Part 3

Two detectives stood at my door.

Vivian’s hand flew to her pearls.

Derek stepped back so fast he hit the wall.

“Mrs. Hale?” one detective asked.

I nodded. “Come in.”

Vivian turned on me, her polish replaced by venom. “You planned this.”

“No,” I said. “Samuel did. I just finished it.”

Detective Rowe looked at Derek. “Derek Hale, we have questions regarding financial fraud, forged authorization documents, and the circumstances surrounding Samuel Hale’s death.”

Derek’s face went blank. “I didn’t k:ill him.”

No one had said k:ill.

Vivian closed her eyes.

That was her second mistake.

Mara placed the second folder on the table. “You may also want this. Emails between Derek Hale and Vivian Hale discussing pressure on Samuel to transfer ownership before the baby was born.”

Vivian snapped, “Those were private.”

The detective met her gaze. “Not anymore.”

Derek pointed at his mother. “She told me Samuel would forgive us. She said Claire was weak. She said once the baby came, everything would be locked away.”

Vivian slapped him.

The crack echoed through the room.

My son cried from the nursery.

Every head turned.

For a moment, everything inside me burned. They had buried my husband, abandoned me in labor, stolen from him, circled my child like predators, and still believed they could talk their way out.

I walked to the nursery, lifted Elias, and held him close.

When I returned, Vivian stared at him with desperate longing.

“Claire,” she whispered, suddenly gentle. “Please. Let me hold him. Samuel was my son.”