Chapter 3 - The Safe Behind the Wall
At two in the morning, after a doctor had examined Claire and confirmed she did not need hospitalization, Ethan carried Lily upstairs and watched Claire change into a clean sweatshirt.
He wanted to hold his wife.
He also wanted answers.
Those two needs fought inside him until Claire finally said, "I know what you're thinking."
"Do you?"
"You think I lied to you."
"Did you?"
Claire's face tightened.
She walked past him to the basement.
Behind a shelving unit stacked with paint cans was a narrow panel Ethan had never noticed. Claire pressed the edge. It opened.
A small steel safe sat inside the wall.
"My father installed it when we renovated," she said.
"Your father died before we moved in."
"He paid for the renovation before he died."
Ethan stared at her. "Claire, I need the whole truth. Not pieces."
She entered six digits. The safe clicked open.
Inside were folders, a velvet box, a flash drive, and a sealed envelope with Ethan's name handwritten across the front.
He recognized the handwriting immediately.
His father's.
Ethan's knees nearly gave out.
Thomas Hale had been dead for six years.
"Where did you get this?"
"Your dad gave it to my dad. He told him not to give it to you unless Margaret started coming after me."
Ethan stared at the envelope.
"My father knew?"
Claire nodded.
"He knew what?"
She sat on the basement step, exhausted. "That your mother would never forgive you for building a life she couldn't control."
Ethan tore open the envelope.
Inside was a letter only two pages long.
Son,
If you are reading this, then I failed to fix something while I was alive.
Your mother loves you, but her love has always had conditions.
Ethan stopped reading.
His throat closed.
Claire said softly, "Keep going."
He forced his eyes down the page.
There was a reference to bank accounts. To his company. To a trust created in Claire's name.
Then one sentence made his hands go cold.
Do not let Margaret learn what really happened the night your brother died.
Ethan looked up.
"What does my brother have to do with this?"
Claire did not answer.
May you like
From upstairs, Lily suddenly began screaming.
And then came the sound of glass breaking.
