Chapter 4: The Sister Who Knew Everything
For three seconds, I couldn't breathe.
My sister.
Ethan had just accused my sister of being involved in a financial disaster that threatened to take our house, and he had done it while standing on the porch where he'd once proposed to me.
"Say that again," I demanded.
Ethan gripped the strap of his watch.
"Claire, I don't have time for this.""
"You're going to make time.""
His eyes darted toward the street. Neighbors were still gathered near the gate, and the security officer remained beside Daniel's SUV. Ethan looked like a man calculating how many witnesses he could afford to have.
"Your sister knows about the investment," he said.
"She helped me arrange it.""
"My sister doesn't know anything about commercial property.""
"She knows more than you think.""
"Then explain it.""
He shook his head.
"Ask Melissa.""
The name struck me harder than it should have.
Melissa.
My younger sister.
The girl who used to climb into my bed during thunderstorms. The woman who had stood beside me at my wedding, crying as I promised Ethan I would love him for the rest of my life.
Melissa had been the first person I'd called when our mother died.
She had held my hand at the funeral and whispered, "It's you and me now, Claire. No matter what happens.""
I'd believed her.
"You're lying," I said.
Ethan's expression hardened.
"You want the truth? Call her.""
He stepped off the porch.
I caught his arm.
"Did you give her money?""
He pulled away.
"Call her.""
Then he walked toward his truck, remembered the keys were somewhere at the bottom of my pool, and swore under his breath.
Daniel watched him go.
"Don't let him leave with those documents," he said.
I looked down at the folder in my hands.
"Why?""
"Because if your signature was forged, those papers may be evidence. And if he knows someone is investigating, he may try to destroy whatever else he has.""
Ethan heard him.
He turned around.
"You have no right to threaten me.""
"I'm not threatening you," Daniel replied.
"I'm telling you that my company's attorneys will be investigating the transfer. If you have a legitimate explanation, you'll have an opportunity to provide it.""
Ethan pointed at me.
"She's my wife. This is a private family matter.""
I took off my wedding ring.
The diamond caught the late afternoon sunlight.
"No," I said.
"It stopped being a private family matter when you used my name to secure a loan you didn't explain to me.""
I placed the ring on the porch railing.
Ethan stared at it.
For the first time, he looked genuinely afraid of losing me.
"Claire, don't do this.""
I went back inside and shut the door.
He knocked twice.
Then his footsteps retreated down the driveway.
I waited until the sound of a passing car drowned out his voice before I took out my phone.
Melissa answered on the fourth ring.
"Hey, stranger!"" she said brightly.
"I was just thinking about you.""
I closed my eyes.
Her voice sounded exactly as it always had. Warm, casual, completely untroubled.
"Where are you?""
"At home. Why?""
"Did you help Ethan arrange a business investment?""
Silence.
Not the ordinary pause of someone trying to remember.
A deliberate silence.
"Claire," she said finally, "what happened?""
"Answer the question.""
"Why are you asking me this?""
"Because Ethan just told me you were involved in a company called Northbridge Property Holdings.""
I heard a faint clatter on her end.
Then Melissa lowered her voice.
"You need to stop asking questions over the phone.""
My fingers tightened around mine.
"What?""
"Claire, please. Just come over tomorrow, and we'll talk.""
"Why tomorrow?""
"Because I'm busy.""
"Are you involved with Northbridge?""
"I didn't say that.""
"Did you receive money from Ethan?""
Another silence.
Then she whispered, "You don't understand what's happening.""
I felt something cold settle in my stomach.
"Then explain it to me.""
"I can't.""
"Can't, or won't?""
"Both, okay?""
The admission landed like a slap.
I leaned against the kitchen counter.
"Melissa, did you know Ethan was having an affair with Brooke?""
Her breath caught.
I stopped moving.
"How did you know that?"" I asked.
"I didn't say I knew.""
"You reacted before I even finished the question.""
"Claire, you're upset. You're making connections that might not be there.""
I laughed bitterly.
"That's funny. Ethan used to say the same thing whenever I caught him lying.""
"Don't bring me into your marriage problems.""
"You brought yourself into my financial problems.""
"Just give me until tomorrow.""
"Why?""
"Because I need to find something.""
"What do you need to find?""
"Please, Claire.""
Her voice cracked.
For a moment, I heard the little girl who used to hide under my blankets during thunderstorms.
Then she said, "If you love me, don't tell Daniel anything else until we talk.""
The call ended.
I stood motionless, staring at my phone.
Daniel was still in the kitchen. He had moved to the far end of the island, speaking quietly with someone from his legal team.
When he finished, he looked at me.
"Your sister?""
I nodded.
"She knows something.""
"Do you trust her?""
I wanted to say yes.
I wanted to say Melissa had always been the one person who would never betray me.
Instead, I said, "I don't know anymore.""
Daniel looked toward the window.
"Then don't confront her alone.""
I turned to him.
"You think she might be dangerous?""
"I think people do unpredictable things when they're afraid of being exposed.""
Before I could respond, my phone vibrated.
A text message had arrived from an unknown number.
There was no greeting.
No explanation.
Just a photograph.
I opened it.
My sister stood outside a restaurant, wearing the cream-colored coat I'd bought her for Christmas. Ethan stood beside her, one hand resting on her lower back.
They weren't kissing.
They didn't need to be.
Their body language carried a familiarity I recognized too well.
The timestamp in the corner read seven months earlier.
The same month Brooke had confessed her affair began.
I enlarged the image.
Melissa was holding a folder.
Ethan was holding a small envelope.
Underneath the photograph, the sender had written six words.
*YOUR SISTER WAS NEVER JUST AN INVESTOR.*
My hands began to shake.
Daniel came around the counter.
"Claire? What is it?""
I handed him the phone.
He studied the image.
Then he looked up at me with an expression I couldn't interpret.
"Do you recognize that restaurant?""
I did.
It was the place where Ethan had taken me for my birthday the previous year.
He'd told me he had spent the afternoon at a property inspection.
I remembered calling Melissa that evening to thank her for the flowers she'd sent.
She had sounded distracted.
She'd said she was exhausted from work.
Now I wondered whether she'd been sitting across a table from my husband while he planned how to use our home.
I took the phone back.
Another message appeared.
*ASK HER ABOUT THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT.*
I looked at Daniel.
"What original document?""
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he pulled a chair out for me.
"There's something I haven't told you yet," he said.
"Before I came here, my attorney sent me a copy of the transaction file.""
He reached into his jacket and took out a folded sheet of paper.
"One of the documents was signed by someone claiming to represent your family trust.""
I stared at him.
"Our family doesn't have a trust.""
Daniel's face changed.
"Claire, who inherited your mother's estate?""
I swallowed.
"Melissa and I did. The house we're standing in was purchased with money from the sale of our mother's property, along with my savings. Ethan and I put both our names on the deed.""
Daniel looked down at the sheet.
"Then you need to see this.""
He laid it on the counter.
At the bottom of the page was a signature.
Claire Bennett.
Mine.
Beside it was a second signature.
Melissa Bennett.
And above both names was a title that made my blood run cold.
*BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP TRANSFER — NORTHBRIDGE PROPERTY HOLDINGS.*
I read the document once.
Then again.
My sister hadn't merely helped Ethan invest money.
Someone had used our names to transfer ownership rights connected to the assets we had inherited from our mother.
And if the document was genuine, Melissa had signed it willingly.
I looked toward the front door where Ethan had disappeared.
Then I looked at the photograph on my phone.
For the first time that afternoon, the betrayal felt bigger than an affair.
My husband had lied to me.
My neighbor had deceived me.
And now I had reason to believe my own sister had helped them both.
But one question remained.
May you like
If Melissa had signed away something that belonged to us, why had someone sent me the photograph now?
And what were they afraid I would discover next?
