Chapter 3 - THE MAN MARA CALLED DEREK
The police found Corinne forty-three minutes later.
She had been hiding inside a detached garage three houses away.
She claimed she panicked.
She claimed she only wanted space.
She denied sending the messages.
Her phone was in police custody when Ethan received them, which made that denial disturbingly believable.
Officer Ruiz took screenshots.
Sergeant Mercer contacted a detective.
By midnight, Ethan’s house was filled with people he did not know.
A child-services investigator arrived.
A detective named Noah Pierce arrived next.
A forensic technician photographed the cabinet and the hidden compartment.
Ethan answered questions until his voice felt distant.
Maisie eventually fell asleep against his shoulder.
He refused to let Corinne near her.
Corinne left the house shortly after one in the morning under an emergency protective arrangement recommended by police and child services.
She was not formally arrested that night.
That infuriated Ethan.
Detective Pierce explained why.
“We need evidence we can defend.”
“I watched her hurt Maisie.”
“And Officer Ruiz documented the injury.”
“She ran.”
“That matters.”
“She hid documents from my dead wife.”
“That matters too.”
“She intercepted certified mail.”
“If we establish that, it matters.”
Ethan clenched his jaw.
Pierce did not flinch.
“I know you want something immediate.”
“I want her away from my daughter.”
“That part is immediate.”
Pierce handed him paperwork.
“She is not returning here tonight.”
Ethan looked toward Maisie.
“And tomorrow?”
“We’ll work on tomorrow.”
Ethan hated the answer.
But he understood it.
Corporate disputes had taught him that feeling certain and proving something were not the same thing.
The police needed facts.
So did he.
Corinne stayed at a hotel under instructions not to contact Maisie directly.
Ethan locked the doors after everyone left.
Then he carried his daughter to his bedroom instead of hers.
He placed her beside him.
For the first time since Mara died, he left every light in the hallway on.
Sleep never came.
At 3:17 a.m., Ethan opened Mara’s red notebook.
Detective Pierce had allowed him to retain it temporarily after photographs were taken, though the flash drive remained with investigators.
Mara’s first entries looked ordinary.
Preschool schedules.
Bank reminders.
Names of contractors.
Then Corinne began appearing.
March 4.
Corinne asked why I changed the password on Maisie’s account.
I never told her there was a password change.
March 7.
Another transfer.
$9,800 this time.
Bank says authorization came from my credentials.
I did not authorize it.
March 9.
Corinne says I’m imagining things.
March 11.
Saw her leaving Ethan’s office.
She said she was looking for a charger.
March 14.
Leah thinks I should tell Ethan everything.
I’m afraid he’ll confront her before I understand what she’s doing.
Ethan rubbed his forehead.
Mara had been trying to protect him from his own temper.
He hated that she had been right.
March 17.
Name from transfer records.
Derek Sloan.
Need to identify him.
Ethan reached for his phone.
He almost searched the name online.
Then stopped.
Pierce had warned him not to contact anyone connected to the case.
He continued reading.
March 18.
I found Derek.
Worked for Vale Consulting.
No longer listed.
Prior job: automotive repair shop.
Ethan froze.
He read it again.
Automotive repair shop.
Mara died after losing control of her vehicle on a wet county road.
Investigators had attributed the crash to rain and excessive speed for conditions.
Ethan had accepted that explanation because he was drowning in grief.
Now the old conclusion became unbearable.
He turned the page.
March 19.
My car was at Harrington Auto for inspection last month.
Corinne recommended them.
Derek Sloan worked there until last year.
Ethan’s hands became cold.
March 20.
Asked shop for maintenance report.
They said Corinne picked up the paperwork.
Why?
March 21.
Anonymous note on windshield.
I’m taking this seriously now.
March 22.
Talked to Samuel Price.
Preparing documents.
March 23.
Someone entered the house while I took Maisie to school.
Nothing obviously missing.
Security camera disconnected for twenty-six minutes.
March 24.
I confronted Corinne.
She smiled.
That scared me more than anything.
Ethan stared at the sentence.
He remembered Corinne’s smile during countless moments over the past two years.
He wondered how many had been masks.
The next entry was longer.
Mara described confronting Corinne about money.
According to Mara, Corinne stopped denying the transfers.
Instead, she claimed she deserved repayment because she had spent years helping Mara.
Mara ordered her out of the house.
Corinne refused.
Then Corinne said Ethan would never believe Mara.
He likes rescuing people.
When you’re gone, I’ll give him someone to rescue.
Ethan lowered the notebook.
His stomach turned.
That was exactly what happened.
After Mara’s death, Corinne became indispensable.
She organized meals.
She handled condolence letters.
She helped care for Maisie.
She sat beside Ethan during sleepless nights.
She cried with him.
She told him Mara had wanted to leave.
She assured him none of it was his fault.
Eventually, Ethan began depending on her.
Then loving her.
Or believing he did.
Ethan looked at the woman-shaped absence in his memories and realized his grief had been manipulated with terrifying precision.
He continued.
March 25.
Leah wants me and Maisie to stay with her.
I told her tomorrow.
I need to collect evidence first.
March 26.
The final entry.
Meeting Leah tonight.
Taking copies.
Leaving original set for Ethan.
If Corinne comes here today, I will record her.
No later pages existed.
Mara died on March 26.
Ethan closed the notebook.
His entire body felt numb.
Beside him, Maisie moved in her sleep.
She whispered.
“Mommy.”
Ethan’s heart broke.
He gently brushed hair from her face.
For twenty-three months, he had believed Mara died carrying secrets about leaving him.
Now he knew she had died trying to save him.
At 6:40 a.m., Detective Pierce called.
“We duplicated the flash drive.”
Ethan sat up.
“And?”
“There are audio files.”
His pulse accelerated.
“What do they say?”
“I need you to come in.”
“Tell me now.”
Pierce hesitated.
“One appears to be a conversation between Mara and Corinne.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Is Derek mentioned?”
“Yes.”
The room seemed to shrink.
“What about the crash?”
Another pause.
“Come in.”
Ethan arranged for his sister Rachel to stay with Maisie.
Rachel arrived thirty minutes later.
She took one look at Ethan and stopped asking questions.
“What happened?”
“Everything I believed about Mara might have been a lie.”
Rachel stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
“I’ll explain when I know.”
He crouched beside Maisie before leaving.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Maisie wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Don’t let Corinne come home.”
“She won’t.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
At the police station, Detective Pierce placed headphones on the table.
A digital specialist sat beside him.
The first recording lasted seventeen minutes.
Mara’s voice filled Ethan’s ears.
He nearly collapsed from hearing it.
Not a memory.
Not a voicemail.
Her living voice.
Controlled.
Angry.
“What did you do with the money, Corinne?”
Corinne answered.
“You’re obsessed.”
“Ninety-four thousand dollars is missing.”
“You can afford it.”
“It belongs to Maisie.”
“You people have millions.”
“That does not make theft acceptable.”
“You always sound so righteous.”
“I want you out of my house.”
Corinne laughed.
“You mean Ethan’s house.”
“Our house.”
“For now.”
Ethan’s skin crawled.
Mara continued.
“Did Derek send those messages?”
Silence.
“Answer me.”
Corinne’s voice changed.
“You should stop saying his name.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t understand what you’re walking into.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s advice.”
“You threatened my daughter.”
“I never threatened Maisie.”
“You know where she goes to school.”
“Everyone knows.”
“You knew when Ethan was traveling.”
“You post everything.”
“No, I don’t.”
Then came a long silence.
Mara spoke again.
“Did you have someone touch my car?”
Ethan stopped breathing.
Corinne answered softly.
“You’re becoming paranoid.”
“That isn’t a no.”
“Get help, Mara.”
“I took it to another mechanic.”
Silence.
“They found something.”
Corinne did not answer.
Mara continued.
“They said someone had interfered with the vehicle.”
Ethan ripped off the headphones.
Pierce watched him carefully.
“What did the original crash investigators find?”
“They inspected the wreckage.”
“And?”
“They documented damage consistent with impact.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Pierce leaned forward.
“The vehicle was severely damaged and partially burned.”
Ethan stared at him.
“Could they have missed prior tampering?”
“Yes.”
The word landed like a hammer.
Ethan put the headphones back on.
The recording resumed.
Mara’s voice shook now.
“I have the inspection report.”
Corinne answered.
“You have a photocopy.”
Mara went silent.
Corinne laughed softly.
Ethan’s blood chilled.
“How do you know that?”
Mara asked.
“You really should learn to hide things better.”
“Get out.”
“Tomorrow.”
“What?”
“You have until tomorrow.”
“For what?”
“To decide whether you want to keep destroying everyone around you.”
“You stole from my daughter.”
“You have no idea what I did for this family.”
“You did nothing for us.”
Corinne’s voice hardened.
“I kept Ethan from realizing what you really are.”
“What am I?”
“Temporary.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
Then Corinne said something that made Detective Pierce lean forward.
“Derek told you to stop digging.”
Mara answered immediately.
“So you admit you’re working with him.”
“I didn’t admit anything.”
“Why is Derek involved with my car?”
No answer.
“Why?”
Still nothing.
Then a door slammed.
The recording ended.
Ethan removed the headphones.
His hands were shaking uncontrollably.
“There’s another file,” Pierce said.
“How long?”
“Twenty-eight seconds.”
He played it through a speaker.
Mara was whispering.
“If anyone finds this, Derek Sloan is connected to Corinne.”
A pause.
“I’m driving to Leah’s now.”
Another pause.
“If I don’t make it there, check my car.”
The recording ended.
Ethan stared at the table.
Pierce spoke carefully.
“We’ve reopened questions surrounding the accident.”
Ethan looked up.
“Questions?”
“Ethan.”
“My wife told us to check the car.”
“I know.”
“And nobody did what she asked because Corinne hid the evidence.”
“We did not have this evidence then.”
Ethan stood.
Pierce remained seated.
“Sit down.”
“I need air.”
“Ethan.”
“I said I need air.”
He walked toward the door.
Pierce’s phone rang.
The detective answered.
His expression changed almost immediately.
“When?”
He listened.
“Where?”
Another pause.
“Do not approach him until we get there.”
Ethan stopped.
Pierce hung up.
“What?”
Pierce grabbed his jacket.
“They found Derek Sloan.”
“Where?”
“At his former employer.”
Ethan moved toward the door.
Pierce blocked him.
“You are not coming.”
“He may know what happened to Mara.”
“Exactly why you’re not coming.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
Pierce pointed at him.
“If Derek sees you, gets frightened, and leaves before we can talk to him, you hurt Mara’s case.”
That stopped Ethan.
Pierce softened slightly.
“Go home to your daughter.”
Ethan stared at him.
“And let me do my job.”
Ethan reluctantly nodded.
He drove home.
Rachel was sitting with Maisie at the kitchen table.
Maisie ran into his arms.
For twenty minutes, Ethan said nothing about the recording.
Then his phone rang.
Pierce.
Ethan answered immediately.
“Did you talk to him?”
A long silence followed.
“Pierce?”
“We got to the shop.”
“And?”
“Derek wasn’t there.”
“You said they found him.”
“They saw him.”
“What happened?”
“He left before officers arrived.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
Pierce continued.
“But we found something in the parking lot.”
“What?”
“A burned cell phone.”
Ethan frowned.
“His?”
“We don’t know.”
Pierce paused.
“And Ethan?”
“Yes?”
“The employee who recognized Derek said he wasn’t alone.”
Ethan’s grip tightened around the phone.
“Who was with him?”
“A woman.”
Ethan looked through the kitchen window.
“Corinne?”
“No.”
Ethan went still.
“Then who?”
“We’re working on identification.”
Pierce hesitated.
“But the witness said she looked familiar.”
“From where?”
“Your wife’s funeral.”
Ethan felt the blood leave his face.
There had been more than two hundred people at Mara’s funeral.
Family.
Friends.
Employees.
Neighbors.
And somewhere among them had apparently been a woman connected to Derek Sloan.
Someone who had watched Ethan bury Mara.
May you like
Someone who had remained hidden for almost two years.
---
