Chapter 10 - THE FOURTH REFLECTION
We enlarged the reflection until the image turned grainy.
Dark suit.
White shirt.
Silver watch.
Male.
The face remained blurred by sunlight.
Ryan stared at the screen.
“That could be anyone.”
Then I saw the cuff links.
Rectangular black onyx framed in silver.
I knew them.
I had given them to Graham Pike for his sixtieth birthday.
Our family attorney.
The man helping us freeze Lily’s trust.
The man who had acted shocked by every new discovery.
Detective Brooks said nothing until she confirmed Graham had been at the villa that afternoon.
He had.
Wedding paperwork.
Prenuptial documents.
Vendor contracts.
When she asked Graham to come in for an interview, he arrived voluntarily.
He looked at the enlarged image.
“That’s probably me.”
“Probably?”
“I was at the house.”
“Did you see Claire enter the service corridor?”
He hesitated.
“No.”
“Then what were you doing there?”
“Taking a call.”
Brooks placed the timestamp in front of him.
“Your phone records show no call.”
Graham’s face tightened.
He recovered quickly.
“I may have been checking email.”
Claire joined by video from the hospital.
The moment Graham appeared on-screen, her expression changed.
“You were there.”
He looked toward her.
“I was somewhere in the house.”
“No. I saw you.”
“Claire, you were sedated.”
“You were standing by the study.”
Graham’s attorney interrupted.
“My client isn’t answering speculation based on impaired memory.”
Claire leaned closer to the screen.
“You asked Vanessa if I had signed anything.”
Graham went still.
That was not proof.
But it was a crack.
Brooks ended the interview before Graham could build a better explanation.
Outside the station, I called my mother.
“Did Graham know about the transfer?”
“He prepared some documents.”
“What documents?”
“The investment authorization.”
My throat tightened.
“You told me Vanessa prepared it.”
“She brought it to me.”
“And Graham?”
“He notarized the supporting pages.”
A twenty-three-year family relationship suddenly looked different.
Graham had not merely witnessed something near the hallway.
He had touched the financial transaction that started everything.
That afternoon, his office sent me an email.
He was withdrawing as Bennett family counsel due to “potential conflicts.”
Attached was one final document.
A letter signed by Claire.
It stated that she intended to challenge my custody of Lily.
Claire stared at the signature.
“That isn’t mine.”
I looked at the date.
It had been notarized by Graham Pike.
May you like
Six hours after Claire had been locked beneath my floor.
📖 Graham’s forged document threatened my family, but Claire remembered a conversation that would finally explain why Vanessa needed her silenced before the wedding. 👇
