Chapter 8: The Recording
“No.””
The word came automatically.
Not because I believed Ethan was innocent.
Because my mind couldn’t make the pieces fit.
Rebecca repeated it.
“Ethan is listed as the beneficial owner.””
Dad’s face hardened.
“So Meridian belongs to him.””
“Indirectly, yes.””
I looked at Noah.
Ethan had paid a company he secretly owned to investigate me.
Or Diane had used that company.
Or David had.
Every possibility was terrible.
My phone rang.
An unknown number.
Rebecca stopped me before I answered.
“Speaker.””
I accepted.
“Hello?””
“Claire.””
Ethan.
His voice sounded hollow.
“Where are you calling from?””
“My attorney’s phone.””
Dad’s eyes narrowed.
“Were you arrested?””
“No.””
“Then what happened?””
“They questioned me. They seized devices and records.””
“About Meridian?””
Silence.
“Ethan.””
“Yes.””
Rebecca wrote something down.
“Why do you own Meridian?””
“I don’t.””
“We found the ownership records.””
“My name is on it. That doesn’t mean I control it.””
I almost laughed.
“Do you hear yourself?””
“David set it up.””
“David Mercer?””
Another pause.
“So you do know him.””
“Of course I know him.””
“You told me Diane’s brother lived overseas.””
“He did.””
“When?””
“Years ago.””
I closed my eyes.
“How long have you been lying to me?””
“I don’t know.””
The answer was so quiet that it hurt more than another lie.
“What was Meridian for?””
“Originally? Investments.””
“And later?””
He didn’t answer.
“Did Meridian investigate me?””
“I never ordered that.””
“Did your mother?””
“I think so.””
“You think?””
“Claire, I stopped knowing what Mom and David were doing months ago.””
“Yet you kept helping them.””
“I was trapped.””
Dad made a disgusted sound.
Ethan heard it.
“Is your father there?””
“Yes.””
“Of course.””
Dad leaned toward the phone.
“You should be grateful I’m merely listening.””
Rebecca gave him a warning look.
Ethan’s breathing changed.
“I didn’t plan to hurt Claire.””
I felt ice move through me.
Nobody had asked whether he planned to hurt me.
“What does that mean?””
“Nothing.””
“No. Explain it.””
“I mean financially.””
“You just said hurt.””
“I meant the money.””
Rebecca mouthed, Don’t help him.
So I stayed silent.
Ethan filled it.
“David told me the Hamptons property would double in value after renovation. I used some of Claire’s investment money because I thought I could return it before she noticed.””
“You forged my signature.””
“Mom handled the paperwork.””
“You knew?””
“I knew some documents weren’t exactly right.””
“Forgery has a shorter name than that.””
He exhaled.
“I know.””
“What about my jewelry?””
“I didn’t know until afterward.””
“And my father’s property?””
“I never intended to borrow two million.””
“But you did.””
“David told me it was a temporary credit facility.””
“With forged authorization?””
“I didn’t know the authorization was forged.””
Rebecca wrote another note.
I asked the question that mattered most.
“What was supposed to happen after Noah was born?””
Silence.
“Ethan?””
“I was supposed to become trustee.””
“Why?””
“To consolidate everything.””
“What does that mean?””
“The Hamptons property. The credit line. Some investments.””
“My investments?””
“Yes.””
“And if I objected?””
Another silence.
Then Ethan said, “That’s where my mother changed the plan.””
Rebecca leaned closer.
“How?””
“She started documenting Claire.””
My heart pounded.
“You knew?””
“I found out six weeks ago.””
“And you said nothing.””
“I confronted her.””
“When?””
“August seventeenth.””
I remembered that night.
Ethan had come home after midnight.
He told me he had been drinking with coworkers.
“You came home with blood on your shirt.””
Dad looked sharply at me.
Ethan went quiet.
“You said someone at the bar had a nosebleed.””
“It was David’s.””
“What happened?””
“We fought.””
“Why?””
“Because he told me about the guardianship.””
I closed my eyes.
“And after that?””
“I told them I was out.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Yet you still left me outside a hospital.””
“I know.””
“No, Ethan. I don’t think you do.””
“I panicked.””
“You took my SUV to lunch.””
“Mom insisted we keep the reservation because David was meeting us.””
My eyes opened.
“What?””
Rebecca stopped writing.
“David was at lunch?””
“He was supposed to be.””
“Was he?””
“No.””
“Why not?””
“I don’t know.””
I looked at Dad.
That lunch hadn’t simply been a family celebration.
Diane had wanted Ethan away from me.
Away from the hospital.
Possibly somewhere David expected him.
“Why leave me behind?””
“I thought you’d take a taxi.””
“You gave me twelve dollars.””
“That was Mom’s idea.””
“You still did it.””
“I know.””
For once, he didn’t defend himself.
Then he said, “Claire, there’s something in the apartment.””
Rebecca immediately shook her head.
“What?””
“A recording.””
My pulse jumped.
“Of what?””
“The fight with David.””
“You recorded it?””
“No. The nursery monitor did.””
I remembered the camera Ethan had installed months earlier.
It recorded sound whenever it detected movement.
“Where?””
“Cloud storage.””
“Do you still have access?””
“The agents took my phone.””
Rebecca leaned toward mine.
“Do not access or alter anything yourself. Give your attorney the account information and preserve it.””
Ethan hesitated.
“There’s another copy.””
“Where?””
“I downloaded it after the fight.””
“Where is it?””
“The apartment.””
Rebecca’s expression tightened.
“Do not retrieve it.””
“I can’t. The agents sealed my office.””
“Then leave it.””
Ethan lowered his voice.
“You need to hear what David said.””
“What did he say?””
“He told Mom the guardianship wasn’t enough.””
My stomach tightened.
“Enough for what?””
“To control everything.””
“And?””
Ethan’s voice shook.
“He said as long as you were around, you could challenge the trust.””
Dad went completely still.
I could barely speak.
“What did Diane say?””
Ethan didn’t answer.
“What did your mother say?””
“She asked him what he suggested.””
The room became silent.
Noah shifted against me.
“And what did David suggest?””
“I couldn’t hear that part clearly.””
“Then why do I need the recording?””
“Because of what Mom said afterward.””
I gripped the phone.
“What?””
Ethan whispered, “She said, ‘After the hospital, Claire won’t be coming home anyway.’”
My blood turned cold.
Rebecca immediately asked, “Did she explain what that meant?””
“No.””
“Did David?””
“No.””
Dad’s voice was controlled.
“Where is Diane now?””
“I don’t know.””
Then Ethan suddenly said, “Wait.””
“What?””
“My attorney just received something.””
Paper rustled.
His breathing stopped.
“Ethan?””
“No.””
“What is it?””
“No, no, no.””
Rebecca stood.
“What happened?””
Ethan’s voice rose.
“The agents found the recording.””
“Good.””
“No, Claire. You don’t understand.””
“What?””
“There was more audio after I left the room.””
I could hear his attorney speaking in the background.
Ethan went silent while he listened.
Then he whispered my name.
“Claire…”
“What did they hear?””
His next words came slowly.
“My mother wasn’t talking about taking you home from the hospital.””
I felt Dad’s hand close around the back of my chair.
Ethan continued.
“She was talking about having you committed.””
I exhaled shakily.
Then he said the part that made Rebecca’s face change.
“And David told her that wouldn’t work unless they had a doctor willing to sign the papers.””
Rebecca whispered, “D.M.””
But I already understood.
The initials in Diane’s calendar had never meant only David Mercer.
There was another D.M.
May you like
A doctor.
And according to the next line Ethan’s attorney read from the federal transcript, Diane had already paid him.
