Chapter 16 - Back at the House
Police surrounded the Parker home before Ethan, Claire, or Carol were allowed anywhere near it.
Victor Dane had entered through a side garage door using a code found in Ryan’s records.
He was alone.
That made everyone more nervous, not less.
From across the street, Ethan watched officers move behind neighboring fences.
Claire stood beside him with her arms folded tightly against the cold.
“He was inside our house,” she said.
“I know.”
“Noah’s room.”
Ethan looked at her.
“I know.”
She swallowed hard.
This time, he did not tell her everything would be okay.
He just stood beside her.
After twenty minutes, Victor walked out with his hands raised.
No dramatic chase. No gunfire. No heroic tackle.
Just a tired man in an expensive coat, surrounded by consequences.
As officers cuffed him, Victor turned his head and saw Ethan across the street.
He smiled.
Not a friendly smile.
A promise.
Then he said something to the officer beside him.
The officer walked over to Ethan.
“He says you’re celebrating too early.”
Ethan felt Claire stiffen.
“Why?”
“He claims the largest loan was never through Northline.”
Mara joined them, holding her phone.
“What largest loan?” she asked.
The officer glanced back toward Victor.
“Four hundred and sixty thousand dollars.”
Ethan shook his head. “That’s impossible.”
Mara’s expression changed as she scanned an email.
“No,” she said slowly. “It’s not.”
She turned the screen toward them.
A lien had been filed against property associated with Parker Roofing.
The address was familiar.
Carol saw it and made a sound like she had been punched.
It was her house.
Ethan’s childhood home.
Claire whispered, “Ryan used his own mother’s house too?”
Carol began to cry.
Then Mara said, “The filing date is six years old.”
Ethan looked at her.
May you like
Six years.
His father had still been alive.\n\nClaire kept her eyes on the front door as officers moved Victor toward the cruiser. She did not feel triumphant. She felt tired. The arrest did not erase the nights she had replayed Ethan's lies in her head, wondering which memories were real. Safety returning to the street was not the same thing as trust returning to the house.
