Chapter 7 - THE FALSE RECORD
Dr. Martin Keene arrived at the mansion shortly after midnight.
He looked horrified when Laura showed him the guardianship petition.
“I never wrote this.”
The signature was his.
The letterhead was his.
The medical language resembled his reports.
But the conclusions were fabricated.
Dr. Keene had treated Ethan for grief-related insomnia during the year after Claire's death.
Nothing more.
“I never considered you unstable.”
Ethan stared at the page.
“Who had access to my records?”
“My office staff.”
“Anyone outside?”
Dr. Keene hesitated.
“Your insurance coordinator requested copies last year.”
Ethan knew the name before Keene said it.
“Richard Mason's office.”
Laura closed her eyes.
The scheme had touched every part of Ethan's life.
His company.
His finances.
His medical records.
His daughter.
His dead wife's estate.
Detective Nora Briggs took possession of the documents.
She was a calm woman in her early forties who seemed unimpressed by wealth, status, or excuses.
She questioned Celeste for almost an hour.
Then Richard.
Then Ethan.
Sophie spoke with a child specialist.
When Sophie returned, she walked directly into Ethan's arms.
“Can Celeste come back?”
“No.”
“Ever?”
Ethan looked at Detective Briggs.
The detective answered carefully.
“You're staying with your dad tonight.”
Sophie nodded.
That seemed enough for the moment.
At 1:30 a.m., the officers escorted Celeste and Richard from the estate for further questioning.
Neither had yet been formally charged with everything Ethan suspected.
But the flight documents, Sophie’s statement, the financial transfer, and falsified guardianship paperwork were enough to keep the investigation moving.
As Celeste reached the door, she turned.
Her face was no longer soft.
“You still don't understand Claire.”
Ethan said nothing.
Celeste gave a strange smile.
“She was hiding something from you too.”
Richard looked sharply at her.
“Stop.”
Celeste ignored him.
“Ask yourself why she put a hundred million dollars in a company you never knew existed.”
Ethan's stomach tightened.
“Because she knew you were stealing.”
Celeste smiled again.
“No.”
She leaned closer while the officer held her arm.
“Because the money wasn't originally hers.”
Then she was taken outside.
Ethan watched the police vehicle disappear beyond the gates.
Behind him, Sophie spoke softly.
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Mommy had another secret place.”
Ethan turned.
Sophie pointed toward the photograph again.
“There are numbers under the frame.”
Ethan removed the backing.
Written along the wooden edge were six digits.
Marcus recognized the format first.
“That's a safe-deposit box number.”
Ethan stared at the numbers.
May you like
Claire had not left one secret behind.
She had left a trail.
