Chapter 2 - The Phone Call at 10:17 P.M.
The drive away from the Whitmore mansion was silent for the first twelve minutes.
Ethan kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other wrapped around mine. Lily sat in her booster seat, hugging her stuffed rabbit, occasionally looking at us through the rearview mirror.
“Mommy?” she finally whispered.
I turned around.
“I'm here, sweetheart.”
“Did Grandma get mad because I was bad?”
My chest tightened.
“No, baby. You didn't do anything wrong.”
“Then why did she say I was trash?”
Ethan pulled the car into an empty parking lot.
He unbuckled himself, turned around, and looked directly at our daughter.
“Listen to me, Lily. Grandma was wrong. You're the most precious thing in my life. Nobody gets to make you feel small. Not even family.”
Lily nodded, although I could tell she didn't completely understand.
When she finally looked away, Ethan faced me.
“Let me see your cheek.”
“It's fine.”
“Claire.”
I turned toward the dashboard light.
His jaw tightened when he saw the swelling.
“I should have stopped her before the first slap.”
“You did stop her eventually.”
“Eventually isn't good enough.”
I didn't answer.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Marcus Reed, the chief operating officer of Whitmore Holdings.
Claire, the incident report has been submitted. Security footage is secured. Legal is ready whenever you are.
I stared at the screen.
Ethan noticed.
“Your team?”
“Yes.”
He looked out the windshield.
“Dad called me before we left. He said he was going to talk to her.”
“Your father has been talking to her for thirty-five years.”
“This time might be different.”
I wanted to believe him.
But I had learned that believing someone and trusting them were two entirely different things.
Two hours after leaving the mansion, Ethan's phone rang.
His father's name appeared.
He answered immediately.
“Dad?”
I heard Robert Whitmore's voice, strained and breathless.
“Your mother just found out.”
Ethan straightened.
“Found out what?”
“That Claire owns the house. The whole thing. She finally read the paperwork.”
I closed my eyes.
For months, I had asked Robert to review the occupancy agreement with Diane. He had insisted she understood the arrangement.
Apparently, she had never bothered reading it.
“What did she say?” Ethan asked.
Robert exhaled.
“She called me a liar. Then she demanded I explain how a woman she considers beneath her could own the house she lives in.”
Ethan almost laughed.
“Tell her the truth.”
“I did. She says Claire manipulated the company.”
I took the phone.
“Robert, I didn't manipulate anything. Whitmore Holdings purchased the property through a subsidiary three years ago. The agreement was signed voluntarily.”
“I know, Claire. I was there.”
“Then you know the consequences.”
A long silence followed.
Finally, Robert said, “There's something else you need to know.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“Vanessa called your mother-in-law tonight. She's telling Diane that the company is about to collapse and that you've been secretly selling family assets.”
“That makes no sense.”
“I know. But your mother believes her.”
Ethan rubbed his forehead.
“Dad, why would Vanessa say that?”
Robert's answer came quietly.
“Because she needs money. And I think she believes the house is the only thing keeping her from losing everything.”
I looked at the sleeping child in the back seat.
Then at my husband.
“Robert, I want a copy of every document Vanessa has signed with the company.”
“Claire, I can get those.”
“Tonight.”
He hesitated.
“There's one more thing.”
“What?”
“Your mother-in-law wasn't just angry about the house. She found a document in my office. A document she wasn't supposed to see.”
“What document?”
Robert lowered his voice.
“The original acquisition file. It contains the name of the person who funded the purchase.”
I frowned.
“That's not a secret. My investment firm did.”
“No,” he said. “Not the entire amount.”
Before I could ask another question, the call disconnected.
Ethan looked at me.
“What does he mean?”
“I don't know.”
But I had a bad feeling.
Because the house was never supposed to be the center of this family war.
May you like
It was only the first thing Diane had lost.
And somewhere inside that mansion was a document that could change everything we thought we knew.
