Chapter 8 - The Story Claudia Wanted Everyone to BelieveClaudia arrived at Tessa Monroe's office wearing a cream blouse, black trousers, and a face carefully arranged into wounded dignity.
Her lawyer sat beside her.
Daniel sat opposite them.
Tessa had arranged the meeting to address access to the villa and the outstanding family documents. She had warned Daniel not to expect answers.
Claudia looked at her brother.
“You could have called me.”
“I did.”
“Not privately.”
“Lucy was afraid of you.”
Claudia pressed her lips together.
“Lucy is afraid of many things.”
Daniel remained silent.
He had promised himself he would not argue about his daughter's emotions with the person accused of causing them.
Tessa opened a folder.
“We need to establish who authorized installation of the exterior playhouse latch and whether Ms. Hart has retained any original trust documents.”
Claudia's lawyer responded first.
“My client denies wrongdoing concerning financial documents. Regarding the playhouse, she maintains she was attempting to prevent an unsafe situation.”
Daniel looked directly at his sister.
“What unsafe situation?”
Claudia folded her hands.
“Lucy threatened to run away.”
“Into a locked shed?”
“She was completely out of control.”
“You walked away from her.”
“I intended to return.”
“How long?”
“A few minutes.”
Daniel remembered the video from the earlier incident.
Twenty-seven minutes had passed between Claudia leading Lucy toward the playhouse and returning with her crying.
He didn't mention the footage.
Tessa continued.
“Does your client have records of any behavioral incidents?”
Claudia's attorney produced a printed document.
Six pages.
Dated entries.
Descriptions of screaming, defiance, aggression, and refusal to cooperate.
Daniel stared at the dates.
Every reported incident occurred while he was away.
Each entry ended with a similar conclusion.
Child's current residential environment appears emotionally destabilizing. Alternative housing is recommended.
Daniel looked up.
“Who recommended that?”
Claudia's expression tightened.
“I did.”
“You're not a therapist.”
“I have spent more time with your daughter than you have recently.”
He swallowed his anger.
The words hurt because they exposed a truth.
But spending time with a child didn't make someone qualified to invent a diagnosis.
Tessa examined the pages.
“Were these notes prepared contemporaneously?”
“Of course.”
“Can you identify the device or records used to create them?”
Claudia shifted.
“I wrote them at home.”
“Do you have original files?”
“Possibly.”
Tessa made a note.
Claudia leaned toward Daniel.
“You're doing this because you feel guilty.”
He stared at her.
“You're right about the guilt.”
Her expression flickered.
“I should have listened sooner. I should have asked questions. But none of that makes what you did acceptable.”
Claudia's cheeks reddened.
“I gave up my own life to help you.”
“You came to live in a waterfront villa and were paid to supervise Lucy.”
“Paid?”
Daniel turned toward Tessa.
She raised a hand.
“We'll address that separately.”
Claudia's lawyer began gathering the papers.
His client wasn't finished.
“Rebecca never understood what maintaining that house would cost,” Claudia said bitterly.
Daniel stared at her.
“Why does everyone keep talking about Rebecca's house as if it's a burden?”
Claudia looked away.
Tessa closed her folder.
“This meeting is finished.”
Outside, Daniel walked toward his car.
Claudia followed.
“Danny.”
He stopped.
Nobody had called him that since childhood.
For one brief moment, he remembered his older sister teaching him to ride a bicycle.
She had run behind him for half a block, laughing when he finally learned to balance.
That memory made the present even harder to understand.
Claudia approached.
“I didn't want any of this.”
“Then why did you do it?”
Her face tightened.
“Because Mother was going to ruin us if the property deal failed.”
Daniel went still.
Claudia seemed to realize what she'd said.
She stepped backward.
“Forget it.”
“What deal?”
“Talk to Mother.”
He moved closer.
“Did she tell you to lock Lucy in the playhouse?”
Claudia's eyes filled with furious tears.
“Mother tells people what needs to happen. She doesn't care how they make it happen.”
Daniel felt the air leave his lungs.
“And you decided hurting my daughter was an acceptable way?”
Claudia stared at him.
Then her expression hardened.
“You don't understand what was at stake.”
She walked away.
Daniel watched her disappear into her car.
He finally understood one part of the mystery.
Claudia hadn't been trying to protect Lucy.
May you like
She had been trying to protect someone else.
And whatever Ellen stood to lose, it was apparently worth more to her than her granddaughter's safety.
Related Stories
