I wanted someone else to hurt for a moment.
Then the office door opened.
Garrett stood there.
Security moved to stop him, but he raised both hands.
“I need to say something,” he said.
I almost told him to leave.
But his face was different now. Not pleading. Not performing. Empty.
“I knew about the debt,” he said. “Obviously. But I didn’t know William investigated me. I didn’t know about the trust. And I swear on Ethan’s grave I never would have touched his money.”
My father’s expression hardened. “You sold your wedding ring.”
Garrett swallowed.
My entire body went still.
“What?”
He looked at me.
“I didn’t take it off for Melissa,” he said. “I sold the original six months ago to cover a payment. The one in the hotel photo was a replacement.”
The room spun.
Another lie.
Small compared to death.
Huge because it proved our whole life had been counterfeit down to the gold on his hand.
“Why are you telling me this now?” I asked.
“Because Vanessa knew things she shouldn’t have known.” Garrett’s voice lowered. “Someone fed her information. About my debt. About your father. Maybe about Ethan’s hospital schedule.”
My father’s eyes sharpened.
“Who?”
Garrett reached into his coat and removed a folded paper.
“A name from Melissa’s messages. I remembered it last night.”
He handed it to Detective Klein, who had followed him in silently.
She unfolded it.
Her face changed.
“What is it?” I asked.
She looked at my father.
“Dr. Andrew Vale.”
My breath stopped.
My brother-in-law.
Garrett’s older brother.
Ethan’s uncle.
A pediatric cardiologist who had visited the hospital two days before Ethan died.
The kind man who brought coffee. Who kissed my forehead. Who told me, “Garrett’s under pressure, Claire. Don’t be too hard on him.”
Detective Klein’s voice was grim.
