Chapter 7 - My Sister's Statement
I drove to Rachel's apartment so fast I barely remembered the route.
Martin Keller was gone by the time I arrived.
Diane wasn't.
She sat on Rachel's couch with her purse on her lap as if this were a Sunday visit.
"You need to stop," I said.
Rachel stood near the kitchen, pale and shaking.
Diane looked at me calmly. "You shouldn't have come here upset. You're proving my point."
I almost laughed.
Every reaction had become evidence for her.
Angry meant unstable.
Sad meant incapable.
Quiet meant depressed.
Tired meant negligent.
There was no correct way to be a grieving father in the story she was writing.
I looked at Rachel.
"Why did you sign it?"
"She said if I didn't, she'd tell the court about... about the accident."
I frowned.
Rachel had caused a minor collision at nineteen after drinking at a college party. No one was injured. The record had been sealed.
"That was twelve years ago."
Diane answered for her. "Judges care about character."
I stared at my mother.
"You're blackmailing your own daughter."
"I'm protecting my grandson."
"No. You're collecting leverage."
Her face finally changed.
Just a flicker.
But I saw it.
Rachel stepped forward.
"There's more."
Diane turned. "Rachel."
"No. I'm done."
My sister opened a drawer and pulled out a manila envelope.
"Mom left this here yesterday."
Inside were printed bank records.
Claire's trust account.
Several pages had handwritten notes in Diane's handwriting.
SELL FIRST.
MOVE TO MANAGED ACCOUNT.
T.M. GETS 300K AFTER GUARDIANSHIP.
Thomas Mercer.
Three hundred thousand dollars.
Rachel covered her mouth.
Diane stood.
"You don't understand those notes."
"Then explain them," I said.
She grabbed for the pages.
I pulled them away.
For the first time, she lost control.
"That money should never have been Claire's!"
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
"What did you just say?"
Diane realized too late that she had opened a second door.
May you like
And whatever was behind it was older than Noah.
The Message on Grandma's Phone
