Chương 7
Ethan smiled despite himself.
“Neil.”
“What?”
“That’s a terrible statement.”
“I’m an engineer.”
“You own the company.”
“Same disability.”
When the call ended, Ethan stayed in the truck.
A notification showed seventeen unread messages.
His mother.
Two cousins.
Three people from college he had not spoken to in years.
A former neighbor.
His father.
Leah Morgan.
Claire.
He opened Claire’s first.
I’m sorry to contact you. I need to speak to Maya when she is ready. Not about Ryan. About Vanessa.
Ethan stared at the message.
Then another arrived from Leah.
There is something on the full recording I think you need to hear. Police already have it. I won’t send it unless you want it.
Ethan put the phone facedown.
Through the windshield he could see the kitchen window.
Maya was washing a cup.
Sophie appeared beside her wearing pajamas despite it being four in the afternoon.
Maya said something.
Sophie laughed.
Ethan watched them.
Five days before the wedding, he had considered leaving.
Not forever.
He told himself that.
He had packed a duffel bag and put it in the trunk because he needed somewhere else to sleep while he understood what Maya had done.
He never used it.
The bag was still behind the truck seat.
He turned around and looked at it.
Then he went inside.
Maya read Claire’s message twice.
“What could she know about Vanessa?”
“I don’t know.”
“You want me to call her?”
“It’s your decision.”
Maya looked at him.
“You’ve started saying that a lot.”
“I’m trying not to make every decision for everyone.”
“Is that what you think you do?”
“Yes.”
She looked surprised.
Ethan leaned against the kitchen counter.
“I’ve been thinking.”
“That’s always dangerous.”
“See, that was almost normal.”
Maya’s smile faded.
“I miss normal.”
“So do I.”
They stood there.
The refrigerator knocked.
Once.
Twice.
Maya looked toward it.
“We should get that fixed.”
“It’s not broken.”
“It makes that sound.”
“It’s made that sound for four years.”
“I know.”
Neither knew why they were discussing the refrigerator.
Ethan liked that they were.
Then Maya picked up her phone.
“I’ll call Claire.”
Claire did not want to speak by phone.
She came to the house the next afternoon wearing jeans, a gray sweater and sunglasses despite the cloudy sky.
Without the wedding dress, Ethan almost failed to recognize her.
She brought nothing.
No dramatic envelope.
No attorney.
No demands.
She stood on the porch and said, “I didn’t know if flowers would be weird.”
Maya looked at her.
“They would.”
“Good. I made one correct decision this week.”
Maya stepped aside.
Claire entered.
Sophie was upstairs with Ethan’s mother, who had come to keep her occupied.
Ethan stayed in the kitchen because Maya asked him to.
Claire sat at the table.
For a long time nobody spoke.
Finally, Claire said, “I knew Ryan had a problem involving you.”
Maya’s face tightened.
“What did he tell you?”
“That you were an ex-girlfriend who had threatened to embarrass him.”
Ethan looked at Maya.
She stared at Claire.
“He said that?”
“Yes.”
“I never dated Ryan.”
Claire blinked.
Ethan explained quietly.
“Maya and I were separated for a few weeks. They slept together once.”
Claire nodded slowly.
“He changed it.”
“Yes,” Maya said. “Apparently.”
Claire took off her sunglasses and placed them on the table.
Her eyes were swollen.
“He said you had contacted him before asking for money.”
“I never did.”
“He showed me screenshots.”
Maya went still.
“What screenshots?”
“Messages. Supposedly from you.”
“What did they say?”
Claire pulled out her phone.
“I saved them.”
Ethan moved closer.
Claire opened photographs of Ryan’s phone screen.
The messages appeared to come from Maya’s number.
I kept quiet for years. That has value.
If you want a clean wedding, make me an offer.
Ethan looked at Maya.
She had gone pale.
“I never sent those.”
“I know.”
“How?”
Claire swiped to another image.
“Because he was stupid in a very specific way.”
The screenshots showed a contact name at the top.
Maya B.
Not a phone number.
Claire said, “He told me he kept you blocked. But if you were blocked and deleted from his contacts, why would your name appear like that? I asked him. He said he’d added you again to document the messages.”
Maya frowned.
“That doesn’t prove anything.”
“No.”
Claire looked at Ethan.
“But three months ago, Ryan borrowed my old iPad because his was being repaired. He left his messages synced.”
Ethan said nothing.
Claire gave a bitter little smile.
“I did not discover some perfect secret archive. I was looking for a restaurant reservation.”
She unlocked her tablet.
“There were messages between Ryan and Vanessa.”
Maya leaned closer.
Claire opened them.
The conversations stretched back months.
At first they were ordinary work messages.
Scheduling.
Travel.
Guest lists.
Then Sophie’s name appeared.
Ethan felt the air leave his lungs.
Ryan: Maya hasn’t responded. Make a new number.
Vanessa: What exactly are we trying to make her say?
Ryan: Enough that if she shows up later I have context.
Vanessa: This is insane.
Ryan: It is insurance.
Maya covered her mouth.
Claire scrolled.
Another exchange.
Vanessa: Claire asked about the woman from the photo.
Ryan: I handled it.
Vanessa: How?
Ryan: Said she was unstable and wanted money.
Vanessa: You realize if this comes out you’re dead.
Ryan: It’s not coming out.
Ethan looked away.
Claire continued.
“The screenshots he showed me were from messages Vanessa sent to a second phone.”
Maya whispered, “Why would she help him do that?”
Claire’s mouth tightened.
“Ryan paid off her business debt last year.”
Ethan looked back.
“What?”
“She runs events independently now. She had a failed company during the pandemic. Ryan loaned her money.”
“Loaned?”
Claire shook her head.
“I don’t think he expected it back.”
Maya stared at the table.
Claire swiped farther.
Three days before the wedding:
Ryan: Ethan knows.
Vanessa: How much?
Ryan: DNA. Everything.
Vanessa: Then cancel.
May you like
Ryan: Absolutely not.
Vanessa: Claire will find out.
