What the Drive Contained
Chapter 06 - What the Drive Contained
Naomi opened the drive on an isolated laptop.
Adrian stood behind her.
Claire remained near the boys.
The third folder contained audio.
Marcus’s voice filled the room.
“She will be blamed. Adrian will believe the access logs before he believes her.”
Another man asked, “What about the pregnancy?”
Marcus answered, “That makes her easier to frighten.”
Adrian stepped back from the table.
Noah looked up from his coloring.
“Is Uncle Marcus bad?”
Adrian stared at the screen.
Marcus had stood beside him at the cancelled wedding. Marcus held him while he drank. Marcus encouraged him to destroy Claire’s reputation so investors would not question the company.
Adrian looked at Claire.
“I am sorry.”
Her expression remained still.
“Sorry is the beginning,” she said. “Not the repair.”
Noah looked from one adult to the other.
“Did he make you sad?”
Claire lowered herself beside him. “A long time ago.”
Adrian heard the mercy in her answer. She could have told the boys every cruel detail. Instead, she protected their childhood from his failure. That kindness made him feel worse than accusation.
Eli held up his drawing: four figures beneath a crooked blue sky. Claire stood between the twins. A fourth figure waited far away at the edge of the page.
“Who is that?” Adrian asked.
Eli shrugged. “The person Mom said was lost.”
May you like
Adrian could not speak.
For five years, Claire had allowed the boys to believe he was lost rather than cruel. Now the evidence on the laptop showed that she had been the one forced into hiding, while he remained surrounded by power and still failed to search for the truth.
