Chapter 4 - Claire’s Missing Letter
Ethan opened the envelope.
Corinne sank onto the sofa.
The letter began simply.
Ethan,
If you’re reading this, something went wrong before I could explain it myself.
His hands started shaking.
Claire had written it six weeks before her death.
She described repeated problems with confidential files.
Documents moved.
Passwords reset.
Copies appearing where they shouldn’t.
Then one name.
Corinne.
Claire had discovered Corinne accessing records connected to the properties Claire inherited.
Ethan looked up.
“You went through her files.”
Corinne shook her head.
“I worked for your company.”
“These weren’t company files.”
Nathan interrupted.
“Ethan, Claire made accusations she couldn’t prove.”
“You’ve read the letter?”
Nathan stopped.
Ethan’s voice sharpened.
“You said you didn’t know about it.”
Nobody answered.
Ethan kept reading.
Claire did not accuse Corinne of causing her death.
There was no dramatic murder confession.
No impossible revelation.
Something more believable—and more painful—was written there.
Claire believed Corinne and Nathan were trying to learn enough about her estate to profit if control ever changed.
She had confronted Corinne.
Corinne denied everything.
Claire changed passwords.
Hired Daniel.
Created Maisie’s trust.
Then added the exclusion clause.
At the bottom:
If I’m wrong, I’ve offended someone.
If I’m right, Maisie is protected.
Ethan lowered the letter.
“She knew.”
Corinne stood.
“She suspected.”
“She protected Maisie from you.”
“Because she hated me.”
“No.”
Ethan’s voice became strangely calm.
“Because you were snooping through her finances.”
Nathan stepped toward him.
“You need to understand the timeline.”
Daniel immediately blocked him.
“Then explain it.”
Nathan exhaled.
He finally admitted Corinne had asked him about Claire’s properties.
But supposedly only because Corinne believed Ethan was being financially excluded from his own marriage.
Ethan stared.
“That was none of your business.”
“I know that now.”
“No. You knew it then.”
Nathan looked down.
Then Ethan asked the question nobody wanted.
“Who forged Claire’s signature?”
Corinne began crying.
Nathan said nothing.
Ethan repeated:
“Who?”
Nathan finally whispered:
“I prepared the amendment.”
Ethan’s face went still.
Corinne stared at her brother.
“You said—”
“Enough.”
Nathan sounded exhausted.
“I drafted it. I didn’t file it.”
Daniel asked:
“Who requested it?”
Nathan looked at Corinne.
She stood perfectly still.
Ethan understood.
“My wife.”
Corinne shook her head.
“It wasn’t supposed to steal anything.”
“Then what was it supposed to do?”
“Protect Maisie.”
“By giving your brother control?”
“I thought you were falling apart!”
Ethan froze.
Corinne continued.
“After Claire died, you barely slept. You missed work. You forgot appointments. You couldn’t even walk into Maisie’s nursery without crying.”
Every word was true.
That was what made the manipulation uglier.
She had used his grief as justification.
Then Nathan said:
“There’s more.”
Corinne spun toward him.
“No.”
Nathan ignored her.
“The amendment wasn’t the first document.”
Ethan stared.
“What was?”
Nathan reached into his briefcase.
A photocopy.
Older than Claire’s death.
A proposed guardianship declaration.
If Ethan became unable to care for Maisie, temporary guardianship would go to—
Corinne.
But Claire’s signature on that document had already been questioned before she died.
Meaning Claire had discovered the scheme while she was still alive.
And according to Nathan—
May you like
she had confronted Corinne about it face-to-face.
👉 Claire had caught the first questionable document before her death—and what happened during her private confrontation with Corinne would explain why Corinne was terrified of Maisie remembering anything.
