Chapter 8 - They Planned to Take Sophie)
Claire stared at the photograph until Eleanor took it from her hands.
"Why were they following me?"
The answer lay in Martin's files.
A folder labeled C.B.
Claire Bennett.
Inside were bank records for accounts Claire had never opened.
Photographs of her entering stores.
A pharmacy receipt.
A copy of her driver's license.
Records of Michael's insurance payment.
Notes about her emotional state after his death.
And drafts of anonymous complaints accusing Claire of neglecting Sophie.
Claire felt physically ill.
"They were going to report me."
Eleanor nodded.
"Eventually."
One draft alleged that Claire left Sophie unattended for long periods.
Another claimed Claire drank heavily.
Claire barely drank at all.
Another alleged that Claire had stolen money from the Bennett family and planned to disappear with Sophie.
Every allegation was false.
But Martin had built documents around each one.
A manipulated credit card record made purchases at a liquor store appear under Claire's name.
The fraudulent bank transfers supported the theft accusation.
Security clips showing Sophie crying could be edited to suggest Claire was absent.
And the injuries Vanessa caused could be blamed on Claire.
Claire understood the full design.
Vanessa had been hurting Sophie carefully.
Not only because she was cruel.
Because a frightened, bruised baby could become evidence against her own mother.
Claire ran upstairs and locked herself in the bathroom.
For several minutes she sat on the floor.
Not crying.
Unable to breathe normally.
She imagined losing Sophie.
A court believing documents.
A social worker seeing bruises.
A wealthy family attorney presenting financial evidence.
Vanessa standing beside Richard, pretending concern.
Maybe Richard dead.
Maybe declared incompetent.
Maybe unable to defend them.
Claire pressed both hands to her face.
A knock came.
"Claire?"
Richard.
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
She almost laughed at the obviousness.
He waited outside.
"I won't come in."
Claire opened the door.
Richard stood there.
He looked exhausted.
"I'm sorry."
Claire shook her head.
"Don't."
"I brought her here."
"And I trusted her too."
"You didn't invite her into our lives."
"No, but I ignored Sophie."
Richard frowned.
"Claire."
"She cried every time Vanessa picked her up."
"She's a baby."
"I explained it away."
"So did I."
Claire looked toward the nursery.
"What if we hadn't found the camera?"
Richard had no answer.
Because both knew.
Vanessa would have continued.
Martin would have continued.
Eventually they might have succeeded.
Richard sat beside Claire in the hallway.
"We found it."
"Michael found them first."
"Yes."
"He died because he tried to protect us."
Richard's eyes lowered.
"Maybe."
Claire looked at him.
"Don't soften it for me."
"We don't know the driver's intention."
"He was forced off the road."
"We know what Derek says."
"Richard."
He looked at her.
Claire's voice broke.
"My husband is dead."
Richard closed his eyes.
"I know."
"And someone may have paid for the thing that killed him."
"I know."
"I need this to end with the truth."
Richard nodded.
"So do I."
The investigation accelerated.
Police traced the burner phone messages.
One connected to a former private security contractor named Nolan Price.
Nolan had worked occasional jobs for Martin.
His bank records showed a payment of one hundred thousand dollars three days after Michael died.
Nolan had disappeared from Connecticut soon afterward.
Federal investigators located him in Nevada.
He was arrested on an unrelated warrant.
During questioning, he denied involvement in Michael's death.
Then detectives showed him Martin's records.
Nolan asked for a lawyer.
Negotiations began.
Two days later, he offered a statement.
Martin hired him to frighten Michael.
The plan was to force Michael's car off the road at low speed and make the incident look like random road rage.
Nolan stole a truck to avoid identification.
But rain was heavy.
Michael accelerated.
Nolan followed.
The truck struck Michael's car harder than intended.
Michael lost control.
Nolan panicked and fled.
Claire listened without moving.
It was not an intentional murder in the simplest sense.
But Michael had died because men decided terror was an acceptable tool.
Vanessa had helped pay for it.
Martin had arranged it.
Nolan had driven.
Michael had been right.
And then the people responsible had entered his family's home and continued their plan.
Charges followed.
Nolan.
Martin.
Vanessa.
The exact charges would depend on prosecutors and evidence.
But for the first time since the camera revealed Vanessa's cruelty, Claire knew they were no longer merely investigating.
They were building a case.
Vanessa was arrested at her hotel.
News spread quickly.
Richard Bennett's fiancée accused in fraud investigation.
Former family attorney detained.
Questions reopened in death of Bennett heir.
Claire hated the headlines.
Sophie was not named because she was a child.
Claire refused every interview.
Richard released one statement through Eleanor.
"My family's priority is the safety of my granddaughter and the pursuit of truth through lawful process."
Nothing else.
Three nights later, Claire woke at 2:17 a.m.
Sophie was crying.
Claire rushed to the crib.
She lifted her daughter.
"It's okay."
But Sophie would not calm down.
Claire walked slowly through the dark guest room.
Then she heard something downstairs.
A door.
Softly opening.
Claire stopped.
Richard was asleep in the opposite wing.
Thomas had gone home.
Two security guards were outside.
Nobody should have been inside.
Claire reached for her phone.
Before she could unlock it, the nursery monitor screen flickered.
A figure appeared in the hallway camera.
Claire's breath caught.
May you like
A man stood outside the room.
And he was holding a key.
