Chapter 5
Rebecca Shaw arrived at 11:47 p.m. wearing a black coat over pajamas and the expression of a woman who had been hoping someone would dare lie to her.
She walked past the police, past Marcus, past Lauren, and stopped in front of me.
“Child?”
“Asleep again.”
“Fever?”
“Down.”
“Documents?”
I handed her everything.
Rebecca read quickly.
Her face did not move.
That scared me more than anger would have.
When she finished, she looked at Lauren.
“Do not leave town.”
Lauren laughed shakily.
“You can’t tell me what to do.”
Rebecca smiled.
“No. But the court can, and I file faster than you lie.”
Marcus muttered, “I’m leaving.”
Rebecca turned to him.
“You are not.”
He froze.
“You sent threatening messages claiming legal rights to a child you now know is not yours, while allegedly conspiring to gain control over her trust.”
His mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
The older officer coughed into his hand, hiding what might have been a laugh.
Rebecca faced me again.
“Laptop?”
“At the house.”
Lauren’s eyes flashed.
“My laptop is private.”
Rebecca’s smile disappeared.
“Your privacy ended when you used a dead woman’s child as leverage.”
Lauren stepped toward me.
“Ethan, don’t do this.”
I stared at her.
“I didn’t do this.”
The police could not simply seize her laptop without more.
Rebecca knew that.
So she did something smarter.
She filed an emergency injunction from my father’s dining room table while my mother gave a recorded statement and my father brewed coffee nobody drank.
By 2:16 a.m., a judge ordered preservation of all electronic devices connected to Lauren, Marcus, my mother, and Hannah’s estate records.
By 2:40, two officers escorted me, Rebecca, and Dad back to my house.
Lauren came too.
Not because she wanted to.
Because Rebecca requested police supervision while we retrieved Ava’s medicine, clothes, and any documents belonging to Hannah’s estate.
The house looked different when I walked in.
Same framed wedding photo.
Same nursery shoes by the stairs.
Same little pink blanket over the couch.
But it all felt staged now.
Like a set built over a crime scene.
Lauren stood near the kitchen island, arms crossed.
“You’re enjoying this.”
I looked at her.
“My sister is dead, my mother lied, my wife betrayed me, and my daughter has been used as a financial instrument. No, Lauren. I am not enjoying this.”
She looked away.
Dad went upstairs with one officer.
I stayed in the living room with Rebecca.
The second officer stood near Lauren.
Rebecca handed me a list.
“Medicine. Diapers. Sleep sack. Birth keepsakes. Anything with Hannah’s name. Do not touch the laptop until forensics arrives.”
Lauren smirked.
“There’s nothing on it.”
Then the doorbell rang.
Everyone froze.
It was 3:05 in the morning.
The officer opened the door.
A woman stood there in a raincoat, soaked, shaking, clutching a manila envelope to her chest.
She looked at me.
“Are you Ethan Walker?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Grace Miller. I was Hannah’s nurse.”
Lauren whispered, “Oh my God.”
Rebecca moved closer.
“Ms. Miller, why are you here?”
Grace looked at Lauren, and fear crossed her face.
“Because I sent the text.”
My heart slammed.
“You know what happened to Hannah?”
Grace’s eyes filled.
“I know what she said before she died.”
Lauren snapped, “She’s lying.”
Grace reached into the envelope and pulled out a small recorder.
“I kept this because I was scared.”
The room went very still.
Rebecca said, “Scared of whom?”
Grace looked at my wife.
“Her.”
Lauren lunged.
The officer caught her arm.
“Ma’am, back up.”
Grace pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then my sister’s voice.
Weak.
Broken.
Alive.
“Please… call Ethan.”
My knees nearly buckled.
Dad grabbed my shoulder.
Hannah coughed on the recording.
“My mother can’t decide this. Lauren can’t have her. Ethan is supposed to raise my baby.”
A nurse’s voice.
“I’ll tell them.”
Then another voice in the background.
My mother’s.
“No. He can’t know. He’ll ruin his life.”
Hannah cried softly.
Then Lauren’s voice.
Smooth.
Calm.
Terrifying.
“I can give her a family, Hannah. Ethan doesn’t need to know until he’s ready.”
Hannah whispered, “No.”
The recording crackled.
Then Hannah said the words that tore the room open.
“Lauren was in the car behind me.”
Dad whispered, “What?”
Grace stopped the recording with trembling hands.
Lauren’s face had gone blank.
Rebecca stepped toward her.
“What does that mean?”
Grace looked at me.
“Hannah said Lauren had been following her the night of the crash.”
Lauren shook her head.
“No.”
Grace’s voice broke.
“She said they argued at a red light. About the baby. About money. About Ethan.”
The officer turned to Lauren.
“Mrs. Walker, sit down.”
Lauren did not sit.
May you like
She stared at the open front door like she could outrun the truth.
Then she bolted.
