Chapter 5 - NINE MONTHSThe note changed everything.
Reyes immediately treated it as a potential criminal plan.
I couldn't stop staring at the paper.
NOAH MUST NOT MAKE IT TO NINE MONTHS.
My son was eight months old.
Nine months was less than a month away.
My hands began to shake.
"What happens at nine months?"
Reyes shook his head.
"We don't know."
"Then find out."
He already had people working on it.
Bank records were subpoenaed.
Medical documents were collected.
Claire's phone was being examined.
The hospital increased security around Noah.
But the question followed me everywhere.
Why nine months?
The answer finally came from Claire's mother.
Evelyn Hart.
She agreed to speak with detectives.
She arrived at the station looking exhausted.
I had known her for years.
She hugged me once.
Then stepped back.
"I should have told you."
I almost couldn't hear her.
"Told me what?"
She sat down.
"Claire has been asking questions."
"What kind?"
"About Noah's trust."
My stomach sank.
"How long?"
"Since before he was born."
"Why?"
Evelyn looked at the table.
"She said she needed financial security."
"She already had that."
"Not enough."
"Why not?"
Evelyn didn't answer.
Reyes leaned forward.
"Mrs. Hart, please."
She finally looked up.
"Claire had debts."
"How much?"
"I don't know."
"Who does she owe?"
"I don't know."
"Then what do you know?"
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
"She used to talk about insurance."
The room went silent.
"What kind of insurance?"
"Life insurance."
For the first time, I understood what the number nine might mean.
But I couldn't accept it.
"Did Claire ever tell you she wanted Noah dead?"
"No!"
Evelyn shook her head violently.
"She loved him."
Reyes looked at her.
"Does she?"
Evelyn stared at the floor.
"I don't know."
That answer broke something inside me.
When I returned to the hospital, Noah was awake.
He saw me and reached out.
I touched his tiny palm.
"I'm here."
His fingers closed around mine.
I promised him silently that I would never leave him alone again.
Later that night, I learned Claire had been moved from the hospital into police custody for questioning.
She refused to answer most questions.
But when detectives asked about the note, she became angry.
She demanded a lawyer.
Then she said one sentence.
"My son is being used against me."
Reyes told me.
I didn't understand.
"Used against her?"
"That's what she said."
"Used by whom?"
"She wouldn't say."
At 1:00 a.m., my phone rang.
Evelyn.
I answered.
"Your wife isn't the only person involved."
My entire body went still.
"What do you mean?"
"I found something in Claire's old apartment."
"Where?"
"Storage room."
"What?"
"A box."
"What was inside?"
She hesitated.
"Photographs."
"Of Noah?"
"Yes."
My stomach tightened.
"What kind?"
"I don't know how to explain."
"Try."
"They were taken when no one else was around."
"By Claire?"
"I think so."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"Send them to me."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because one picture has another person in it."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Then show me."
Silence.
Finally she whispered:
"The man standing behind Claire."
My heart stopped.
"Can you describe him?"
"I don't need to."
"Why?"
"Because I know who he is."
I sat down.
"Who?"
She whispered a name.
A name I hadn't heard in ten years.
My older brother.
May you like
Ethan.
The brother everyone believed was dead.
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