Chapter 6 - Daniel’s Other Email
The email account had been created fourteen months earlier.
daniel.carter.private@—
It looked legitimate.
Daniel had dozens of corporate addresses.
Most people wouldn’t question another.
The messages were carefully written.
I have doubts about Noah.
Claire won’t discuss the timing.
I’m considering testing privately.
Samuel frowned.
“These predate Claire’s death.”
Daniel felt sick.
“My mother was building this while Claire was alive.”
The emails had been sent to a private investigator.
A lawyer.
And eventually a laboratory.
That was how Margaret created the appearance that Daniel had questioned Noah’s paternity long before the trust dispute.
But she made one mistake.
The login records.
Most access originated from the Carter mansion.
Specifically, the office suite Margaret used.
One message had been sent while Daniel was in Chicago giving a keynote address onstage.
Another while he and Claire were vacationing in Vermont.
A third while Daniel was literally inside a board meeting recorded on corporate video.
He could not have written them.
Samuel sat back.
“She created a documentary trail.”
“To challenge Noah?”
“Yes.”
Daniel stared toward the window.
“And Claire knew?”
“We don’t know.”
Daniel thought back to the months before Claire died.
She had been quieter around Margaret.
More defensive.
Once she asked:
“If something happened to me, would you let your mother raise Noah?”
Daniel had laughed.
“What kind of question is that?”
Claire hadn’t laughed.
He hated remembering that now.
He opened Claire’s old phone backup.
Messages.
Photos.
Voice notes.
Nothing obvious.
Then he searched Margaret.
Hundreds of texts appeared.
Most ordinary.
One stopped him.
Margaret:
You should tell Daniel before someone else does.
Claire:
There is nothing to tell.
Margaret:
Then take the test.
Claire:
No. I will not let you turn my baby into evidence.
Daniel stopped breathing.
Another message.
Margaret:
Henry made a mistake.
Claire:
Then argue with Henry. Leave Noah out of it.
Daniel stared.
Claire knew about the trust.
At least part of it.
And she knew Margaret was trying to challenge Noah’s place.
Daniel felt betrayed for half a second.
Then ashamed.
Claire had been protecting him while his father was dying.
While they had a newborn.
While Margaret pressured her.
She had carried it alone.
Then Daniel found the final message Claire sent Margaret.
Three weeks before her death.
If you threaten my son again, I will tell Daniel everything.
Margaret never replied.
May you like
Daniel whispered:
“What did you threaten her with?”
