Chapter 10 - RICHARD’S FIRST COUNTERMOVE
Three days after the funeral, Richard was formally charged with kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, aggravated assault, financial fraud, and multiple weapons offenses.
Attempted murder remained under investigation.
The evidence seemed overwhelming.
Then Richard attacked without leaving his jail cell.
His attorney held a press conference.
He claimed Claire had suffered a severe psychiatric episode.
He claimed she had voluntarily taken sedatives.
He claimed Richard discovered her unconscious and relied on Dr. Vale’s medical judgment.
According to Richard’s version, Vale pronounced Claire dead.
Richard merely believed the doctor.
The gun at the funeral, his attorney said, had been carried legally for personal protection.
Richard drew it only because Ethan was violently swinging a hammer in a crowded room.
The story was ugly.
But it was carefully constructed around facts that could be twisted.
Then Richard’s attorney released portions of Claire’s medical file.
Words such as paranoid.
Unstable.
Delusional.
Memory impairment.
The media exploded.
Reporters gathered outside the hospital.
Strangers online began debating whether Claire had staged everything.
Some even accused Ethan of inventing the knocking.
Ethan read three comments before Megan took the phone away.
“Don’t.”
“They think Mom did it.”
“People who know nothing will say anything.”
“But what if a jury thinks it too?”
Megan had no answer.
Rebecca did.
“We prove the records were fabricated.”
“How?”
“By finding Dr. Vale.”
But Vale remained missing.
Then Richard made a second move.
He filed for temporary custody of Ethan.
Even from jail.
Rebecca nearly laughed when she received the petition.
Then she read it.
Richard claimed Claire was medically incapable of caring for her son.
He argued that Megan had no legal guardianship rights.
And because Richard had acted as Ethan’s parent for six years, he asked the court to preserve his status until trial.
Claire nearly ripped the document in half.
“He tried to bury me and now he wants my son?”
Rebecca took the pages gently.
“He doesn’t expect to win.”
“Then why file it?”
“To force us into court.”
Ortiz understood immediately.
“And force Claire’s medical history into the record.”
Richard wanted the case to become about Claire’s sanity.
Not his actions.
The hearing was scheduled for Monday morning.
The night before, Ethan could not sleep.
At 1:18 a.m., Megan’s doorbell camera sent an alert.
Someone stood at the front gate.
A man wearing a hood.
He placed something in the mailbox and walked away.
Police arrived before Megan opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
It showed Ethan asleep in his hospital chair two nights earlier.
Someone had taken it from inside Claire’s hospital room.
May you like
On the back were three words.
WE ARE STILL CLOSE.
