Chapter 6: The Woman Victor Never Expected
Claire Reed arrived at Rachel’s office wearing dark glasses.
She removed them only after the blinds were closed.
“You’re Victor’s wife?” I asked.
“Not for much longer.”
“Why did Lily call you Aunt Claire?”
“Because I visited her until Victor forbade it.”
Claire placed a padded envelope on the desk.
“Daniel mailed this to me six weeks before he went into the hospital.
He said to open it if Victor ever tried to take Lily.”
Inside was an old phone and a note containing four numbers.
Rachel held up the brass key.
“Are these the access numbers for Box 214?”
Claire nodded.
“Victor searched Daniel’s house after the funeral.
He didn’t know Daniel had changed banks.”
“Why are you helping me?”
Claire’s hands tightened around her glasses.
“Because Victor made me lie about Peter.”
I pushed my chair back.
“What did you say?”
“He told the insurance company Peter had been drinking at a business dinner.
Peter hadn’t touched a drop.”
“You let them blame my husband?”
“I was afraid.”
“So was Daniel.
Everyone was afraid except the two people who paid for it.”
Claire did not defend herself.
“You’re right.”
Her answer took the anger out of the room more effectively than an excuse would have.
“What changed?” I asked.
“Victor brought Lily to my apartment last night.
She stood in my kitchen and said, ‘If you know my dad was scared, why are you still helping the man who scared him?’”
Claire wiped her cheek.
“A seven-year-old asked me the question I had avoided for years.”
At Union Trust, Rachel presented the court order allowing us to preserve possible evidence.
A bank manager led us to a private room and set Box 214 on the table.
“Mrs.
Reed, you may open it.”
The key turned with a hard click.
Inside were three ledgers, a memory card, a voice recorder, and a sealed letter addressed to Lily.
Rachel photographed each item before placing it into evidence bags.
Claire inserted the memory card into a laptop.
The screen showed Victor entering a garage at 10:43 p.m.
He looked toward the camera, opened Peter’s car hood, and remained there for eleven minutes.
“That’s him,” I said.
Claire pointed to a figure entering twenty minutes later.
“And that’s Daniel.”
The video showed Daniel looking beneath the hood.
Then he stared directly at the camera and removed the recording card.
“He knew,” I whispered.
“After Victor had already left,” Rachel said.
A shadow crossed the frosted glass behind us.
The door opened, and Victor walked in.
“You always were weak, Claire.”
The bank manager reached for the telephone.
“Sir, you cannot be in this room.”
Victor ignored him.
“Anna, I’ll pay you two hundred thousand dollars.
Give me the card and take Lily somewhere else.”
“You tried to take her from me this morning.”
“I needed leverage.”
“She is a child, not leverage.”
Victor looked at Claire.
“And what did she tell you?
That she’s brave now?”
Claire stood.
“I told her I lied for you.”
“You enjoyed the house, the vacations, and the money.”
“I’ll testify to all of it.”
Victor reached across the table and seized the nearest evidence envelope.
The manager pressed the security button as Victor ran into the corridor.
“Let him go,” Rachel said.
I stared at her.
“He took the memory card!”
“No.” Rachel opened her hand.
The real card lay in her palm.
“He took a copy of Daniel’s hospital menu.”
The security guards stopped Victor near the exit.
He tore the envelope open and found the folded menu inside.
“This proves nothing!” he shouted across the lobby.
Rachel turned back to the laptop.
“There’s another file.”
She pressed play.
May you like
Daniel appeared on the screen, his face pale and exhausted.
“Anna,” he said, “the video isn’t the worst thing I left for you.”
