[CHAPTER 9]
Richard Cole had hugged me at Claire’s funeral.
That memory made me sick.
He had stood beside the grave while Rebecca Hale lay inside Claire’s coffin.
He had placed one hand on my shoulder and said, “Your family is my family.”
Now my mother was telling me he had been behind everything.
Detective Harris already knew Richard’s name.
That frightened me more.
“We’ve been looking at him since the financial records surfaced,” he admitted.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because we didn’t have enough.”
“What do you have now?”
Harris placed a chart on the table.
Sophie’s trust money had moved through six shell companies.
Three eventually connected to Vanessa.
Two connected to Marcus.
The final company belonged to Richard Cole.
Three point two million dollars had become almost nine million through fraudulent investments, tax evasion and money laundering.
“This wasn’t just stealing from Sophie,” Harris said.
“The trust was seed money.”
“For what?”
“A larger fraud network.”
Claire stared at the chart.
“So when I found the transfers…”
“You became a threat to people beyond Vanessa.”
My stomach twisted.
“Richard ordered the crash?”
“We don’t know.”
Claire looked at me.
“He knew.”
Harris nodded.
“Likely.”
Richard was arrested that afternoon.
Not for murder.
Not yet.
For financial crimes.
His attorney called it harassment.
Richard himself smiled at reporters.
That smile haunted me.
He looked like a man who believed he could still win.
Vanessa finally asked to speak with prosecutors.
Her deal required complete cooperation.
I attended only because Claire asked me to.
Vanessa entered the interview room without makeup.
For the first time since I met her, she looked ordinary.
Human.
That almost made it worse.
She looked at me.
“I loved you.”
Claire stiffened.
I stared at Vanessa.
“No.”
Her eyes filled.
“I did.”
“You tried to kill my wife.”
“I was scared.”
“You terrorized my daughter.”
“I never meant—”
“Don’t.”
My voice shook.
“Do not use that word.”
Vanessa lowered her head.
Harris asked about Richard.
She resisted.
Then finally broke.
“My father started using Margaret three years ago.”
My mother’s gambling debts made her vulnerable.
Richard offered loans.
Then demanded favors.
Approvals.
Signatures.
Access.
When Claire discovered the missing money, Vanessa was told to recover the evidence.
“What did Richard tell you?” Harris asked.
Vanessa whispered, “Make the problem disappear.”
Claire went white.
“You rammed my car.”
Vanessa cried.
“I thought I could scare you.”
“You hit me twice.”
“I lost control.”
“No.”
Claire leaned forward.
“You accelerated.”
Vanessa looked away.
That was confession enough.
“What happened after the crash?” Harris asked.
Vanessa described finding Claire alive.
My mother arrived moments later.
Richard called Vanessa.
He instructed them to remove anything identifying Claire.
Phone.
Wallet.
Ring.
Then the second car crashed.
Rebecca.
Richard saw opportunity.
He arranged the false identification.
A corrupt medical examiner technician switched samples.
Money changed hands.
Records changed.
Claire became dead.
Rebecca became nobody.
“What about Sophie?” I asked.
Vanessa looked at me.
“Your mother handled her.”
My fists clenched.
“She told Sophie that if she spoke, Daddy would go away.”
Vanessa nodded.
I wanted to leave.
Instead I stayed.
“Why did you get close to me afterward?”
Her face collapsed.
“At first, my father told me to.”
Claire looked away.
“Why?”
“To keep you from checking the trust.”
“And later?”
Vanessa cried harder.
“I fell in love with you.”
The room went silent.
I felt nothing.
Not anger.
Not heartbreak.
Nothing.
“You loved the man whose wife you tried to kill?”
“I hated what I did.”
“You planned a wedding.”
“I thought if I could make you happy—”
I laughed.
The sound scared even me.
“You thought marrying me could erase Claire?”
“No.”
“You slept in our house.”
She cried.
“You wore her robe.”
“Ethan—”
“You helped Sophie choose a dress for the wedding.”
Vanessa covered her face.
I stood.
“I hope loving me hurts for the rest of your life.”
Then I walked out.
Claire followed.
In the hallway, I shook uncontrollably.
She touched my shoulder.
“I’m sorry.”
I turned.
“You’re sorry?”
“For what this did to you.”
I stared at her.
“You almost died.”
“And you lost me.”
That broke something open.
I pulled her into my arms.
For the first time since her return, she let me hold her.
We stood there crying.
Not as husband and wife.
Not yet.
As two people grieving the same stolen year.
Later, Harris called.
Richard had offered prosecutors information.
Not to save Vanessa.
To destroy my mother.
He claimed Margaret had ordered Marcus to kidnap Elena.
My mother denied it.
Elena believed Marcus acted on Richard’s orders.
Someone was lying.
Then police searched Richard’s home.
Behind a hidden wall in his office, they found financial records.
Photographs.
Audio recordings.
And one video.
Recorded the night of Claire’s crash.
Taken from Richard’s dashboard camera.
He had been there.
Not miles away.
Not on the phone.
There.
The video showed his car arriving after my mother.
It showed him walking down the embankment.
It showed Claire moving.
And it showed Richard standing over her.
Then he bent down.
For a moment his body blocked the camera.
When he stood again, Claire stopped moving.
I turned toward her.
She had gone completely pale.
“My memory,” she whispered.
“What?”
“He didn’t just leave me.”
May you like
Her hand went to her throat.
“He tried to finish it.”
