Chapter 7 - page four
The missing page did not make Diane innocent.
But it made everything more complicated.
Margaret explained that their mother, Grace Holloway, had developed severe heart disease in her final year.
Her original estate plan divided the family home equally between Robert and Margaret.
Six days before her death, however, a new amendment appeared.
It gave Robert the right to remain in the house for life.
Margaret would retain financial interest in half the property but could not force a sale while Robert lived there.
"Why hide that?" Ryan asked.
"I didn't."
"You just said Dad never saw page four."
"The lawyer gave me one copy. Robert received another."
Robert shook his head.
"I never did."
Margaret looked frustrated.
"Then I don't know what happened to yours."
Ryan almost laughed.
They all knew.
Diane.
"Did the amendment change ownership?"
"No."
"Then why does Mom think it helps her?"
Robert answered.
"Because my interest became marital property."
Margaret looked at him.
"Only partly."
"That's what her attorney claimed."
Ryan stared.
"Mom already spoke to an attorney?"
Robert looked ashamed.
"Years ago."
"About taking the house?"
"About protecting herself if we divorced."
There it was again.
A decision made years earlier and buried until tonight.
Ryan looked at his father.
"Did you ever plan to divorce her?"
"Many times."
"But you didn't."
"No."
"Why?"
Robert looked toward the dining room.
"Because leaving Diane always seemed harder than surviving Diane."
Ryan thought about Emily.
For years, she had asked him for boundaries.
He had responded with compromise.
One Thanksgiving at Diane's instead of two.
One birthday she controlled instead of all of them.
One apology Emily didn't owe because keeping the peace mattered.
Leaving a pattern was difficult.
That didn't make staying harmless.
His phone buzzed again.
This time the message came from Claire.
Is Margaret there?
Ryan replied:
Yes.
Three dots appeared.
Then vanished.
Finally:
Do not show her the number I gave you.
Ryan stared at the message.
He slowly looked toward his aunt.
Margaret was speaking to Robert.
Neither noticed.
Ryan typed:
Why?
Claire:
Because I don't know who gave Diane my address in 2009.
Ryan's stomach tightened.
You think Margaret did?
A long pause.
Claire:
I think everyone in that house has lied at least once.
Including me.
Ryan read that sentence twice.
What did you lie about?
No reply.
"Ryan?"
Robert was looking at him.
"What?"
"You okay?"
"Fine."
He put the phone away.
Margaret studied him.
Ryan suddenly understood what Claire meant.
Diane had controlled the family partly because everyone else carried secrets.
Robert hid his cowardice.
Margaret hid the altered will.
Claire had now admitted to lying.
Diane didn't create every secret.
She weaponized them.
Ryan decided he wasn't going to become another person whispering in corners.
"Claire thinks one of you gave Diane her address in 2009."
Margaret went pale.
Robert looked shocked.
"What?"
Ryan watched them carefully.
Margaret spoke first.
"I didn't."
Robert shook his head.
"I didn't even know where she was."
"Claire also said she's lied to me."
Margaret sat down.
"About what?"
"She didn't say."
Robert took out his phone.
"Call her."
"She might not answer."
"Try."
Ryan dialed.
This time Claire answered on the fourth ring.
"Ryan?"
"You're on speaker."
"Who's there?"
"Dad and Margaret."
Silence.
Then Margaret said, "Claire."
"Aunt Margaret."
Something cold lived between the words.
Ryan continued.
"You said you lied."
Claire exhaled.
"Ryan, not tonight."
"No."
"Please."
"I'm done waiting seventeen years for the next piece of my own family."
Claire was silent.
"Tell me."
She finally spoke.
"I didn't leave only because of Mom."
Robert closed his eyes.
Ryan noticed.
"You know."
Robert said nothing.
"Dad knows."
Claire's voice became tense.
"Robert, don't."
Ryan looked at his father.
"What happened?"
Robert turned away.
"Claire."
Ryan raised his voice.
"What happened?"
Claire answered.
"I was pregnant."
The room changed.
Ryan stared at the phone.
"What?"
"I was twenty one."
Margaret looked down.
Ryan's eyes moved between them.
"You all knew?"
Robert whispered, "Yes."
Ryan felt anger rising again.
"What happened to the baby?"
Claire didn't answer.
"Claire?"
"I had a daughter."
Ryan sat down.
A niece.
Somewhere in the world, he had a niece old enough to be in her twenties.
"Where is she?"
"I don't know."
Ryan frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I gave birth after I left."
"Did you give her up?"
Claire's breathing changed.
"I signed temporary guardianship papers."
"For who?"
A pause.
"A family I trusted."
Margaret closed her eyes.
Ryan looked at her.
"You know them."
Margaret didn't respond.
"Aunt Margaret."
"I helped arrange it."
Ryan looked back at the phone.
"Why temporary?"
"Because I was trying to rebuild my life. I thought I'd come back for her."
"What happened?"
Claire's voice broke for the first time.
"Diane found out where she was."
Robert whispered, "Oh God."
Ryan gripped the phone.
"What did Mom do?"
Claire answered slowly.
"She told the guardians I was unstable and dangerous."
"And?"
"They stopped answering my calls."
"Where was Dad?"
"I didn't tell him where the baby was."
Ryan turned to Robert.
"Why not?"
"Because I didn't trust anyone connected to Diane."
Margaret looked as though she wanted to disappear.
Ryan asked the obvious question.
"What was your daughter's name?"
Claire did not answer immediately.
When she did, it was barely a whisper.
"Sophie."
Ryan closed his eyes.
"Did you ever find her?"
"No."
"How long did you search?"
"Twenty years."
Ryan opened his eyes.
Twenty years.
"And Mom knew?"
"I think she knew more than she admitted."
"Why would she do that?"
Claire's next words arrived with absolute certainty.
"Because the father was someone Diane wanted erased from our family."
The lights suddenly went out.
The entire house fell into darkness.
Margaret gasped.
Robert reached for his flashlight.
Ryan whispered into the phone.
"Claire?"
But the call had disconnected.
Then someone knocked on the front door.
Three slow knocks.
Robert's face turned white.
"What?"
Ryan looked at him.
Robert didn't move.
"Dad, who's at the door?"
Three more knocks.
May you like
Robert whispered a name Ryan had never heard before.
"Daniel."
