“That kid heard too much,” she said.
“The document is invalid,” Ryan said, and Emily could hear him rebuilding himself, the way he always did when something didn’t go his way — reframing, repositioning, finding the angle. “Emily wasn’t in her right mind. Claire can testify to that.”
Ethan said nothing.
But Emily understood now what they actually wanted.
Not just the house.
Not just the accounts.
They wanted Ethan.
To control him. To move him somewhere he couldn’t ask the wrong questions. To isolate him from anyone who might understand what had really happened on that mountain road.
She had to move.
She had to do something.
With everything that was left in her, she concentrated on one finger.
One finger.
It moved.
Ethan saw it. His eyes went wide. But he said nothing. He leaned close, close enough that his breath was warm against her cheek.
“Mom, don’t move. I already called for help.”
“What did you say?” Ryan snapped.
