She'd told me she heard a crash, ran downstairs, and found Claire lying at the bottom of the staircase.
She'd held me while I cried.
Helped organize the funeral.
And eventually became the person I turned to when my house felt too empty to bear.
Now my son was telling me she had been arguing with Claire moments before her death.
And that she'd forced him to destroy a recording.
I looked toward Vanessa.
“Did you?”
She lifted her head.
“James, please. You have to understand the circumstances.”
My heart began pounding.
“Did you make my son delete a recording from the night his mother died?”
Her lips parted.
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then she whispered.
“Yes.”
Nia began sobbing.
Ethan lowered his head.
And I felt the first crack appear in the carefully constructed life I'd been living.
Because Vanessa hadn't denied it.
She had admitted it.
But the question that frightened me most wasn't why she deleted the recording.
It was what the recording showed.
And why a woman who claimed to love my family had spent more than two years making sure I never saw it.
I looked toward Ethan.
Then toward Nia.
“Both of you, come with me.”
Vanessa stepped forward.
“James, we need to talk privately.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
She stared.
I continued.
“You've had two years to talk privately.”
My voice began shaking.
“Right now, I'm taking care of my children.”
I led Ethan and Nia into my study and closed the door.
For a moment, neither child spoke.
Then Nia began crying again.
I wrapped my arms around her.
She buried her face against my chest.
“Dad, I'm sorry.”
I held her tighter.
“For what?”
She shook her head.
“The television. The papers. All of it.”
I looked toward Ethan.
My son was standing beside the window, staring at the garden.
His face was wet.
I took a breath.
“Neither of you needs to apologize for telling me something important.”
Nia held me tighter.
Then she whispered.
“Mom knew.”
I closed my eyes.
“Knew what?”
She lifted her face.
Her eyes were full of fear.
“That Vanessa was stealing from her.”
I stared.
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
Then my daughter reached into her pocket and removed a small photograph.
It showed Claire standing beside Vanessa at a charity fundraiser.
They were smiling.