CHAPTER 14: Morning Finds the Papers

By sunrise, Caldwell House belonged to procedure.
Yellow markers stood near the stones. Officers moved through the study in paper shoe covers. The gold pen sat in an evidence bag beside the unsigned trust transfer, useless now except as proof of intent.
Elise gave her statement before breakfast.
She did not do it from courage. She did it because Dorian's first call from custody had been to his attorney, not to her. Some women discovered truth through heartbreak. Elise discovered it through being left off the emergency plan.
Marion remained in the library with a lawyer who spoke less confidently every hour.
At the hospital, Nora woke to pale light, monitors, and her father sitting in a chair too small for his posture.
'The company board is meeting,' he said. 'Only if you want updates.'
Nora looked at the window.
'Not yet.'
For the first time in years, nothing required her to perform strength before she had rested.