Chapter 5 - The First Grab
Ethan’s hand moved faster than his face.
He grabbed for the phone.
I jerked it against my chest.
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
“Claire, don’t make this worse.”
I laughed once. It sounded ugly even to me. “Worse than you watching your mother push your pregnant wife down the stairs?”
His eyes went flat.
“Keep your voice down.”
“No.”
He leaned closer. “You don’t understand what you saw.”
“I understand a nod.”
He reached again.
This time I shouted, “Nurse!”
Renee came through the door almost immediately.
Ethan straightened.
“My wife is upset,” he said.
Renee looked at his hand still hovering over my bed. “Then give her space.”
He smiled at her. “This is a family matter.”
“This is a hospital room. Step back.”
He did.
Barely.
My phone rang. Lena.
Renee stayed while I answered.
“Claire,” Lena said, no greeting, “I need you to listen carefully. I watched the video. I also had one of my associates pull the court docket and public filings connected to Carver.”
“What did you find?”
“Enough that you should not sign anything. He prepared documents before your fall.”
My stomach tightened.
“How do you know?”
“The PDF metadata on one draft you photographed is dated three days ago.”
I looked at Ethan.
His face changed.
Lena heard my silence. “Is he there?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m not telling you the rest until he leaves.”
Ethan stood.
“I’m her husband. You can tell me anything you tell her.”
Lena’s voice turned cold. “No, Mr. Bennett. I cannot.”
He walked to the door, then looked back at me.
“You’re choosing outsiders over your family.”
I touched my stomach.
“No. I’m choosing my daughter.”
He left.
Renee locked the door behind him.
Lena exhaled.
“Good. Now open the last page of Carver’s packet.”
I did.
Near the bottom was a sentence I had missed.
May you like
It mentioned a trust.
My unborn daughter’s trust.
