Chapter 4 - The Voice on the Drive
Nathan locked the sunroom door.
"Elena, take Lucy to the kitchen. Stay with her."
Elena hesitated. "What are you going to do?"
"Make copies."
That answer relieved her more than she expected.
He was not going to storm upstairs and start shouting. Not yet.
Elena carried Lucy into the kitchen, found a dry towel, and wrapped it around the child's shoulders. Lucy watched her with worried brown eyes.
"Are you mad at Mommy?"
Elena knelt. "I'm not mad at you. That's what matters right now."
"Mommy said you might go away."
Elena's stomach tightened. "When did she say that?"
"Last night. She said people who lie don't get to live here."
Before Elena could answer, Nathan entered with the laptop and USB drive.
"There are six files," he said. "The first was the message. The others are spreadsheets, photos, and audio."
Claire's heels clicked in the hallway.
Nathan shut the laptop.
She walked into the kitchen wearing a different expression now: controlled, cool, almost bored.
"I've called my attorney."
Nathan leaned against the counter. "Good. I called mine too."
"You're taking a four-year-old's story over your wife?"
"I'm taking a video from my mother seriously."
"Your mother was dying."
"She knew Caleb's name."
Claire's mouth tightened.
"He's the CFO. Of course she knew his name."
Nathan held up his phone. "I also called the Foundation's outside accountant. He's sending me the vendor files now."
For one second, Claire looked toward the back door.
Elena noticed.
So did Nathan.
"Don't leave," he said.
Claire smiled coldly. "You don't get to imprison me in my own house."
"No. But if you walk out with Lucy, I'll call the police and tell them my mother left evidence of financial fraud involving you and Caleb."
The smile disappeared.
Nathan reopened the laptop.
The second file was an audio recording.
A man's voice filled the kitchen.
Caleb.
"If Nathan signs the revised management agreement, we won't need his mother's trust vote."
Then Claire's voice answered.
"He reads everything."
"Not if you put it in the refinancing packet."
Nathan went completely still.
Claire closed her eyes.
The recording continued.
"And if Evelyn keeps digging?" she asked.
Caleb laughed softly.
"Then we make sure everyone thinks she's confused."
Elena watched Nathan absorb every word.
This was not gossip. It was a plan.
A plan built around him.
The recording ended with Evelyn's voice, faint but close to the microphone.
"Got you."
Claire suddenly reached for the USB.
Elena grabbed her arm.
Claire spun and raised her hand again.
Nathan caught it before it landed.
"Touch her one more time," he said, "and you can explain it to the police."
Claire yanked free.
"You think Elena is innocent? Ask her why your mother hired her. Ask her who her mother was."
Nathan turned to Elena.
Elena's heart dropped.
May you like
Claire smiled.
"Go ahead, Elena. Tell him why Evelyn Mercer already knew your family."
