Chapter 8 - Her Name on the Page
Ethan sent Claire a photo of the forged signature.
She called immediately.
“That is not mine.”
“I know.”
“You better know.”
“Mara thinks Ryan used it to make the account look jointly approved.”
Claire’s breathing sharpened. “So he dragged me into this too.”
“Yes.”
“And you trusted him.”
Ethan sat back in the kitchen chair. “Yes.”
Again, no excuse.
Claire was quiet for a long time.
Then Noah’s sleepy voice came through the phone. “Daddy?”
Ethan’s throat tightened.
“Hey, buddy.”
“Remote.”
Claire gave a tiny laugh. “He brought it.”
“Of course he did.”
Noah said, “Daddy help Mommy.”
Ethan looked down at the table full of records.
“I’m trying.”
The words sounded weak even to him.
After the call, Mara closed the laptop.
“You need sleep.”
“I need Ryan.”
“You need evidence.”
“He knows what happened.”
“He also knows people are looking for him.”
Ethan stood. “Then I’ll find him first.”
Mara blocked the doorway.
“You have a wife who is deciding whether she can trust you. You have a toddler who just learned to tell you when you’re failing. Do not turn this into a hero fantasy.”
Ethan stopped.
She was right.
He sat again.
At 2:03 a.m., an email arrived from Ryan.
No subject.
One sentence.
I’M SORRY. CHECK DAD’S OLD STORAGE UNIT BEFORE VICTOR DOES.
Ethan stared at the screen.
Their father had been dead six years.
The storage unit had been emptied after the funeral.
At least, Ethan thought it had.
Mara said, “Do you know where it is?”
“Yes.”
“Then we go at daylight.”
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
She frowned.
May you like
He picked up his keys.
“If Victor knows about it, daylight may be too late.”\n\nMara slid a legal pad across the table. 'Write down everything you remember Ryan saying before you transferred the money.' Ethan started with one sentence, then another. Within twenty minutes he had filled three pages. Reading his own notes, he saw how many warning signs he had edited out because he wanted the deal to be real.
