Chapter 7 - The Game Derek Played With His Children)
Over the next week, Lily and Noah began remembering things.
Not all at once.
Children rarely told painful stories in neat order.
Lily remembered Derek telling her Claire cared more about work than family.
Noah remembered Margaret saying Claire might "go away to get better."
Lily remembered Vanessa collecting her from dance class without warning.
Noah remembered Derek asking whether Claire ever screamed when nobody else was home.
Claire documented everything.
She hated doing it.
Every note felt like turning childhood into evidence.
Allison told her it was necessary.
"The goal isn't to interrogate them."
"I know."
"Let them talk naturally. Don't ask leading questions."
"I don't."
"I know you don't. I'm reminding you because Derek's lawyer will accuse you of coaching."
Claire sighed.
"They already are."
Derek's attorney filed papers claiming Claire was alienating the children.
Allison was almost pleased.
"Good."
"Good?"
"It means they're defensive."
"How is that good?"
"Because they have to explain Thanksgiving every time they accuse you of interference."
The financial investigation also continued.
Bennett Family Holdings was not a real operating business.
It had no employees.
No legitimate revenue.
It existed primarily as a vehicle for transfers.
Claire's joint investment money entered.
Then it left.
Some went toward a condominium deposit.
Vanessa knew about that.
Derek had told her it would become their investment property.
Some paid Calvin Price, the attorney Vanessa mentioned.
Some paid a private investigator.
That frightened Claire.
"Why would he hire a private investigator?"
Allison handed her the invoice.
"To follow you."
Claire stared.
"Follow me where?"
"Work. Rebecca's house. School pickups."
"Why?"
"To document your schedule."
Claire understood.
To prove she was absent.
Busy.
Uninvolved.
The irony was vicious.
Derek had been following her because she worked full-time while he secretly moved money and conducted an affair.
"What did they find?"
"Nothing useful."
Claire laughed for the first time in days.
Allison smiled.
"Apparently you have a very boring life."
"That's comforting."
"It should be."
Then Allison's expression changed.
"There is one charge we're still tracing."
"What charge?"
"A storage facility."
Claire frowned.
"What would Derek need storage for?"
"I don't know."
The unit had been rented seven months earlier.
Paid monthly through Bennett Family Holdings.
Only Derek had authorization.
Claire immediately thought of documents.
Or furniture.
Or belongings intended for a future life with Vanessa.
Allison filed a discovery request.
Derek resisted.
That made the storage unit important.
Meanwhile, Vanessa became increasingly cooperative.
Not because Claire trusted her.
Because Vanessa finally realized Derek had lied to everyone.
He told Margaret that Vanessa wanted to become the children's mother.
He told Vanessa that Margaret adored her.
Neither was true.
Margaret viewed Vanessa as useful but socially inferior.
Text messages on Derek's second phone made that clear.
Margaret had written:
She is acceptable for now. Once Claire is gone, Derek can decide whether Vanessa is suitable long-term.
Vanessa read the message in Allison's office and went silent.
Claire almost felt pity.
Then she remembered Lily in the pantry.
Pity disappeared.
Still, Vanessa had evidence.
She provided messages in which Derek discussed using the children to pressure Claire.
One message was especially damaging.
Lily worships her mother. Break that attachment and Claire loses her leverage.
Claire read it twice.
Then she had to leave the conference room.
She stood in the restroom gripping the sink.
Not crying.
Not yet.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
For years Derek had criticized her for being too protective of the children.
Too involved.
Too concerned with routines.
Too emotional about school problems.
Now she knew why.
He did not view love as love.
He viewed it as leverage.
Everything was power to Derek.
Money.
Affection.
Fear.
Even parenthood.
When Claire returned, Vanessa was still sitting at the table.
"I didn't know he thought like that," Vanessa said.
Claire sat.
"You knew enough."
Vanessa nodded.
"I did."
At least she stopped asking for forgiveness.
That made Claire respect her slightly more.
Allison turned the phone around.
"There are messages about the storage unit."
Claire leaned forward.
Derek to Vanessa, April 18:
Most of Claire's things will go there until the settlement is finished.
Vanessa:
Why not let her take them?
Derek:
Because once she's out, I control what leaves the house.
Vanessa:
That's cruel.
Derek:
It's negotiation.
Claire's pulse began pounding.
Allison scrolled.
Another message.
Derek:
Mom already moved the important boxes.
Claire stood.
"What important boxes?"
Allison's eyes lifted.
"I was about to ask you."
Claire thought of the missing laptop.
The files.
The property deed.
But those had vanished recently.
This message was from April.
May you like
Seven months earlier.
What had Margaret removed before Claire even knew she needed to look?
