Chương 9
“My car papers.”
“Dad.”
Paul stopped.
Thomas stepped closer.
“You came here because you were scared.”
Paul looked away.
“I came here because she was upset.”
“No.”
Thomas’s voice was quiet.
“You came here because you were scared.”
Paul’s eyes filled before his expression changed.
He sat down abruptly on Emma’s couch.
Léa wandered in carrying Bunny.
She saw him and stopped.
“Grandpa.”
Paul wiped his face quickly.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
Léa looked around.
“Is Grandma here?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Paul flinched.
Léa climbed beside him and placed Bunny on his knee.
“Bunny got slapped.”
Paul closed his eyes.
Claire looked away.
Emma took Léa into the kitchen to find cookies.
Thomas sat across from his father.
“What exactly happened?”
Paul stared at the rabbit in his hands.
“She noticed the papers were gone.”
“And?”
“She asked where they were.”
“What did you say?”
“The truth.”
Claire leaned against the wall.
“That you gave them to us.”
Paul nodded.
“She started screaming.”
“What did she say?”
“That I betrayed her.”
Thomas’s mouth tightened.
“She said you were going to destroy Chloé.”
“How?”
Paul looked at him.
“By exposing the loan.”
Thomas leaned forward.
“So she knows I didn’t sign it.”
Paul looked up.
The room changed.
Claire felt it before anyone spoke.
Thomas’s voice dropped.
“Dad.”
Paul swallowed.
“She said you had no right to complain because the loan was for family.”
Thomas stood.
“Exact words.”
“I’m telling you what she said.”
“Exact words.”
Paul’s hands tightened around Bunny.
“She said, ‘He was happy to give us money until his wife poisoned him against us, and now he wants to pretend he didn’t know about the apartment.’”
Thomas stared at him.
Claire stepped closer.
“That still doesn’t prove she knows the signature was forged.”
Paul shook his head.
“No.”
He looked sick now.
“But then I asked her who signed Thomas’s name.”
Nobody moved.
Thomas’s voice was barely audible.
“What did she say?”
Paul looked at his son.
“She said it didn’t matter who physically signed it because you would have agreed if she’d asked.”
Thomas did not move.
Paul seemed to realize only after the words were out that he had crossed some invisible line.
Claire watched Thomas’s face empty.
Not soften.
Not harden.
Empty.
“That’s what she said?”
“Yes.”
“Exactly?”
“Almost exactly.”
Thomas looked toward the kitchen, where Léa was laughing about something Emma had said.
For several seconds, the ordinary sound seemed to confuse him.
Then he sat down again.
Paul still held Bunny on his lap.
One of the rabbit’s ears was folded beneath his hand.
Claire reached over and straightened it without thinking.
Thomas stared at the floor.
“She knew.”
Paul swallowed.
“I think so.”
“No.”
Thomas looked up.
“She knew.”
Nobody argued.
Emma returned with Léa and immediately noticed the silence.
“What happened?”
Claire shook her head slightly.
Not in front of Léa.
Emma understood.
She handed Léa a cookie and pointed toward the hallway.
“Go show me whether your coloring book survived yesterday.”
Léa frowned.
“It survived.”
“Then I require proof.”
Léa sighed with theatrical patience and wandered toward the guest room.
Emma waited until she disappeared.
Then she looked at Claire.
“Well?”
Claire repeated Marie’s words.
Emma’s face changed slowly.
“She said it didn’t matter who signed because he would have agreed?”
Paul nodded.
Emma stared at him.
“And you left?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Paul looked uncomfortable with the praise.
Thomas stood again.
“We need to call Daniel.”
Claire checked the time.
“We left his office less than an hour ago.”
“I don’t care.”
Thomas already had the phone out.
Daniel answered after three rings.
Thomas gave him the shortest version possible.
Paul heard Marie say the statement.
Paul was willing to repeat it.
No, there was no recording.
No, Claire had not been present.
No, Chloé had not been present either.
Daniel asked several questions Thomas answered with increasing impatience.
Finally, Thomas said, “So what do we do?”
Claire could hear Daniel’s voice faintly through the speaker.
“Slow down.”
Thomas closed his eyes.
Claire almost smiled despite the tension.
Daniel continued talking.
Thomas listened.
Then he looked at Paul.
“He wants Dad to write down exactly what happened while it’s fresh.”
Paul nodded.
“And not contact her about the loan.”
Paul’s eyebrows lifted.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
Daniel said something else.
Thomas’s expression tightened.
“No, I understand.”
He ended the call.
Claire waited.
“What?”
“He says we should assume Mom will build a different version immediately.”
Emma crossed her arms.
“She already has one.”
Thomas nodded.
“Exactly.”
Paul looked toward the window.
“She will call Chloé.”
Claire leaned against the arm of the couch.
“Would Chloé lie for her?”
Paul hesitated.
Emma let out a dry sound.
“Strong start.”
Paul looked at her.
“You don’t know my daughter.”
“No.”
Emma tilted her head.
“I know she insulted a three-year-old over spilled milk.”
Paul looked down.
Emma softened slightly.
“Sorry.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“You’re not wrong.”
Thomas checked his phone.
“Chloé has called me eleven times.”
Paul’s mouth tightened.
“Don’t assume she knows everything.”
Thomas looked at him.
“Why not?”
“Because Marie doesn’t tell her everything either.”
Claire frowned.
“You said Chloé benefited from the money.”
“She did.”
“That doesn’t mean she knew where it came from.”
Paul rubbed both hands over his knees.
“I’ve been thinking about the apartment.”
Thomas stared at him.
“You’re just now thinking about it?”
“Yes.”
The answer was tired rather than defensive.
Paul continued.
“Chloé told me the down payment came from an investment Marie had set aside for her.”
Thomas gave a humorless laugh.
“Technically, she invested in me.”
Paul ignored it.
“Chloé may genuinely believe it was your mother’s money.”
Claire looked at Thomas.
“That matters.”
He did not answer.
“It matters,” she repeated.
“For what?”
“For deciding whether your sister is part of this or another person your mother lied to.”
Thomas’s eyes flashed.
“She spent dinner insulting you.”
“I know.”
May you like
“She called me after Mom assaulted you and tried to defend her.”
“I know.”
