โAnd both of you deserved to feel safe telling me when something was wrong.โ
Ethan shook his head.
โYou didn't know.โ
I looked toward him.
โNo. I didn't.โ
I paused.
โBut I could have asked better questions.โ
For several seconds, the room was quiet.
Then Nia leaned toward me.
I wrapped one arm around her.
Ethan moved closer too.
We sat together.
Not as a family suddenly repaired.
But as three people who were finally beginning to speak honestly about the damage.
The investigation continued over the following months.
The financial review uncovered additional irregularities involving Alder Point Advisory and several connected businesses.
Records showed that Graham had participated in approving payments for services that investigators could not substantiate.
Other evidence connected Vanessa to the entities that ultimately received substantial portions of the money.
The suspected diversion exceeded three million dollars across multiple transactions.
Investigators examined company records, financial communications, and evidence obtained through lawful legal processes.
Eventually, the evidence became strong enough for prosecutors to pursue charges relating to the financial activity.
But the death investigation remained separate.
That distinction was important.
Financial misconduct could establish a possible motive.
It couldn't, by itself, prove what happened on the staircase.
The recovered recording provided direct evidence of the confrontation and physical contact.
Other records helped establish the timeline.
Investigators located information showing that Graham had been at our home that evening.
His previous statements had omitted that visit.
They also examined the timing of communications and the emergency call.
Vanessa's original account suggested she'd called for help immediately after discovering Claire.
But the records indicated an unexplained interval between the confrontation and the emergency call.
Further investigation revealed communications between Vanessa and Graham during that period.
One message from Graham was particularly disturbing.
We need to make sure nobody thinks we came here to confront her.
Another referred to removing certain foundation documents from the house.
I felt physically sick when I read the account of those communications.
Claire had been lying injured.
And the people involved were discussing how their presence would appear to investigators.
The evidence did not allow me to know every thought that passed through their minds.
But it showed that their priorities after the fall had included concealing the circumstances of the confrontation.
A woman was hurt.
My wife.
The mother of two children.