Chapter 5 - Sarah’s Death Had a Witness
Madeline sank onto the couch.
Ethan stood across from her.
Lily had been taken upstairs by the housekeeper.
For the first time since the bicycle incident, the living room belonged only to adults.
“Tell me.”
Madeline stared at the floor.
“I saw Sarah the night she died.”
Ethan felt cold.
“Where?”
“At a gas station off Route 9.”
“Why were you there?”
“She called me.”
“When?”
“About forty minutes before the crash.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“What did she say?”
“She said Claire had found out about the trust records.”
“Claire Holden?”
“Yes.”
Madeline swallowed.
“Sarah was scared.”
“Why not call me?”
“She thought your phone was monitored.”
Ethan remembered the camera.
His stomach turned.
Madeline continued.
“I drove to meet her. She gave me the envelope. She told me if anything happened, I had to protect Lily.”
“And then?”
“She left.”
“You let her drive?”
“I didn’t know anyone had followed her.”
“Did you see the crash?”
Madeline began crying.
“No.”
Ethan waited.
“But I saw a black SUV leave the road behind her.”
“What SUV?”
“Claire’s.”
Silence.
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Did you tell police?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Madeline looked at him.
“Because Richard called me before I got home.”
Ethan stared.
“He knew?”
“He knew exactly where I’d been.”
“What did he say?”
Madeline’s voice broke.
“He said if I talked, Nathan would be found dead.”
Ethan looked toward the stairs.
“And Lily?”
“He said Lily would lose everything Sarah had tried to protect.”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“So you made a deal.”
“Yes.”
“What deal?”
“I stayed quiet. Richard kept Nathan alive.”
“Did he?”
“I thought so.”
Nathan’s voice came from the speakerphone still sitting on the table.
“He didn’t.”
Both turned.
Ethan had forgotten the call remained connected.
Nathan continued.
“Richard tried to kill me two months later.”
Madeline started crying.
“I didn’t know.”
“I know.”
His voice softened slightly.
That surprised Ethan.
Nathan continued.
“I disappeared because Claire helped Richard clean everything.”
Ethan stared at the phone.
“So Claire killed Sarah?”
“I don’t know.”
“You just said—”
“I said she helped clean it.”
Nathan paused.
“The crash may not have been the original plan.”
Ethan frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“Sarah had evidence in the car.”
“What evidence?”
“An original ledger.”
Madeline looked up sharply.
“No.”
Nathan continued.
“Yes.”
“The trust ledger?”
“The one proving Richard stole investor money and hid it under family trusts.”
Ethan understood.
Someone did not need Sarah dead.
They needed the ledger.
If the confrontation went wrong...
His hands curled.
“Where is the ledger?”
Nathan answered.
“That’s why Lily’s bicycle matters.”
Ethan looked toward the garage.
“The memory card?”
“No.”
“The bicycle itself.”
May you like
Nathan’s voice became urgent.
“Sarah hid more than one thing inside it.”
