“She cried.”
He could see the bedroom.
Rachel standing beside the window.
Arms folded across herself.
Tears running down her face while she repeated, I am not cheating on you.
He had not believed her.
Because his mother had put evidence in his hands.
Because Vivian had never lied to him before.
At least not in a way he recognized.
“I made the last days of her life miserable because of you.”
Vivian shook her head.
“I did not know she was going to die.”
“That doesn’t make it better.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
Ethan returned to the letter.
Rachel’s words became harder to read.
Vivian knows I found the accounts.
She has asked me twice to drop it.
Tonight she told me that if I expose what I found, she will make sure you believe I am unstable and trying to destroy your family.
I don’t know exactly what she means.
I hope this box is unnecessary.
I am hiding copies here because this is the one place in the house Vivian never looks closely.
She hates the old floor.
Ethan almost laughed.
Rachel had been right.
Vivian had spent years asking him to replace the walnut boards.
Too dark.
Too uneven.
Too old.
Rachel loved them.
When they renovated, Ethan kept them because they were one of the few things in the house Rachel had insisted on preserving.
The letter continued.
There is one more thing.
The police should have this if anything happens to me.
I am meeting Marcus tomorrow evening. He found something involving your father’s last six months.
I don’t know what it means yet.
There is a flash drive in the box.
Password: the place we met.
I love you.
I love Noah.
Whatever happens after you read this, please do not teach him that silence is the same as loyalty.
Rachel.
Ethan lowered the page.
For nearly a minute, the only sound in the room was the hum of the refrigerator from the kitchen.
Then he reached for the black box.
Inside were folders.
Bank statements.
Copies of contracts.
A flash drive.
A small digital recorder.
And Rachel’s gold star necklace.
Ethan picked it up.
The chain was broken.
He remembered the police property bag.
Rachel’s purse.
Keys.
Watch.
Wallet.
One earring.
He had never realized the necklace was missing.
Noah must have seen the corner of it through the crack.
“Why was this here?”
Vivian shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Ethan looked at her.
For once, he believed her.
He placed the necklace beside the letter.
Then picked up the recorder.
A white label had been attached.
OCT 12 - V.
Ethan pressed play.
Static.
A chair moving.
Then Rachel’s voice.
“Say it again.”
Vivian’s voice came through the speaker.
You cannot possibly understand what you are doing.
Ethan looked at his mother.
She sat down slowly.
The recording continued.
Rachel: “I understand money was moved out of Noah’s trust.”