Richard gripped the edge of the table.
“She went there looking for me?”
“Yes.”
He stared toward the staircase.
Laura had not been driving away from her marriage.
She had been trying to save it.
And she never returned.
For a long moment, Richard could not speak.
Then he whispered, “Daniel, I need to see you.”
“I agree.”
“Tomorrow.”
“Richard, before we meet, there's something important.”
He waited.
“Don't confront Adrian. Don't contact Nicole about the finances. And don't remove anything from your company's records.”
Richard swallowed.
“Why?”
“Because if the records still exist, they need to be preserved properly.”
Daniel paused.
“And because what happened to Laura may not have been the accident everyone believed.”
Richard stood motionless.
Outside, the rain began falling against the kitchen window.
The same quiet sound he remembered from the night his wife died.
He whispered, “What are you saying?”
Daniel's answer was measured.
“I'm saying we had evidence of a financial crime, Laura received a false message drawing her to a remote location, and she died while traveling there.”
He paused.
“Those facts justify serious questions. They don't prove who caused the crash.”
Richard looked down at the letter.
His hands were trembling.
“Then we're going to find out.”
Richard did not sleep that night.
He tried.
He turned off the lights, walked upstairs, and stood outside Maya's bedroom.
The door was slightly open.
Inside, his daughter had fallen asleep beneath a pale-blue blanket.
Ethan lay curled near the foot of the bed, still wearing his yellow T-shirt.
One hand rested against his sister's arm.
Richard stood silently in the doorway.
For years, he had told himself that his children were becoming difficult because they were growing older.
Maya was independent.
Ethan was sensitive.
Nicole said the girl resented authority and the boy needed firmer boundaries.
Richard believed those explanations because they were easier than asking whether something was wrong inside his own house.
Now he watched his eleven-year-old son sleeping beside his sister as though protecting her were his responsibility.
The sight devastated him.
Ethan should have been dreaming about school, friends, sports, and the ridiculous science experiments he loved.
He should not have been guarding his older sister against an adult.
Richard stepped closer.
He gently pulled the blanket over Ethan's shoulder.
The boy stirred.
His eyes opened.
“Dad?”
Richard knelt.
“I'm here.”
Ethan glanced toward the bedroom door.
“Is Nicole back?”
“No.”
The boy swallowed.
“Are you sure?”
Richard nodded.
“Yes.”
Ethan looked toward Maya.
Then whispered, “She gets mad when Maya talks about Mom.”
Richard felt tears gather.
“I know that now.”
The boy shook his head.
“No, Dad.”
Richard became still.
Ethan continued.