Chương 4
"I was afraid."
Thomas looked at her.
"Of what?"
Genevieve gave a small laugh without humor.
"That you would do exactly what you are doing now."
"What does that mean?"
"That you would try to fix everything."
Thomas frowned.
"I am trying to find out what happened."
"Those are not always the same thing."
The words stayed between them.
Thomas had spent years believing action was proof of love.
If someone was hurting, you helped.
If something was broken, you repaired it.
If someone was lost, you found them.
He had built a successful life around that belief.
But Genevieve had always been the person who reminded him that not every wound opened because someone needed a solution.
Sometimes people needed someone to sit beside them while they were afraid.
He looked away.
It was difficult hearing criticism from someone who knew exactly where his weaknesses were.
Evelyn moved closer to the screen.
"I want to see what is on it."
Thomas looked at her.
"You are sure?"
She nodded.
"No matter what it is, I want to know."
The answer sounded reasonable.
Maybe too reasonable.
Thomas could not decide whether that made him trust her more or less.
Genevieve inserted the drive.
The computer recognized it immediately.
A single folder appeared.
There was only one file inside.
The name was simple.
For Thomas.
Nobody spoke.
He stared at the words.
Not because they were dramatic.
Because they were personal.
Whoever created the file had intended it for him.
The cursor hovered over the video icon.
Thomas felt his hand tighten.
He thought about all the ways this could go wrong.
The file could be fake.
It could be misunderstood.
It could destroy something that did not deserve to be destroyed.
Or it could confirm the thing he was most afraid of.
He clicked.
The video opened.
At first, there was only darkness.
Then a familiar voice filled the room.
"Thomas, if you are watching this, something happened and I was not able to explain it myself."
Genevieve covered her mouth.
Toby looked toward the speakers.
Thomas stopped breathing for a moment.
It was Claire.
Her voice was quieter than he remembered.
Not weak.
Just tired.
The image appeared.
She was sitting at a kitchen table.
Her hair was pulled back.
There was a bruise near her cheekbone.
Not hidden.
Not exaggerated.
Just there.
Thomas felt something drop inside him.
The video continued.
"I don't know if I am being paranoid."
Claire looked down at her hands.
"That is what everyone keeps telling me."
Evelyn looked away.
Only for a moment.
But Genevieve saw.
"You have to listen carefully before you decide what to do."
Claire looked directly into the camera.
"I don't want you to hate anyone."
Thomas stared at the screen.
The sentence was exactly what Toby had said.
"That matters to me because people think everything has to become a fight."
Claire paused.
"I don't want a fight."
The room remained silent.
"I want my son safe."
Toby lowered his head.
Thomas looked at him.
The boy was trying not to cry.
Genevieve pulled him closer.
Claire continued.
"Evelyn has been helping me."
Thomas looked toward Evelyn.
Her expression was unreadable.
"She helped me with bills when I was struggling."
The words created a strange shift in the room.
Not relief.
Not yet.
Something more complicated.
Claire was not describing a stranger.
She was describing someone who had been close.
Someone trusted.
"That is why this is hard to explain."
Claire took a breath.
"Because I don't think she started out wanting to hurt me."
Thomas felt Evelyn's eyes move toward the screen.
The statement seemed to affect her.
"Three months ago, I found out Evelyn had been using my information."
Genevieve looked confused.
Thomas leaned forward.
"What information?"
Claire's voice continued through the speakers.
"She opened accounts using my name."
Evelyn immediately shook her head.
"No."
Nobody responded.
The video continued.
"I found letters from a credit company that I never contacted."
Claire rubbed her forehead.
"I thought it was a mistake."
The room felt colder.
"Then I found copies of my identification documents in her apartment."
Thomas looked at Evelyn.
She did not look back.
"I confronted her."
Claire swallowed.
"She cried."
The words surprised everyone.
"She said she was sorry."
Evelyn finally spoke.
"Because I was."
The video kept playing.
Thomas raised a hand.
"Don't."
Evelyn stopped.
Claire continued.
"She said she needed help."
The room became even more uncomfortable.
Because suddenly the story was not becoming easier.
It was becoming more human.
"I believed her."
Claire looked ashamed.
"That is the part I am embarrassed about."
Thomas hated hearing that.
Not because Claire had made a mistake.
Because people often blamed themselves when someone else crossed a line.
"She told me she had debt."
Claire looked away from the camera.
"She told me she was scared."
Evelyn closed her eyes.
A tear appeared.
She wiped it away quickly.
Not dramatically.
Almost angrily.
"I was scared," she whispered.
Nobody answered.
Claire's voice continued.
"I told her I would help her find another way."
The video paused briefly because of a connection issue.
Everyone waited.
Then it resumed.
"But after that, things changed."
Claire's face became more serious.
"She started asking about Thomas."
Thomas felt his stomach tighten.
"At first I thought she was curious."
Claire looked uncomfortable.
"Then I realized she was collecting information."
The screen showed a date in the corner.
Three weeks earlier.
"She asked about his accounts."
Thomas went still.
"She asked about his house."
Genevieve looked at him.
"She asked what would happen if something happened to him."
Nobody moved.
The sentence hung there.
Not because it proved anything.
Because it created a question nobody wanted to ask.
Claire continued.
"I told her she needed to stop."
The video showed her looking away.
"She got angry."
A long pause followed.
"She said I didn't understand what she was trying to do."
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Thomas looked at Evelyn.
"What were you trying to do?"
