Chương 14
“That sounds like yes.”
“It sounds like get your own lawyer.”
“I can’t afford you.”
“I’m not offering to represent you.”
Claire nearly smiled again.
Brooke gave Naomi a wounded look.
“Do you have one line?”
“Yes.
Get your own lawyer.”
Claire’s phone buzzed with a message from Detective Ortiz asking if Brooke was with her.
Claire responded yes.
Ortiz called immediately.
After a brief explanation, she asked Brooke to come in voluntarily for a formal interview and bring the phone.
Brooke agreed.
Her voice became small.
“Am I going to be arrested?”
Ortiz did not promise anything.
“I’m asking you to come in voluntarily right now.”
Brooke looked at Claire.
Claire saw the question there.
Will you come with me.
A day earlier, she might have.
She might have carried Brooke through her fear while setting her own aside.
“I can’t,” Claire said.
Brooke nodded too quickly.
“Right.
Yeah.
Of course.”
Claire felt guilty anyway.
That irritated her.
Naomi wrote down the address Ortiz provided and handed it to Brooke.
Before leaving, Brooke stopped near the door.
“There’s one thing I didn’t copy.”
Claire looked at her.
“What?”
“A folder called Family Backup.”
Naomi’s attention sharpened.
“Why not?”
“It was encrypted.”
“Did you ask Ryan about it?”
“No.”
“Did you tell anyone you saw it?”
“No.”
Claire glanced at the drive.
“Was it on the laptop?”
“Yes.”
“Still there?”
“I think so.”
Naomi immediately picked up her phone.
“That laptop needs to be preserved.”
Claire looked at Brooke.
“Where is it now?”
Brooke hesitated.
“Dad’s office.”
Claire’s phone rang before Naomi could make the next call.
Marcus from the penthouse.
She answered.
“Mrs. Bennett, I’m sorry to bother you.”
“What happened?”
“There’s an issue upstairs.”
Claire stood.
“Police?”
“They left a few minutes ago.”
Her stomach tightened.
“Is Ryan there?”
“Yes.”
“And Grant?”
“Yes.”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“They’re removing items from the residence.”
Claire’s mind went blank.
“What items?”
“Boxes.
Electronics.
Documents.”
Naomi was already reaching for her coat.
Claire’s heart hammered.
“Are they allowed to do that?”
“I stopped the service elevator after I recognized what was happening.
Mr. Mercer is threatening to call my supervisor.”
“Which Mr. Mercer?”
“Grant.”
Of course.
Claire looked at Naomi.
“The laptop.”
Naomi nodded.
“Tell Marcus nobody removes electronics until ownership is established and police are notified.”
Claire repeated it.
Marcus exhaled.
“Thank you.
Because your father-in-law is currently explaining to me that he owns this building.”
Despite everything, Claire almost laughed.
“He does not own so much as a parking space.”
“I suspected.”
Claire heard Grant shouting in the background.
Marcus’s voice became tighter.
“They’re coming back toward the lobby.”
“Call police.”
“I already have.”
Claire grabbed her coat.
Naomi blocked the doorway.
“No.”
Claire stared at her.
“That is my house.”
“And Ryan is there.”
“That is my property.”
“And Grant is there.”
“They’re taking evidence.”
“The police are on the way.”
Claire stepped closer.
“I am done hiding from them.”
Naomi did not move.
“This is not hiding.
This is choosing not to walk into a volatile situation pregnant and injured because you are angry.”
“I have every right to be angry.”
“Yes.”
“Then move.”
“No.”
The refusal startled Claire.
Naomi rarely raised her voice.
She did not raise it now.
That somehow made it firmer.
“If you want to go, I cannot physically stop you.
But I am telling you that going there right now gives Ryan exactly what he needs.”
Claire’s hand remained on the coat.
“What does he need?”
“A scene.”
The answer landed.
Naomi continued.
“He has already described you as emotional.
He told Evelyn you may dispute things you agreed to.
He told you not to trust Brooke.
He is building credibility for himself by damaging yours.”
Claire looked down.
The coat slipped slightly from her fingers.
Naomi’s voice softened.
“Do not help him.”
Claire stood still.
Her whole body wanted action.
Movement.
A confrontation.
Some physical proof that she had reclaimed the home.
Instead she placed the coat back over the chair.
It felt like surrender.
It was not.
That distinction was difficult.
Marcus called again six minutes later.
Police had arrived.
Ryan and Grant had been stopped in the lobby with several boxes.
One contained Grant’s personal files.
Another contained Ryan’s clothing.
The third held an external hard drive, two laptops, and a stack of financial records.
Claire’s heart began beating faster.
“Whose laptops?”
“I can’t tell.”
“Describe them.”
Marcus did.
One silver.
One older black machine with a cracked corner.
Brooke had mentioned Ryan’s old laptop.
Claire looked at Naomi.
“That’s it.”
Naomi was already calling Ortiz.
The next hour moved slowly.
No one seized everything by magic.
Officers separated personal belongings from disputed items.
Claire gave consent regarding property she owned.
Grant shouted about theft.
Ryan said little.
The old laptop was preserved after Brooke confirmed by phone that it was the machine she had accessed.
Claire’s relief came with no satisfaction.
Only exhaustion.
At ten twenty, her obstetrician’s office called after receiving the hospital notification.
They wanted Claire evaluated that afternoon.
She agreed.
Then her assistant, Maya, texted asking whether Claire was still taking the morning leadership call.
Claire stared at the message.
For several seconds, she genuinely considered joining.
Discussing campaign forecasts suddenly sounded soothing.
Numbers that belonged where they were supposed to belong.
Naomi saw her expression.
“Work?”
“Yes.”
“Say no.”
Claire typed.
Family emergency.
I’ll be offline today.
Please reroute anything urgent to Daniel.
Maya replied immediately.
Of course.
Take care of yourself.
No questions.
No demands.
Claire looked at the message longer than necessary.
She had forgotten how ordinary respect felt.
At eleven, Brooke left for the police station with Celeste driving because Brooke’s hands were still shaking too badly.
Claire remained at the dining table with Naomi.
The house had gone quiet again.
Franklin climbed into a patch of winter sunlight and fell asleep.
Claire drank cold coffee.
Naomi reviewed documents without speaking.
May you like
For nearly ten minutes, nothing happened.
Claire almost welcomed the boredom.
