Chapter 9 - WHAT CLAIRE SAW
Claire had been fourteen the night Charles Hale died.
She wasn't supposed to be awake.
Sometime after midnight, she heard voices in the garage.
Her father was arguing with Margaret.
"You moved money without authorization," Charles said.
Margaret answered, "It's family money."
"It's foundation money. There's a difference."
Claire crept halfway down the stairs.
She saw Raymond Pike beside her father's car.
He closed the hood when he noticed her.
Margaret looked up.
Their eyes met.
"Go back to bed," Margaret said.
Claire obeyed.
The next morning, Charles was dead.
"I buried that memory," Claire whispered. "I told myself Raymond had been repairing something. Mom told everyone Dad left early for a meeting."
Ethan looked physically ill.
Ruiz asked Claire to repeat everything on record.
For the first time, the investigation widened beyond Ava.
Raymond Pike became the center of a manhunt.
He had moved twice in six months and recently emptied a bank account containing forty-eight thousand dollars.
Maya uncovered another connection.
The account had received regular transfers from a consulting company called Marlowe Strategies.
The company existed on paper only.
Its registered agent was Victor Lane.
Ava sat very still as the pieces connected.
"Margaret paid Raymond through Victor."
"We need bank records to prove it," Maya said.
Ethan's phone rang.
Unknown number.
Ruiz signaled him to answer on speaker.
A man's voice came through, rough and strained.
"You want to know what happened to your wife?"
Ethan's jaw tightened. "Raymond?"
A short laugh.
"Your mother wants me dead now. So maybe we're finally on the same side."
Ruiz motioned for Ethan to keep him talking.
"Tell me where you are."
"No. But I'll give you something better."
The man coughed.
"Your wife's crash wasn't supposed to kill her."
Ava felt ice spread through her chest.
"What was it supposed to do?" Ethan asked.
Raymond answered without hesitation.
May you like
"Scare her into signing the trust."
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