Ethan erstarrte und starrte auf seine Hand, als könne er nicht fassen, was er getan hatte. Brooke drehte sich langsam zu ihm um. Überraschung stand ihr ins Gesicht geschrieben. Doch darunter verbarg sich noch etwas anderes: reine Angst.
Dann lief das wiederhergestellte Überwachungsvideo weiter.
Ethan sah wieder auf sein Handy. Brooke war in jener Nacht nicht allein gewesen. Wenige Sekunden später betrat eine weitere Person das Büro. Eine ältere Frau. Sie schloss die Tür behutsam hinter sich, ging auf Brooke zu und legte einen Stapel Papiere neben Claires Laptop.
Ethan zoomte heran. Claire hörte, wie er tief und schmerzhaft durchatmete.
Am anderen Ende des Tisches stand Evelyn Mercer völlig regungslos. Denn die zweite Frau auf der Aufnahme war Ethans und Brookes eigene Mutter.
The silence in the room was now so thick that one could hear the ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway.
“Mother?” Ethan whispered. His voice broke. “Why… why were you in our house?”
Evelyn took her hand away from her mouth, but her lips trembled uncontrollably. “Ethan, my boy… you don’t understand. It’s not what it looks like.”
“Not what it looks like?!” Ethan shouted. He held up the phone so the screen was facing his mother. “You’re standing in my office! You’re watching Brooke install fakes on my wife’s laptop! You tried to destroy Claire!”
Claire slowly rose from the floor, holding Sophie’s hand tightly, and looked at her mother-in-law. “It was never about the money, was it?” Claire said softly, tears streaming down her cheeks. “It was about getting me out of that family.”
Brooke, still clutching her red cheek, suddenly burst into hysterical laughter. “You never deserved to be a Mercer, Claire! You were always just the humble bookkeeper! But the money… we really needed the money!”
Ethan stared at his sister. What do you mean, we needed the money?
Evelyn lowered her head. The mask of the elegant, loving mother completely crumbled. Brooke has gambling debts, Ethan. Huge debts to dangerous people. And I… I gambled your father’s inheritance on the stock market and lost it all. The family business was on the verge of ruin. If we hadn’t framed Claire to collect the insurance money and seize her personal assets, we would all have ended up in prison!
Ethan took a step back in disbelief. The people he had trusted—his own flesh and blood—had used his marriage, his wife, and his daughter as pawns to cover up their own crimes.
“Get out,” Ethan said quietly.
Ethan, please! I am your mother!, Evelyn pleaded, taking a step towards him.
“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!” Ethan yelled so loudly that the crystal on the walls vibrated. “And if you don’t contact the police and confess by tomorrow morning, I will personally take this video to the district attorney!”
Brooke glared at her brother with hatred, grabbed her handbag, and dragged the weeping Evelyn out of the room. The heavy oak door slammed shut with a loud bang.
All that remained in the dining room was the sobbing of little Sophie. Ethan slowly turned to Claire. He saw his wife’s broken heart, the bloodstains on her feet from the broken glass, and the deep pain in her eyes. He fell to his knees before her and buried his face in his hands.
I’m so sorry, Claire… I’m so sorry…, he whispered.
But Claire just gazed down at him silently. She knew the recordings had proven her innocence – but she also knew that the rift in her marriage might never heal.
