Chapter 8 - The Empty BedroomsFor one terrible moment, Edward Montgomery stopped functioning.
That frightened Claire.
He simply stood beside the library table while Rebecca repeated the sentence.
“Jonathan says Daniel arranged for Caroline’s car to be tampered with.”
Edward’s face was blank.
“Arranged?”
“He claims he heard Daniel instruct someone to ‘make sure the car developed a problem.’”
“What kind of problem?”
“He doesn’t know.”
Edward looked toward the window.
Claire knew what he was doing.
Returning to that night.
The rain.
The argument.
Caroline leaving.
A telephone call telling him her car had gone over an embankment.
For three years, Edward had accepted one unbearable explanation.
Now someone was offering him another.
Claire approached slowly.
“Edward.”
He didn’t respond.
Rebecca continued cautiously.
“This is still only a claim. Jonathan is bargaining.”
Edward turned.
“You think he invented it?”
“I think people facing prison say useful things.”
“Caroline wrote that Daniel threatened her.”
“Yes.”
“He stole from the trust.”
“Yes.”
“He forged my signature.”
“Yes.”
“And now his assistant says he sabotaged her car.”
“Former assistant,” Rebecca corrected. “Jonathan worked for Daniel before transferring to you eighteen months ago.”
Claire looked sharply at her.
“You didn’t mention that.”
“I only confirmed it this morning.”
Edward laughed once, bitterly.
“Daniel planted someone in my office.”
Rebecca nodded.
The investigation moved quickly after that.
The police reopened portions of Caroline’s accident file.
A retired mechanic who had inspected the vehicle was contacted.
The original report mentioned brake-fluid loss but attributed it to crash damage.
Now investigators wanted to know whether the leak had begun earlier.
Edward insisted on going to the station.
Claire expected him to demand answers.
Instead, he sat quietly while detectives explained how little could be proven after three years.
That afternoon, he returned home to find Emma sitting on the front steps.
She held another flower.
This one purple.
“Where’s Lily?” he asked.
“Napping.”
He sat beside her.
Emma looked at him.
“Are you sad about Mommy?”
Edward hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Because of the letter?”
“Yes.”
“Did Mommy hate you?”
The question hit him visibly.
Claire stood behind the partially open door and nearly stepped forward.
Edward answered before she could.
“No.”
Emma looked doubtful.
“How do you know?”
“Because she wrote that she loved me.”
“She did?”
“Yes.”
Emma thought about this.
“Even though you fought?”
“Yes.”
“I fight with Lily.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“I still love her.”
Edward smiled faintly.
“So did your mother.”
Emma twisted the flower stem between her fingers.
“I remember the night she left.”
Edward’s entire body went still.
“What do you remember?”
Emma looked toward the garden.
“You were shouting.”
He closed his eyes.
“I know.”
“Mommy cried.”
“I know.”
“She came into my room.”
Edward turned slowly toward her.
“What?”
“She thought I was asleep.”
“You never told me.”
“You never asked.”
The simplicity of it broke something in him.
“What did she do?”
“She sat on my bed.”
Emma’s voice became quieter.
“She said if grown-ups say mean things when they’re angry, it doesn’t mean every mean thing is true.”
Edward looked down.
“She told me you loved me.”
Claire pressed a hand against her mouth.
Emma continued.
“Then she put the letter in the dollhouse.”
“Why?”
“She said if she forgot where she put it, I should remind her tomorrow.”
Edward looked at his daughter.
“And you kept it for three years?”
Emma nodded.
“I forgot.”
Then her eyes filled with guilt.
“I remembered after I heard you talking about the letter.”
Edward put his arm around her.
“You did nothing wrong.”
“What if I remembered sooner?”
“Nothing that happened was your responsibility.”
Claire felt the significance of that sentence.
Edward had spent three years blaming himself.
Now he knew exactly what not to put on his daughter.
Emma leaned against him.
“Did Uncle Daniel hurt Mommy?”
Edward took a long time to answer.
“I don’t know.”
“Do you think he did?”
“I think he may have.”
“Are you going to hurt him?”
Edward looked toward the driveway.
Then toward Claire.
He had once seemed like the kind of man who would answer that question with revenge.
Instead he said, “No.”
Emma looked up.
“Why?”
“Because hurting someone isn’t the same as getting justice.”
Claire knew the sentence cost him something.
That evening, police called.
They had located the mechanic who serviced Caroline’s car two days before the crash.
He remembered the vehicle because Daniel Montgomery had personally picked it up.
Edward stared at Rebecca.
“Daniel?”
The mechanic confirmed it.
Caroline had asked Daniel to drop the car at the dealership because she was busy with the children.
Daniel collected it afterward.
Twenty-four hours later, Caroline drove it in heavy rain.
The brake line failed.
Still not proof.
But enough to deepen suspicion.
Then came another discovery.
The dealership retained digital service notes longer than expected.
One technician had written:
Customer representative requested access to vehicle after inspection. Said he left important documents inside.
The time stamp showed Daniel alone with Caroline’s car for eleven minutes.
Edward read the note three times.
Then he walked outside.
Claire found him behind the guest house.
He was standing beneath an oak tree with both hands in his pockets.
“You should be inside,” she said.
“So should you.”
“Emma asked me to find you.”
He looked toward the mansion.
“I spent three years thinking I killed Caroline.”
“You didn’t.”
“I drove her out of the house.”
“That isn’t the same thing.”
“I know.”
“You don’t sound like you know.”
He turned.
“If I hadn’t fought with her—”
“Then maybe she would have driven somewhere the next morning.”
“But she didn’t.”
“No.”
Claire stepped closer.
“You said terrible things.”
“Yes.”
“You failed her that night.”
His face tightened.
“Yes.”
“But if Daniel sabotaged that car, then Daniel made his own decision.”
Edward said nothing.
“You are allowed to regret what you did without claiming responsibility for what someone else did.”
He looked at her.
“How did you become so wise?”
“I’m a nanny. Small children force you to become a philosopher or lose your mind.”
A tiny smile appeared.
Then vanished.
Edward stared toward the house.
“I almost fired you permanently.”
“You did fire me.”
“I corrected it.”
“After two screaming children publicly exposed your emotional dysfunction.”
He laughed.
That sound was becoming less rare.
Then Claire’s phone rang.
Mrs. Alvarez.
Claire answered.
“Yes?”
Her expression changed.
“We’re coming.”
She ended the call.
Edward straightened.
“What?”
“Emma found something else.”
They rushed inside.
Emma stood beside Caroline’s old dollhouse.
One wall had been removed.
Behind it was a narrow compartment.
Inside lay a small flash drive.
Edward stared.
Claire whispered, “Caroline didn’t trust a single copy.”
He picked it up.
They took it directly to Rebecca.
The drive contained financial records.
Emails.
Trust statements.
Photographs of documents.
And one audio file.
The recording was dated three days before Caroline died.
Edward clicked play.
Caroline’s voice filled the room.
“Daniel, I know about the money.”
A man answered.
Daniel.
“You have no idea what you’re looking at.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“You tell Edward and you destroy this family.”
“No. You did that.”
A chair scraped.
Then Daniel’s voice became colder.
“You think my brother will believe you?”
“He will when he sees the records.”
“He barely believes you’re capable of getting through a week without falling apart.”
Edward shut his eyes.
The recording continued.
Caroline said, “Get out.”
Daniel answered quietly.
“You should be careful driving when you’re upset.”
The audio ended.
Nobody moved.
Rebecca was the first to speak.
“That changes things.”
Edward stared at the computer.
“Send it to the police.”
“I will.”
“No deals.”
“What?”
“For Daniel.”
Edward’s voice hardened.
“No family protection. No private settlement. No quiet resignation.”
He looked toward Caroline’s photograph.
“If he did this, he answers for it.”
Rebecca nodded.
Then Edward looked at Claire.
“What?”
She smiled faintly.
“Nothing.”
“Claire.”
“For once, I have nothing to correct.”
He almost smiled.
Then the doorbell rang.
A uniformed officer entered minutes later.
He spoke quietly with Rebecca.
Her expression became serious.
Edward approached.
“What happened?”
The officer turned.
“Mr. Montgomery, we located your brother.”
“Where?”
“At a private airfield.”
Edward’s jaw tightened.
“Trying to leave?”
“Yes.”
“Did you arrest him?”
The officer hesitated.
“We intended to.”
Edward’s stomach dropped.
“What does that mean?”
The officer glanced at Claire.
Then back to Edward.
“Your brother isn’t alone.”
“Who is with him?”
The answer made Claire’s blood run cold.
“Your daughters.”
May you like
Edward turned toward the staircase.
Emma and Lily’s rooms were empty.
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