She had spent years studying Laura.
Copying her.
Her clothes.
Her friendships.
Her professional choices.
Even phrases she used.
Laura believed Natalie didn't want a relationship with me in the normal sense.
She wanted Laura’s position in our family.
Then the letter became stranger.
Someone was helping Natalie.
Someone with access to my schedule.
Someone who knew when Laura was alone.
Laura had not identified them.
But she left me a warning.
Do not automatically trust the person who claims they were protecting you.
My first thought was my brother.
Aaron.
I hated myself for thinking it.
Aaron had been the person who held me upright at Laura's funeral.
He stayed with Sophie when I couldn’t get out of bed.
He helped me sort insurance documents.
He was also one of the only people who knew my schedule almost as well as Natalie.
I drove straight to his house.
He opened the door and took one look at my face.
“You found Laura’s storage locker.”
My stomach dropped.
“You knew?”
Aaron closed his eyes.
That was the answer.
I pushed past him.
“How much?”
“Ethan.”
“How much did you know?”
“Not everything.”
“That sentence is becoming very popular.”
He sat down.
“Laura came to me about a month before she died.”
“Why you?”
“Because she was scared you would confront Natalie before she understood what was happening.”
“So you helped her hide cameras?”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
Aaron continued.
“She believed Natalie was entering the house when neither of you were home. She wanted proof.”
“And did she get it?”
“Yes.”
He went upstairs.
When he returned, he carried a small hard drive.
“I should have given you this after the funeral.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because one of the recordings scared me.”
He connected the drive to his laptop.
A video loaded.
Natalie stood in our kitchen.
She was talking on the phone.
I could hear only her side.
“He still thinks she’s paranoid.”
A pause.
“Yes, I know.”
Another pause.
Then Natalie smiled.