asked.
This was the hard part. "I think so. I think it's a woman named Margot and possibly another woman named Claudine."
"What makes you think it's them?" the officer asked, writing everything down.
I explained about my history with Margot, about the confrontation at Raphael's house, about Claudine's visit and what she'd said to me. The officer listened without interrupting, just taking notes.
"Do you have any proof that these women are behind the messages?" she asked when I finished.
My heart sank. "No. The numbers are unknown. But Claudine told me directly that Margot sent her and that they wanted me gone."
"Were there any witnesses to this conversation?"
I shook my head. "No. We were alone in my bedroom."
The officer sighed and I could tell she was about to give me bad news. "Miss Vivienne, I understand this is frightening for you. And we will absolutely document these threats. But without proof that these specific women sent the messages, there's not much we can do right now."
"So I just have to wait until they actually hurt me?" I asked, my voice cracking.
"No," the officer said firmly. "What you need to do is save every message, don't respond to any of them, and document everything.
If they contact you in any other way, write it down. If you see them near your home or following you, call us immediately. We need to build a case, and that takes evidence."
Raphael squeezed my hand. "What about a restraining order?"
"You can apply for one," the officer said. "But again, you'll need to prove that you have reasonable fear of harm from specific individuals. Right now, all we have are anonymous text messages and a conversation with no witnesses."
I felt like crying. We'd come here for help and there was nothing they could do.
"I'll file this report," the officer continued. "And if anything else happens, if you get more messages or if these women contact you directly, come back and we'll add it to the file. Eventually, we'll have enough to act on."
"Eventually," I repeated quietly. "What if it eventually becomes too late?"
The officer's expression softened. "I know this isn't what you wanted to hear. But I'm being honest with you about how the system works. In the meantime, stay vigilant. Don't go anywhere alone if you can help it. Change your phone number if you need to. And keep documenting everything."
We left the police station with a case number and nothing else. I felt defeated, like all the hope I'd had this morning had just drained away.
"That was useless," I said as we got back in the car.
"It wasn't useless," Raphael said, though he didn't sound very convinced. "At least now there's an official record. If something else happens, we have that."
I didn't respond. I just stared out the window as he drove, feeling more hopeless than ever.
"I'm still going to talk to Claudine," Raphael said after a while. "Today. I'm going to call her and ask her to meet me."
"She'll just deny everything," I said.
"Maybe," he agreed. "But I need to see her face when I ask her about it. I'll know if she's lying."
We drove in silence for a few more minutes before Raphael spoke again.
"There's something else we can do," he said slowly. "Something the police can't help us with."
I turned to look at him hopeful and ready to hear whatever idea he has. "What?"
"We can set a trap," he said. "We can make Margot and Claudine think they're winning, get them comfortable, and then catch them in the act."
"How?" I asked, not sure I liked where this was going.
"I don't know yet," he admitted. "But we need to think like they're thinking. What do they want? They want you gone. So maybe we make them think you're leaving or we do something that will make your stay solidify."
"And then what?" I asked.
"And then we see what they do next," he said. "If they think they've won, they might get careless. They might make a mistake."
It was risky. It could backfire completely. But what choice did we have?
"Okay but I think I like the second choice more." I said. "Let's make my stay solidify!”
Raphael reached over and took my hand again. "We're going to figure this out, Ivy. I promise you."
I wanted to believe him. But as we pulled up to the house, I saw a car parked across the street. A car I recognized.
It was Margot's car.
"Raphael," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "She's here."
He followed my gaze and his jaw clenched. "Stay in the car."
"No," I said quickly. "No, I’ll go with you.”
He looked torn, but finally nodded. "Okay. We go in together. But stay behind me."
We got out of the car and I stayed close to Raphael as we walked towards the house. Margot got out of her car at the same time, a smile on her face that made my skin crawl.
"Good morning," she said cheerfully, like she hadn't just spent the last twelve hours terrorizing me. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"What are you doing here, Margot?" Raphael asked coldly.
"I came to see Vivienne," she said, her eyes moving to me. "I heard she wasn't feeling well yesterday. I wanted to check on her."
The fake concern in her voice made me want to scream. This was the woman who'd sent Claudine to threaten me, who'd been behind the text messages, and now she was standing here pretending to care.
"I'm fine," I said, my voice stronger than I felt. "You can leave now."
Margot's smile didn't waver. "Oh but I insist. I brought some soup for you. It's in my car. Let me just get it."