Chapter 12 - Anna's Sister
Claire opened the door with a baseball bat in her hands.
Then she saw Ethan.
The bat fell.
"Oh my God."
Ethan stared at her.
"You told everyone you moved to Oregon."
"I didn't tell anyone. Daniel did."
They sat at a small kitchen table while Detective Brooks recorded the conversation.
Claire's hands shook around a mug.
"Anna called me the week before she died. She said Daniel had been pushing papers at her. She thought someone was trying to position themselves around Lily's trust."
Ethan frowned. "Vivian wasn't in our lives yet."
"Not yours."
Claire looked at him.
"Anna knew her."
Ethan went still.
Claire explained.
Vivian had worked for a philanthropic consulting firm that advised the Mercer Foundation.
She met Anna twice.
Maybe more.
Anna disliked her immediately.
After Anna died, Claire began asking questions about unusual legal changes.
Daniel threatened her with a defamation suit.
Then her employer received anonymous complaints.
Her landlord suddenly refused to renew her lease.
Finally, Daniel offered a deal: stay away from Ethan and Lily, and the pressure stopped.
"Why didn't you come to me?"
Claire's eyes filled.
"I tried. Vivian answered your phone."
The same pattern.
Again and again.
Ethan had been surrounded by filters he did not know existed.
Claire went upstairs and returned with a padded envelope.
"Anna gave me this. I was supposed to open it if anyone tried to change Lily's trust."
Inside was a small memory card.
They played it on Ethan's laptop.
Anna appeared on screen, alive, tired, and very serious.
"Ethan, if you're watching this, something went wrong."
His throat closed.
Anna continued.
"Daniel has been pushing me to simplify Lily's trust. Don't let him. And if a woman named Vivian Hale comes anywhere near our family, do not assume it's coincidence."
Ethan stared.
Claire whispered, "That's her maiden name."
On screen, Anna leaned toward the camera.
"Vivian asked too many questions about Lily before Lily was even born."
Ethan felt ice move through him.
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This had started before Anna died.
Long before Vivian became his wife.
