Chapter 2 - The Money They Thought Was Theirs
The next morning, my attorney, Daniel Harper, arrived at nine.
He had represented me throughout the settlement.
He was one of the few people who had never asked me for anything.
He placed a folder on my table.
“Your father contacted my office.”
“I know.”
“He wants access to the settlement.”
“He won't get it.”
Daniel nodded.
“That's what I told him.”
I looked at the documents.
“Is there anything they can legally claim?”
“No.”
I exhaled.
“The house?”
“Yours.”
“Ethan's life insurance?”
“Yours and the children's estate.”
“And the foundation?”
Daniel smiled slightly.
“You control it through the board.”
I stared at him.
“Good.”
He studied me.
“Claire, are you sure about giving away most of the settlement?”
I looked toward the hallway.
Lily's school jacket was still there.
Noah's sneakers remained beneath the bench.
“I don't want their deaths to become a number.”
Daniel nodded.
“You're doing something extraordinary.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I'm trying to make something good come from something terrible.”
He opened another folder.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“The trucking company is contesting part of the settlement.”
My heart sank.
“They are?”
“Yes.”
“They already admitted their driver was responsible.”
“They're claiming the driver suffered an unforeseen medical event.”
“That's a lie.”
Daniel's expression was serious.
“I think so too.”
He slid a photograph toward me.
The truck.
The crushed SUV.
My breath caught.
“Why are you showing me this?”
“Because investigators found something unusual.”
He pointed to the truck's maintenance records.
“Brake failure.”
I looked up.
“What?”
“The truck's braking system had been inspected two days before the crash.”
“So?”
“The inspection certificate says everything passed.”
“But?”
Daniel's voice lowered.
“The mechanic who signed it says he never inspected the truck.”
I stared at him.
“Then someone forged the inspection.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“We don't know yet.”
I looked again at the photograph.
Ethan had always been careful.
He checked everything.
Seat belts.
Tires.
Car seats.
Weather.
He had been driving our children home from his parents' house that morning.
He had called me twenty minutes before the accident.
“I'll be home soon.”
Those were the last words I ever heard from him.
Daniel closed the folder.
“I recommend we investigate.”
“Do it.”
He hesitated.
“Claire, there is another issue.”
“What?”
“The trucking company isn't the only party asking questions about you.”
“Who else?”
“Your father.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“He has been contacting people connected to the settlement.”
My stomach tightened.
“What is he looking for?”
“Information about the foundation.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Daniel looked at me.
“What do you want me to do?”
I thought about my father's face the night he refused to come to the funeral.
Then I thought about Lily.
Seven years old.
Always asking why.
Always believing adults would protect her.
I looked at Daniel.
“Find out everything.”
He nodded.
“I will.”
After he left, my phone buzzed.
A text from my mother.
We made mistakes. Please let us fix them.
I stared at it.
Then another message arrived.
Melissa wants to see you. She says she needs to explain.
I didn't answer.
Five minutes later, my doorbell rang.
I opened the security camera.
Melissa stood outside.
She was crying.
I almost ignored her.
Then she held up something.
A photograph.
It was Lily.
Smiling.
Wearing her pink coat.
On the back, someone had written:
Please don't forget me.
I opened the door.
“Where did you get that?”
Melissa's hands were shaking.
“I found it in Mom's house.”
My heart stopped.
“What else did you find?”
She looked terrified.
“Claire…”
May you like
“What?”
“There are things Mom and Dad never told you about the accident.”
