Chương 9
“He’s telling people she’s emotional.”
“Because she is.”
“He may be documenting it.”
I stood again.
This time Brooks did not tell me to sit.
“He’s not just trying to inherit.”
My voice sounded strange in the small room.
“He’s trying to discredit Rebecca before they ever fight over control.”
Brooks picked up her phone.
“Who handles trust disputes?”
“Sarah.”
“Give me her number.”
I did.
Sarah answered on the fourth ring.
Brooks placed the call on speaker after identifying herself and explaining that I was present.
There was a long silence.
Then Sarah said my name.
“Claire?”
My throat closed.
“Hi, Sarah.”
“Oh my God.”
“Please don’t react loudly.”
“I’m in my office.”
“Close the door.”
I heard movement.
A latch clicked.
“Are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“The baby?”
“Alive.”
Sarah exhaled hard enough that the speaker crackled.
“I went to your funeral yesterday.”
“I heard.”
“I hugged Michael.”
That sentence hurt her more than me.
“He knew.”
Sarah stopped breathing for a second.
“Claire.”
“He tried to kill me.”
Brooks stepped in before emotion took over.
“Ms. Levin, we need information about Mrs. Carter’s trust.”
Sarah’s professional voice returned unevenly.
“What do you need?”
“Has Michael contacted you?”
“No.”
“Has anyone requested copies of Claire’s estate documents?”
Silence.
Then Sarah said, “Yes.”
I leaned closer.
“Who?”
“A lawyer representing Michael.”
“When?”
“Yesterday morning.”
“Before the funeral?”
“Yes.”
“What did he ask for?”
“Certification of the successor trustee provisions.”
My skin went cold.
Brooks’s voice sharpened.
“Anything else?”
“He asked whether Rebecca could be removed if she became unable to serve.”
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
Not suspicion.
Not grief.
Strategy.
“What did you tell him?”
Sarah asked.
“That I would not release confidential documents without legal authority.”
“Did he explain why Rebecca might be unable to serve?”
Another pause.
“He said she was emotionally unstable and had threatened Michael.”
I opened my eyes.
“She never threatened him.”
“I don’t know what happened between them.”
“She told him he was cheating on me.”
Sarah went silent.
Then she said, “Claire, there’s something you need to know.”
Brooks and I exchanged a look.
“What?”
“Michael came to see me three months ago.”
My fingers tightened around the edge of the table.
“About what?”
“You.”
I barely heard the next words.
“He asked what would happen to the trust if you died before your child was born.”
The room tilted.
Brooks moved closer to the speaker.
“What exactly did he ask?”
Sarah’s voice was careful now.
“He wanted to know whether an unborn child could inherit.”
I could not speak.
Brooks could.
“And what did you tell him?”
“That estate rights involving a child depend on circumstances and governing law, and that I would not discuss Claire’s confidential plan with him.”
“Did he give a reason for asking?”
“He said he was worried because Claire traveled so much.”
My hand moved instinctively to the scar beneath my hospital gown.
Three months ago.
Long before the cliff.
Long enough to research.
Long enough to plan.
Long enough to look at my pregnancy and calculate whether Noah complicated his inheritance.
Sarah continued.
“I thought the question was strange.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
My voice cracked.
“I almost did.”
“Almost?”
“You were seven months pregnant and you had just called me about revising guardianship language.”
“That doesn’t answer me.”
Sarah inhaled.
“I decided I was reading too much into it.”
I looked at Brooks.
Her face did not change.
For once, that steadiness made me feel less alone.
“I did that too,” I said.
Sarah’s voice softened.
“Claire.”
“No.”
I swallowed.
“This time we don’t explain it away.”
Brooks wrote something on her legal pad.
Then she looked directly at me.
“No.”
Her pen stopped.
“This time we follow it wherever it goes.”
By Wednesday afternoon, Sarah had given investigators copies of her calendar entry, intake notes, and the follow-up email Michael sent after their meeting.
He had written only three sentences.
Thank you for clarifying.
I hope we never need any of this.
Claire worries too much, but I like to be prepared.
I read the last sentence twice.
“He made me sound like the anxious one.”
Brooks stood at the foot of my bed.
“He also created a dated record showing he was thinking about your death.”
“Three months before the cliff.”
“Yes.”
“Is that enough?”
“No.”
I threw the pages onto the blanket.
Brooks did not react.
“What would be enough, Lena?”
It was the first time I used her first name.
She noticed.
“Enough is not one thing.”
“He asks about my insurance.”
“Yes.”
“He asks about my trust.”
“Yes.”
“He asks what happens if I die before Noah is born.”
“Yes.”
“He brings me to a cliff.”
“Yes.”
“He pushes me off it.”
“That part comes from you.”
I stared at her.
She held my gaze.
“And I believe you.”
The anger inside me stumbled.
Brooks pulled the visitor chair closer.
“But belief is not the same thing as what survives cross-examination.”
I looked away.
“Michael will say Sarah misunderstood.”
“Yes.”
“He’ll say the estate questions were normal.”
“Yes.”
“He’ll say Rebecca hates him.”
“Yes.”
“He’ll say Ashley was never there.”
“Yes.”
“He’ll say I was unstable.”
Brooks paused.
“He already is.”
I pressed my fingertips against my eyes.
“What if he wins?”
“He hasn’t.”
“What if he does?”
She was quiet for several seconds.
“Then you remain alive.”
I lowered my hands.
“That’s not enough.”
“It may have to be.”
“No.”
“Claire.”
“No.”
The force of my own voice surprised me.
“I am not spending the rest of my life checking the rearview mirror because a jury might find him charming.”
Brooks leaned back.
“What are you proposing?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“That’s the first sensible answer you’ve given me today.”
I glared at her.
She stood.
“I’m going to let you be angry while I go do my job.”
“I’m already angry.”
“Yes.”
She opened the door.
May you like
“Try being boring for twenty minutes.”
After she left, I attempted exactly that.
