Chapter 13 - A DEATH REOPENED
Arthur did not sleep.
At sunrise, he called the hospital and requested every surviving record from Claire's final week.
He told himself not to imagine murder.
He imagined it anyway.
The records showed Claire's pain medication had been changed by her oncologist for legitimate reasons. No poison. No mystery injection. No dramatic crime hidden in a syringe.
Arthur should have felt relief.
Instead, he found something else.
A visitor log showed Graham Pike had entered Claire's private room twice without Arthur present. The second time, Elena Marlow had signed in as "legal assistant."
Maria read the page. "They were trying to get her signature."
Daniel compared the date with the trust archive. "And two days later, Graham filed a draft amendment claiming Claire wanted to remove the outside-trustee requirement. She never executed it."
"So when Claire wouldn't sign," Arthur said, "they waited for her to die."
"Then waited for you to become vulnerable," Maria added.
Arthur thought of the charity gala. Elena had laughed at his bad joke, asked about Lucas, listened when he talked about grief. Every gentle moment now felt rehearsed.
His phone rang.
Graham Pike.
Arthur put it on speaker.
"You need to stop," Graham said.
"Stop what? Finding out who my wife really is?"
"You're going to destroy your company."
"You did that."
Graham's voice sharpened. "Claire understood that Vance needed a merger. She was sentimental. You were sentimental. Elena was practical."
Maria whispered, "Keep him talking."
Arthur said, "Did Elena marry me for Lucas's shares?"
A pause.
Then Graham answered, "At first."
Arthur went still.
"At first?"
Graham exhaled. "She wasn't supposed to fall in love with the life. That made her sloppy."
Then a crashing sound came through the phone.
Graham shouted at someone.
The line went dead.
May you like
Five minutes later, police called.
Graham Pike's car had been found abandoned beside the river.
