Chapter 7 - THE SECOND RECORDING
The investigators found Martin Blake's office computer, two encrypted phones, and a storage unit rented under a false name. The contents connected him to the staged crash, the false medical report, and the transfer of company funds.
But the most important discovery came from a second recording on Ethan's USB drive.
It was only thirty-eight seconds long.
The camera had been placed near the vent in the hidden room. At first, the video showed nothing but a strip of carpet and the lower half of a cabinet. Then Claire entered, followed by Martin.
“Once the board approves the sale, we move the money,” Martin said. “But what about Adrian?”
Claire answered, “He'll be declared unfit. The doctor will support it.”
“And the boy?”
A pause.
“He heard us. He knows too much.”
Martin lowered his voice. “You said you were going to send him away.”
“I said that before he started recording.”
The clip ended.
Detective Alvarez watched it twice.
“She's discussing a plan to have you declared mentally incompetent,” she said. “We need to locate the doctor.”
I recognized the name in the medical records: Dr. Leonard Pierce. He had prescribed the medication Claire gave me after the funeral. He had also signed the report stating that Ethan's remains were identified.
Alvarez found him at a private clinic outside the city.
At first, he denied everything. Then the investigators showed him the financial records. Payments had been made to a consulting company owned by his brother. He admitted that he had signed the death report without seeing the remains and had falsified my mental health assessment.
“Did Claire tell you Ethan was alive?” Alvarez asked.
Pierce looked down.
“Yes.”
“Did you know he was confined?”
“I was told he was being kept in a secure room until the company transaction was complete.”
“Did you examine him?”
“No.”
The admission was recorded.
When Alvarez told me, I had to sit down.
A doctor had helped make my son disappear on paper. A man entrusted with protecting children had signed a lie that allowed a child to remain hidden.
The prosecutor prepared additional charges.
That night, Ethan woke from a nightmare. I found him sitting upright, gripping the blanket.
“She's coming,” he whispered.
I turned on the bedside lamp.
“No one is coming in here.”
“She knows where we are.”
“The people protecting us know where she is. She cannot come near you.”
He shook his head.
“She used to say the wall was my home.”
I sat beside him.
“Your home is wherever you feel safe. It doesn't have to be this apartment. It doesn't have to be the old house.”
He looked at the door.
“Can you leave the light on?”
“Of course.”
“And stay until I sleep?”
“I'll stay as long as you need.”
He leaned against me. After a while, his breathing slowed.
I remained beside him long after he fell asleep.
In the morning, I called Samuel and told him I wanted the old house sold. I would not let the wall remain a monument to what had happened.
Samuel agreed to arrange it, but suggested we wait until the criminal investigation was complete.
I understood.
For now, I focused on Ethan's recovery, his school lessons, and the small steps that made ordinary life possible again.
We bought a night-light shaped like a moon.
May you like
We planted a tree in a pot on the balcony.
And we made a rule: every door in our home would open from the inside.
