Chapter 8 - A Marriage Built on Silence
Nathan asked everyone to leave the dining room except Claire.
She entered five minutes later with her lawyer beside her.
Nathan played the video once.
Claire watched herself kiss Caleb without blinking.
When it ended, she said, "It wasn't what you think."
Nathan almost smiled.
"That's the sentence people use when it's exactly what you think."
Her lawyer touched her elbow. "Claire."
She ignored him.
"Caleb and I made a mistake. Once."
"The timestamp says you were together for six hours."
"We were discussing the company."
"With your mouth on his?"
Claire's face tightened. "You were never home."
Nathan stared at her.
There it was.
Not regret.
A defense.
"So I caused your affair?"
"I was lonely."
"Did loneliness also make you forge bank documents?"
"I didn't forge anything."
"Did it make you move eleven million dollars?"
"That was Caleb."
"Did it make you slap Elena twice?"
Claire stood. "She has been turning Lucy against me for months."
From the hall came a small voice.
"No, she didn't."
Everyone turned.
Lucy stood beside Elena, hugging a stuffed rabbit.
Elena whispered, "I'm sorry. She woke up and heard yelling."
Claire's eyes flashed. "Go upstairs."
Lucy moved behind Elena.
Nathan stepped between them.
"Claire, stop."
"She's my daughter."
"And she's afraid of you."
The words hit harder than the video.
Claire's face cracked for half a second.
Then anger rushed in to cover it.
"Because Elena makes me look like a monster."
Elena's voice was low. "I don't have to."
Claire took one step toward her.
Nathan's lawyer moved first. "Mrs. Mercer, I strongly recommend you sit down."
Claire laughed bitterly.
"Wonderful. The maid gets a lawyer now too?"
Nathan looked at Elena. "Do you want to press charges for the assault?"
Claire went silent.
Elena glanced at Lucy.
"I want to make sure Lucy is safe."
Nathan nodded slowly.
"So do I."
That evening, Claire moved into the guest wing under an informal separation while the lawyers worked out temporary arrangements. Nathan put a guard outside Lucy's room and another at the study.
Elena packed a small suitcase.
Nathan found her near the service entrance.
"You're leaving?"
"I think I should."
"Because of Claire?"
"Because your family is exploding and I'm standing in the middle of it."
"You didn't cause this."
"That won't stop people from saying I did."
Before Nathan could answer, Lucy ran down the hallway.
"Elena!"
She wrapped both arms around Elena's legs.
"Don't go."
Elena closed her eyes.
Nathan knelt beside his daughter. "Why don't you want Elena to leave?"
Lucy looked toward the guest wing.
Then she whispered, "Because Mommy said after Elena goes away, Daddy goes away too."
Nathan's stomach dropped.
"When did she say that?"
"When Uncle Caleb was here."
"What exactly did she say?"
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Lucy squeezed the rabbit.
"She said, 'By your birthday, Daddy won't be in charge anymore.'"
