Chapter 5 - The Backup Corinne Forgot)
Ethan watched every recovered clip.
By midnight he had stopped feeling shocked.
Shock required believing there was still a limit.
Corinne had no limit.
The first recording showed her gripping Maisie's arm.
The second showed her shouting at the child for dropping milk.
The third showed her taking Claire's framed photograph from the hallway and placing it face down.
The fourth was different.
No Maisie.
Corinne entered the living room at 2:13 in the morning carrying Claire's blue document box.
She placed it on the marble table.
Then a man entered through the side door.
Rachel leaned toward the screen.
"Who is that?"
Ethan paused the footage.
The man's face remained partially turned away.
Tall.
Gray suit.
Silver hair.
Expensive watch.
Ethan did not recognize him.
Corinne handed him several papers.
The man examined them, signed one page, and returned them.
Then Corinne spoke.
The microphone barely caught it.
"...once the evaluation is approved."
The man replied.
"And Carter?"
Corinne glanced toward the stairs.
"He'll never see it coming."
Ethan replayed the line.
Then again.
Rachel whispered, "Call the police."
Ethan exported every clip to three separate drives.
"I am."
He called Samuel first.
Samuel arrived at Rachel's apartment shortly after one.
By two, Samuel had contacted a family-law specialist and an investigator named Marcus Reed.
By three, Ethan had been advised not to return home alone.
By four, they had confirmed something worse.
A guardianship petition had already been drafted.
It had not yet been filed.
But documents relating to Ethan's mental health had been requested from three medical providers.
Someone had also contacted Maisie's pediatrician requesting records of unexplained injuries.
"She's building a case," Samuel said.
Ethan stood beside the window.
"To take my daughter?"
"Possibly."
"She can't."
"Not easily. But if she can create evidence that you're unstable, violent, neglectful, and perhaps responsible for Maisie's injuries, she can generate enough chaos for temporary orders."
Rachel looked at Ethan.
"And once she has temporary control?"
Samuel hesitated.
"Then we need to understand the trust."
Ethan looked toward him.
"What trust?"
"Claire's family trust."
"I know about it."
"Do you know its current value?"
"No."
Samuel opened his laptop.
"Approximately eighteen million dollars."
Rachel stared.
Ethan frowned.
"That doesn't make sense."
"Claire inherited property and private equity interests through her mother. Most were illiquid when she died. Several matured this year."
Ethan shook his head.
"The beneficiary is Maisie."
"Correct."
"And I'm trustee until she's twenty-five."
"According to the copy I have."
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean according to the copy you have?"
Samuel turned the screen.
"There appears to be an amendment."
"Signed by Claire?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Eight days before her death."
Ethan looked at Rachel.
She looked equally stunned.
Samuel continued.
"The amendment replaces you as sole interim trustee under certain conditions."
"What conditions?"
"Incapacity, criminal investigation, or a court finding that remaining under your care presents a risk to Maisie."
"Who replaces me?"
Samuel did not answer immediately.
Ethan already knew.
"Corinne."
Samuel nodded.
Rachel stood.
"Claire would never do that."
"I agree," Ethan said.
Samuel raised a hand.
"The signature appears authentic."
"It's forged."
"Maybe."
"No. Claire was investigating Corinne. She would not give her control of Maisie's money."
Samuel leaned back.
"Then we need the original."
Ethan thought of the locked cabinet.
"What happens if Corinne has it?"
"Depends what it is."
"Claire's letter said there was a document Corinne couldn't legally access."
Samuel looked interested.
"What document?"
"I don't know."
Marcus Reed, the investigator, had remained quiet until then.
Now he spoke.
"What did Claire do professionally?"
"Architect."
"Any business holdings?"
"Several."
"Any safe-deposit boxes?"
Ethan paused.
"Yes."
Everyone looked at him.
"Claire had one at Wellington Federal."
Samuel typed.
"When was the last time you accessed it?"
"Never."
"Why?"
"It was hers."
"Who inherited access?"
"I assume me."
Samuel looked grim.
"Never assume anything involving estate documents."
At eight the next morning, Ethan called the bank.
The safe-deposit box had been closed.
"When?" Ethan asked.
The bank employee checked.
"Ten months ago."
One month after Claire's death.
"By whom?"
There was a pause.
"According to our record, by the authorized estate representative."
"Name?"
Another pause.
"Corinne Mercer."
Ethan gripped the phone.
"Corinne Mercer was not Claire's estate representative."
"I can only tell you what the authorization form states."
"Who notarized it?"
"I cannot disclose that without a formal request."
Samuel leaned toward the phone.
"This is Samuel Price, attorney for Ethan Carter. Preserve every document and security recording associated with that access. Formal notice is being transmitted now."
The call ended.
Marcus stood.
"We need the notary."
Samuel nodded.
Rachel looked toward Maisie sleeping against Ethan.
"And Ethan needs to stay away from Corinne."
Ethan looked at the child.
He wanted that too.
Then his phone rang.
Home security alert.
Living room motion detected.
He opened the camera.
Corinne stood directly beneath it.
She looked up.
Straight into the lens.
Then she smiled.
She raised Claire's blue document box.
Placed it on the floor.
And poured lighter fluid over it.
Rachel gasped.
Ethan was already calling emergency services.
Corinne struck a match.
Before she dropped it, another figure entered the frame.
The unidentified silver-haired man.
He seized Corinne's wrist.
Even without audio, the argument was obvious.
Corinne pointed upstairs.
The man shook his head.
Then he looked directly at the camera.
Unlike Corinne, he did not seem surprised that it was recording.
He stepped closer.
And spoke one sentence clearly enough for the microphone to catch.
May you like
"Tell Ethan his wife should have stopped digging."
Then the feed went black.
