Chapter 10 - the house that recorded everything
Emily was released before sunrise.
Not because Grant wanted it.
Because Rachel called the district attorney's office directly.
By morning, state investigators had taken over questions surrounding William's death.
Barbara's emergency guardianship petition was suspended pending review.
Chloe remained with Mark.
For the first time in twenty-four hours, Emily thought they might be gaining ground.
Then they discovered Barbara had disappeared.
Her car remained at the Carter house.
Her phone lay on the kitchen counter.
Her passport was missing.
So was Mark's.
"Why would she take mine?" Mark asked.
Rachel answered.
"Identity."
Daniel nodded.
"Or access."
They returned to the house with two investigators.
The dining room looked exactly as Emily remembered.
One unfinished plate from the previous evening still sat on the table.
Barbara had left quickly.
Daniel inspected the security system.
"She wiped the internal drive."
"Can it be recovered?"
"Some."
He removed the recorder.
"But the memory card gives us more."
Emily stood beneath the porch camera.
"Why did William secretly archive everything?"
Thomas, who had come with them, answered.
"Because he knew Barbara deleted footage."
"But why involve Chloe?"
"He didn't."
Emily looked at him.
"The password was her rabbit."
"William trusted patterns Barbara wouldn't understand."
Mark entered carrying the wooden box Barbara had threatened to destroy.
"Found it."
The box was damaged but intact.
Inside were old photographs, letters, and a second key.
Not to a bank box.
To a storage unit.
An address was written beneath it.
Daniel checked the address.
"Twenty miles north."
Rachel folded her arms.
"We should give it to investigators."
Thomas shook his head.
"If Barbara knew about the safe-deposit box, she may know about this too."
"Exactly why police should handle it."
Emily looked toward Chloe.
The child sat on the sofa coloring.
She had endured enough.
"We tell them."
The state investigator agreed to accompany them.
The storage facility contained one unit registered under William's middle name.
Inside were boxes.
Dozens.
Financial records.
Security backups.
Handwritten notes.
And one locked metal cabinet.
The second key opened it.
Inside were files bearing family names.
MARK.
EMILY.
CHLOE.
BARBARA.
Emily opened hers first.
Photographs of her over eight years.
Work events.
Lunch meetings.
Hospital visits.
Arguments outside the house.
It was surveillance.
Mark's folder was worse.
Bank records.
Medical history.
Phone logs.
A copy of an old psychological evaluation from college.
"What is this?" Emily asked.
Mark looked embarrassed.
"I had panic attacks after Thomas disappeared."
Thomas's expression softened.
"You were sixteen."
"My mother sent me to therapy."
Emily read the highlighted passages.
Patient displays intense fear of abandonment.
Patient demonstrates susceptibility to maternal influence.
She looked at Barbara's handwritten notes in the margin.
USE IF NEEDED.
Emily felt sick.
She opened Chloe's folder.
School reports.
Doctor visits.
Photographs.
Guardianship research.
Legal strategies.
A document titled CONTINGENCY.
Rachel took it.
"This is a plan."
The plan outlined circumstances under which Barbara could seek control of Chloe.
Divorce.
Mark's death.
Emily's death.
Emily's mental incapacity.
Mark's incapacity.
A financial scandal.
A criminal investigation.
Several items had dates.
One date was next month.
Emily pointed.
"What happens then?"
Daniel leaned closer.
A handwritten note beside the date read:
BOARD VOTE.
Mark looked confused.
"What board vote?"
Thomas's expression changed.
"Your company."
Carter Architectural Group had five board members.
Mark controlled two votes.
Barbara controlled one.
Two outside directors controlled the rest.
If Mark were removed as CEO, provisions in William's estate could alter management of several family trusts.
Emily stared.
"This isn't just about Chloe."
Thomas nodded.
"It never was."
In the bottom of the cabinet, Daniel found a recorder.
One file.
Recorded six days before William died.
William's voice.
"If you're hearing this, Barbara moved faster than I did."
A pause.
"Mark, I'm sorry."
Mark gripped the table.
William continued.
"Your mother believes control is love. She has believed it so long that I don't think she knows the difference anymore."
Another pause.
"There is one thing she does not know."
Daniel leaned closer.
"I changed more than the trust."
The recording crackled.
"If Barbara attempts to remove Mark, seize Chloe's guardianship, or access the restricted accounts, control of Carter Architectural Group transfers automatically."
Mark whispered, "To whom?"
William answered.
May you like
"To Emily."
Everyone stared at her.
