Chapter 3 - What Lucy Saw
Claire lunged for the laptop.
Nathan caught her wrist.
"Sit down."
"You have no idea what she was like at the end."
"Sit down, Claire."
She stared at him, then slowly lowered herself into the chair.
Onscreen, Evelyn drew a breath.
"I hid this drive because I no longer trust the locks in my own house. Lucy's tricycle was the one place no adult ever bothered to inspect. If this recording reaches you, start with the Mercer Foundation accounts. Then ask why three vendors share the same mailing address."
Nathan's expression hardened.
Claire shook her head. "She was obsessed with money."
The video continued.
"Do not confront anyone alone. Especially Caleb Price."
Nathan froze.
Caleb was not merely the company CFO. He had been Nathan's closest friend since college. He had stood beside him at his wedding.
Claire whispered, "Turn it off."
Evelyn leaned closer to the camera.
"And Nathan, if Claire tells you I was confused, ask her what happened in my study on March fourteenth. She knows exactly why the camera in that hallway stopped working for eleven minutes."
The video ended.
Nobody moved.
Lucy climbed into Elena's lap.
Nathan stared at the black screen. "March fourteenth."
Claire stood. "I won't sit here and be accused by a dead woman who hated me."
"My mother didn't hate you."
Claire laughed once. "She never thought I was good enough for you."
"What happened in her study?"
"Nothing."
"Then why are you scared?"
"I'm angry."
"You look scared."
Claire grabbed her handbag. "I'm taking Lucy upstairs."
Lucy buried her face against Elena.
"No."
Claire stopped.
The child's voice was tiny, but it cut through the room.
"I want Elena."
For the first time, Elena saw real hatred in Claire's eyes.
Nathan saw it too.
"Lucy stays with me," he said.
Claire walked out without another word.
When the door slammed, Nathan crouched in front of his daughter.
"Peanut, I need you to tell me something. You are not in trouble. Did Grandma ever talk to you about the bike?"
Lucy nodded.
"She said the black button was our secret."
"Did Mommy know?"
Lucy thought hard. "Mommy asked me where Grandma's button was. I didn't tell her."
"When?"
"Yesterday."
Nathan looked at Elena.
"Yesterday?"
Lucy nodded again. "Mommy said Grandma left bad things and we had to throw them away."
Elena felt a chill despite her wet clothes.
Nathan asked, "Did you see Mommy near the tricycle today?"
Lucy pressed her lips together.
Then she whispered, "Mommy was pulling the handle. She said a bad word. Then Uncle Caleb called her."
Nathan's face lost all color.
"What did she say to him?"
Lucy looked toward the doorway, as if afraid her mother might be listening.
"She said, 'I found it.'"
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Then she added the sentence that made Nathan stand up so fast his chair tipped over.
"And Uncle Caleb said, 'Then destroy it before Nathan gets home.'"
