Chương 6
Richard watched her carefully.
“Why?”
She hesitated.
“Because I had seen the light off before.”
Richard frowned.
“The light was never off.”
Sophia looked confused.
Then worried.
“What?”
Richard walked closer but stopped several feet away.
“The recording light only shows when someone is accessing the system.”
Sophia stared at him.
“What are you talking about?”
Richard pointed toward the camera.
“The red light you saw today.”
Her face changed.
Not fear.
Confusion.
Richard noticed.
“The camera was recording the entire time.”
Sophia looked up.
“I thought that light meant it was recording.”
Richard shook his head.
“No.”
The room became still.
It was a small detail.
Almost nothing.
But Richard saw the significance.
Sophia had known about the camera.
She had assumed something about it.
But she had not understood how it worked.
“Who told you about the camera?” Richard asked.
She did not answer.
The silence returned.
This time, Richard recognized it.
Not as guilt.
As fear.
“I knew it was there,” she said finally.
“That is not what I asked.”
Sophia gripped the handle of her suitcase.
“I saw it months ago.”
“Where?”
“In the hallway.”
Richard waited.
“And?”
She looked away.
“I thought it was disconnected.”
Richard studied her.
“Why?”
Sophia’s fingers tightened.
“Because I asked about it.”
Richard frowned.
“When?”
“After Eleanor died.”
The answer changed the feeling of the room.
Richard had not expected that.
“Why would you ask about it?”
Sophia looked toward the photographs.
“Because I was worried about privacy.”
Richard almost responded.
Then stopped.
Because that answer made sense.
A camera inside a home was not a simple thing.
Even for safety.
Even for family.
“I told you the system was active,” Richard said.
Sophia shook her head.
“You said you used it sometimes.”
“I said it recorded.”
She closed her eyes.
For a second, she looked genuinely overwhelmed.
Richard noticed the difference.
There were moments when Sophia seemed like she was searching for control.
There were other moments when she seemed like she had lost it.
He still did not know which parts were real.
Maybe both.
“I thought I had time,” she whispered.
“For what?”
She looked at him.
“To fix things.”
Richard felt something tighten in his chest.
“What things?”
Sophia sat down slowly.
The suitcase remained beside her.
“I had debts.”
Richard said nothing.
“Not what you think.”
“I don’t know what to think.”
She nodded.
“That’s fair.”
She stared at the floor.
“My business failed.”
Richard knew she had struggled.
He knew she had hidden problems before.
But he had not known how serious they were.
“I borrowed money.”
“From who?”
She hesitated.
“People who wanted it back.”
Richard frowned.
“That is not an answer.”
“No.”
Her voice became quieter.
“It isn’t.”
The admission was the most honest thing she had said since the hallway.
Ethan, who had been standing near the kitchen entrance, stepped forward.
“When did this start?”
Sophia looked at him.
“A year ago.”
Ethan looked hurt.
“You didn’t tell anyone?”
“I was embarrassed.”
“That is why you did this?”
Sophia looked down.
“No.”
Then she looked at Richard.
“But when I heard about the will, I thought I was about to lose the only safety I had left.”
Richard absorbed the words.
The explanation did not erase what happened.
It did not repair the damage.
But it changed the shape of the problem.
She had not acted because of greed alone.
She had acted because fear had convinced her there was only one move left.
That did not make the move acceptable.
It made it human.
“I need to know something,” Richard said.
Sophia looked at him.
“Was the accusation only about money?”
Her face went still.
And Richard knew before she spoke that there was another answer waiting.
Richard watched her face carefully.
He had learned over the years that silence could reveal more than answers.
Sophia looked toward the hallway before speaking.
“It wasn’t only the will.”
Ethan folded his arms.
“Then what was it?”
She took a slow breath.
“I found out Richard had been looking into my finances.”
Richard frowned.
“I was not investigating you.”
“You asked questions.”
“Yes.”
“About me.”
“Because I was worried.”
Sophia looked at him.
“That is how it felt.”
Richard leaned against the counter.
“Why were you worried?”
She looked down at her hands.
“Because I borrowed money from someone I shouldn’t have.”
Ethan’s expression changed.
“Who?”
Sophia hesitated.
“A former partner.”
Richard waited.
“His name is Daniel.”
The name meant nothing to Ethan.
But Richard noticed something else.
The way Sophia said it.
Not with anger.
Not with resentment.
With embarrassment.
“What does Daniel have to do with me?” Richard asked.
Sophia looked at him.
“He told me he knew about your estate.”
Richard’s eyes narrowed.
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
“That is not possible.”
Sophia looked frustrated.
“You think I planned every part of this?”
“No.”
Richard shook his head.
“I think someone else may have been involved.”
The idea changed the room.
Ethan looked at him.
“You think she had help?”
Richard did not answer immediately.
He looked toward the security camera.
Then toward the torn blouse still lying in the hallway.
The physical evidence of a lie was simple.
The reason behind it was not.
“I think we should stop assuming we understand the whole story.”
Sophia looked surprised.
“You believe me?”
“No.”
The answer came quickly.
“I believe there are things we do not know.”
That distinction mattered.
Sophia looked away.
It was not the forgiveness she wanted.
It was not even trust.
But it was the first moment Richard had offered her something other than disappointment.
Ethan sat down at the kitchen table.
His face looked exhausted.
“How much money are we talking about?”
Sophia rubbed her forehead.
“Enough.”
“That means nothing.”
“I owe almost seventy thousand dollars.”
Ethan stared at her.
“How?”
“My business.”
“What business?”
She gave him a tired look.
“The one I told everyone was doing fine.”
May you like
Richard remembered those conversations.
The confident updates.
