Chapter 9 - The Man Beneath the Camera
Michael looked tired.
For one dangerous moment, Claire almost saw the man she had married.
The man who brought her coffee in bed.
Who cried at their wedding.
Who built the baby's crib himself.
Then he said:
"I could've taken care of everything."
Claire stared at him.
"You locked me in an attic."
"For your safety."
"No."
"You were spiraling."
"You created the spiral."
Michael rubbed his face.
"You don't understand the pressure I'm under."
Claire almost laughed.
"The pressure you're under?"
"Mortgage. Baby. Medical bills. Your account sitting there untouched while I'm killing myself."
"My account."
"We are married."
"It came from my grandmother."
"And what good is it doing?"
"It's mine."
Michael's expression hardened.
"There. That's the problem."
Claire said nothing.
Michael leaned closer.
"You always kept one foot out the door."
"What?"
"That money. Hannah. Your career. Your own accounts."
Claire stared.
"I was your wife."
"You never fully trusted me."
The absurdity almost took her breath away.
"You forged medical documents."
"I didn't forge anything."
"Dr. Kline never examined me."
Michael stopped.
Claire watched his face.
She had him.
"Who told you that?"
Claire smiled.
He stood.
"Who are you talking to?"
"No one."
"Claire."
"You keep asking that."
He looked toward the closet.
Then back at her.
Fear entered his eyes.
He was beginning to understand.
Not the phone.
But the possibility.
That Claire had not been as isolated as he believed.
Michael stepped toward the door.
Then stopped.
"You know what happens tomorrow?"
Claire remained silent.
"Green Hollow."
"I know."
His face went white.
Claire continued.
"I know about Kline."
Michael's jaw tightened.
"I know about the incapacity petition."
Silence.
"The insurance increase."
His eyes widened.
"The guardianship papers."
Michael moved toward her.
Claire did not retreat.
"And I know you filmed a death announcement."
For the first time since the attic door locked, Michael looked afraid of Claire.
Not angry.
Afraid.
"What did you do?"
Claire smiled.
"Nothing."
He stared.
"Where's the phone?"
Claire's heart jumped.
She kept her expression flat.
"What phone?"
Michael grabbed her arm.
"WHERE IS IT?"
Claire cried out.
The attic door opened.
Patricia.
She saw Michael holding Claire.
"What are you doing?"
"She knows everything."
Patricia froze.
Michael turned.
"She knows Kline. Green Hollow. Insurance."
Patricia stared at Claire.
Claire stared back.
Three seconds.
Then Patricia closed the attic door.
The sound terrified Claire more than shouting would have.
Patricia's voice became quiet.
"Search her."
Claire backed away.
Michael moved forward.
"Don't touch me."
"Give us the phone."
"I don't have one."
Patricia began searching the room again.
This time methodically.
She removed blankets.
Opened pillows.
Checked behind furniture.
Claire's pulse hammered.
Patricia entered the closet.
Moved the rug.
Saw the floorboard.
She crouched.
Claire's vision narrowed.
Patricia lifted the board.
Empty.
Claire almost collapsed with relief.
She had moved the phone twenty minutes earlier.
After Hannah's message, she realized the floorboard was compromised.
The phone was now taped against the inside of her maternity support band beneath her shirt.
Patricia stood.
"Nothing."
Michael stared at Claire.
"Search her."
Patricia hesitated.
Claire looked at them both.
"If you touch me, I scream."
Michael laughed bitterly.
"Who will hear you?"
Claire looked directly into his eyes.
"Maybe someone already is."
Silence.
That sentence changed the room.
Michael reached for his phone.
No service?
He checked.
Then the Wi-Fi.
Patricia whispered, "What did she do?"
Michael ran from the attic.
Patricia followed.
The door slammed.
The latch clicked.
Claire exhaled.
The hidden phone vibrated against her body.
A message.
Hannah.
POLICE ARE PREPARING TO MOVE.
Claire nearly cried.
Then another.
BUT MICHAEL'S LAWYER JUST FILED AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
Claire's relief vanished.
HE CLAIMS YOU THREATENED TO FLEE WITH THE BABY.
Claire clenched her jaw.
Hannah continued.
THEY'RE USING HIS VIDEOS.
Claire typed:
THEN USE MINE.
Hannah responded:
WE ARE.
Then:
STAY ALIVE TONIGHT.
Claire stared at those words.
Not stay calm.
Not stay safe.
Stay alive.
Downstairs, something smashed.
Michael shouted.
"You said this was handled!"
Patricia answered, furious.
"It was handled until you started filming everything!"
Claire moved toward the closet vent.
Their argument grew louder.
Michael:
"If police come, what do we tell them?"
Patricia:
"The truth."
Michael laughed.
"The truth?"
"Our truth."
Patricia lowered her voice.
"Claire deteriorated. We arranged treatment. She became paranoid."
Michael:
"And if she recorded us?"
A long silence.
Then Patricia said something Claire would never forget.
"Then she cannot leave this house with the recording."
Claire touched the phone.
May you like
It was still capturing everything.
And the battery read 4 percent.
