Chapter 10 - CLAIRE’S ROOM
Claire’s room had been locked for almost a year.
Not because Ethan believed in ghosts.
Because grief was worse.
After his wife died, he couldn’t bring himself to clear her things.
Her books remained on the shelves.
Her perfume stood on the dresser.
A pale sweater still hung over the chair.
Detective Brooks opened the room with Ethan’s spare key.
Sarah stayed downstairs with Daniel while Ethan and the detective went inside.
Ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
Finally, Ethan called Sarah.
“Come up.”
His voice sounded wrong.
Sarah entered.
Ethan stood beside Claire’s desk.
An old tablet lay in front of him.
“What happened?”
Detective Brooks pointed to the screen.
“We found a folder.”
Sarah looked.
VICTORIA.
Inside were screenshots.
Emails.
Bank transfers.
Private messages.
Ethan seemed unable to speak.
Sarah opened the first email.
Claire had written it nine days before she died.
Ethan,
I know this sounds paranoid, but Victoria contacted me again. She says you deserve someone stronger than me. She’s been asking questions about the trust and whether Leo inherits my shares if something happens to me. Please don’t ignore this.
Sarah looked up.
“You knew Victoria before Claire died?”
Ethan’s face was gray.
“Barely.”
“How barely?”
“She worked with our family foundation.”
Another message appeared.
Victoria to Claire:
You should think carefully about whether motherhood is worth destroying Ethan’s life.
Sarah felt sick.
“She hated Claire.”
Ethan whispered, “I didn’t know.”
Detective Brooks scrolled.
There were dozens.
Some cruel.
Some subtle.
Some threatening.
Then a financial document.
Claire’s estate plan.
If Claire died, her shares transferred into trust for Leo.
Ethan managed them.
But he could not sell them permanently without court approval until Leo turned eighteen.
Sarah looked at Ethan.
“What does Victoria get if she marries you?”
“Nothing from Claire’s trust.”
“But if something happens to Leo?”
Ethan stared at her.
The room went silent.
Detective Brooks answered.
“The trust reverts to Mr. Carter.”
Sarah’s stomach twisted.
“And if Victoria marries Ethan…”
Ethan finished.
“She could benefit through me.”
He backed away from the desk.
“No.”
Brooks spoke carefully.
“It gives us motive. Not proof.”
Ethan’s phone buzzed.
A message from Victoria.
I TOLD YOU I DIDN’T DO IT.
Another followed.
SHE KNEW ABOUT ME.
Sarah frowned.
“Who is ‘she’?”
Brooks typed a reply.
Where are you?
No answer.
Sarah continued searching Claire’s folder.
Then she found a photo.
Victoria standing outside a restaurant.
Talking to a woman.
Sarah zoomed in.
Her heart stopped.
“I know her.”
Ethan leaned closer.
“Who?”
Sarah pointed.
“That’s Renee.”
“Who’s Renee?”
“The agency supervisor who placed me in your house.”
Detective Brooks turned sharply.
“The employment agency?”
Sarah nodded.
Renee had interviewed her.
Checked her references.
Called her personally when the Carter position opened.
Sarah stared at the photograph.
“Why was Victoria meeting her before I even worked here?”
Ethan looked at the date.
Sixteen months earlier.
Before Claire died.
Before Sarah had ever met Leo.
Detective Brooks’s phone rang.
She answered.
Listened.
Then her expression hardened.
“What?”
She looked at Ethan.
“Officers found Victoria.”
“Where?”
Brooks lowered the phone.
“In Renee’s apartment.”
Sarah exhaled.
“Is she okay?”
Detective Brooks’s eyes stayed on Sarah.
“Victoria is unconscious.”
May you like
Sarah’s heart pounded.
“And Renee is gone.”
