Chapter 4 - Claire’s Brother Had Come Back
Ryan answered Ethan’s call on the fourth ring.
“Ethan.”
“You’ve been inside my house.”
Silence.
“You’ve been meeting Vanessa in Claire’s office.”
Ryan exhaled.
“I can explain.”
“That phrase is getting popular tonight.”
“Don’t call police.”
“Too late.”
Ryan swore.
Ethan’s suspicion sharpened.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for something Claire left.”
“What?”
“A file.”
“What file?”
“Something she found before she died.”
Ethan sat down.
Claire had died in a highway accident during heavy rain.
There had never been anything suspicious about it.
Ryan immediately understood Ethan’s silence.
“No. Stop. I’m not saying her death was connected.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“Claire was investigating money missing from our parents’ estate.”
Ethan frowned.
Claire’s parents had died within eighteen months of each other.
Their estate had been complicated but not enormous.
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
“She thought it was my fault.”
Ethan stared at the wall.
“Was it?”
“No.”
“Then whose?”
Ryan hesitated.
“Our uncle.”
Thomas Cole.
Thomas had handled the family finances after Claire’s father became ill.
Ryan believed Thomas diverted money before probate.
Claire discovered irregularities.
Then she died.
Ryan spent years trying to prove it.
“How does Vanessa fit into this?”
“She contacted me.”
“When?”
“Six months ago.”
Before Vanessa moved into Ethan’s house.
Ryan said Vanessa found an old envelope while helping Ethan organize
storage.
It contained Claire’s handwritten notes.
Vanessa searched Ryan online.
They began investigating quietly.
Ethan’s anger rose.
“She went through my dead wife’s things and contacted her brother
without telling me.”
“Yes.”
“And you thought that was acceptable?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because Vanessa said you’d shut it down.”
Ethan laughed once.
Bitterly.
“She decided that for me.”
Ryan went quiet.
Then Ethan asked:
“Did you know how she treated Mason?”
“What do you mean?”
Ethan explained.
Ryan sounded genuinely shocked.
“No.”
“Did you ever see him?”
“Sometimes.”
“Did he seem afraid?”
Ryan paused too long.
“Ryan.”
“He got quiet when she walked in.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“And you said nothing.”
“I thought he was shy around me.”
“He’s known you since he was born.”
Ryan had no answer.
Then Officer Grant entered the room holding one of the documents.
“Mr. Walker?”
Ethan covered the phone.
“Yes?”
“This is a petition for temporary guardianship of your son.”
Ethan slowly stood.
The document listed Vanessa Harris as proposed guardian.
And beneath it was a medical declaration stating Ethan had recently
shown signs of cognitive instability.
May you like
The signature at the bottom appeared to belong to Ethan’s doctor.
Ethan had never seen the document before.
