Chapter 10 - The Video They Couldn't Edit
Brooke's clip was meant to humiliate me.
Instead, it told us where to look.
In the reflection, her phone's recording interface was already active long before the tablecloth moved.
Evelyn asked our digital-forensics consultant, Malik Chen, to examine the publicly circulated copy and document what could be learned without overstating it.
The file was edited.
That much was clear.
But he couldn't recover missing footage from an exported clip by wishing it back into existence.
“Someone has the source recording,” Malik said.
“Most likely.”
“How do we get it?”
“Through lawful preservation requests and investigative process.”
He looked at me across the video call.
“I know you want to solve this in an afternoon.”
“I want them to stop lying.”
“I know.”
Evelyn filed the necessary preservation notices, and Mara pursued the evidence relevant to the assault.
Meanwhile, Noah uncovered a detail that changed the financial timeline.
The first disputed transfer had occurred almost a year before I signed the suspicious May form.
Ryan could not explain that older transaction by pointing to a later authorization.
It was the first undeniable crack in the paperwork story.
The transfer had gone directly to a company controlled by Leland Marsh.
Its memo field read “Retainer – Governance Plan.”
“What governance plan?” I asked.
Noah gave me a sober look.
“We're trying to establish that.”
At my next medical appointment, Dr. Park told me my baby was still doing well.
I sat in the exam room and watched the small movements on the ultrasound monitor.
For several minutes, the financial investigation fell away.
There was a heartbeat.
There was a tiny hand.
There was a future that belonged to neither Ryan nor Grant.
Then my phone buzzed with a notification from an unfamiliar email address.
The subject was “He didn't tell you everything.”
Attached was a photograph of Ryan and Grant outside the Boulder property.
The timestamp was from the morning after New Year's.
Both men looked furious.
Behind them stood Leland Marsh, holding the same silver-clasp folder I'd seen in Brooke's photograph.
Below the picture were eight words.
“Ask who paid to make you disappear.”
My fingers went numb.
I forwarded the message without replying.
Evelyn called before I had finished fastening my coat.
“Do not speculate about that phrase, Claire.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
“Preserve it, and let us find the sender.”
She paused.
“There's something I need to tell you.”
“What?”
“Leland Marsh has requested a meeting.”
“With you?”
“With me.”
“Why?”
May you like
“Because he says Ryan and Grant have been hiding documents from him, too.”
