Chapter 8 - THE HUSBAND WHO SIGNED WITHOUT READING
Ethan had given Elliot access to Carter Holdings' private security records.
At Victoria's request.
The night before my father died.
I sat perfectly still.
"What records?"
His breathing was uneven.
"Vehicle schedules. Security assignments. Certain private travel logs."
My chest tightened.
"Did that include my father's movements?"
"I didn't know Robert was being monitored."
"That wasn't my question."
A pause.
"The system could have included information about his meetings at our offices."
I closed my eyes.
"Ethan."
"I know."
"You signed something because Victoria asked you to?"
"She said Elliot needed access for an urgent insurance and venue-security review."
"And you didn't check?"
He sounded broken.
"No."
I stared at Dad's photograph.
Seven months of choosing Victoria.
Seven months of dismissing my concerns.
And now a signature that might have helped dangerous people monitor my father.
"Ethan, do you understand what you've done?"
His voice cracked.
"I'm beginning to."
I felt tears rise.
"That's the problem."
He didn't answer.
"You're only beginning to understand after Dad is gone."
I ended the call.
The next morning, Ethan asked to meet Rachel and Samuel.
I didn't attend.
I wasn't ready.
But his attorney provided relevant company access records to investigators.
Ethan also agreed to cooperate with the independent audit.
For the first time, he was doing something useful without asking me to forgive him first.
Meanwhile, Rebecca discovered additional evidence.
Elliot had accessed internal records concerning several meetings involving Robert.
There were also communications between Elliot and Victoria around the time of the crash.
Some messages had been deleted.
Investigators were attempting to recover them.
Then a surprising development occurred.
Thomas Keene, the driver who struck our car, asked to speak with the detective handling the case.
He had survived the collision.
For weeks, he'd been recovering from injuries and struggling to remember the moments before the crash.
Now he wanted to make a statement.
According to the detective, Thomas had been hired to deliver documents across Chicago.
He wasn't supposed to meet my father.
He wasn't even supposed to travel through that intersection.
But someone had changed his route through a dispatch message.
Shortly before the collision, he experienced a sudden failure in the vehicle's controls.
He tried to brake.
He couldn't slow down in time.
Then he crashed into us.
When Samuel told me, I felt sick.
Thomas hadn't necessarily been trying to hurt anyone.
He might have been used.
Just like my father.
Just like everyone else whose lives had been treated as disposable.
I asked Samuel whether I could receive updates about Thomas's condition through the appropriate channels.
He nodded.
"He's recovering."
I exhaled.
At least one part of that night might have a different ending.
Then Rebecca called with another discovery.
She had identified an unusual pattern in Victoria's schedule.
Every time my father arranged a meeting with an attorney or accountant, Victoria created an urgent personal crisis requiring Ethan's attention.
A rehearsal emergency.
A medical appointment.
A public argument.
A sudden trip.
I stared at the dates.
The timing was too consistent to ignore.
"She was distracting him."
Rebecca nodded.
"That's one possible explanation."
I thought about the backstage photograph.
Victoria crying.
Ethan beside her.
His expensive black coat draped across her shoulders.
The very image that had broken my heart while my father lay dying.
Then Rebecca enlarged the original photo.
Something caught my eye.
Victoria's phone screen.
She had been holding it when the picture was taken.
A message preview appeared.
The text was partially visible.
Rebecca used the original high-resolution file to examine it.
We could make out four words.
ROBERT'S CAR IS IN POSITION.
May you like
And the sender's name was clearly displayed.
ELLIOT CRANE.
