Chapter 4 - What the Doctor Remembered
Dr. Clarke agreed to meet Ethan that afternoon.
He appeared uncomfortable before Ethan even sat down.
“I need to clarify something first.”
“Please do.”
“I never diagnosed Sophie with a disorder.”
Ethan leaned forward.
“What did you diagnose?”
“Nothing.”
The doctor opened a file.
“Your wife requested an assessment.”
“Without telling me.”
“She said you were aware.”
“I wasn’t.”
Dr. Clarke nodded slowly.
“That concerns me.”
He turned several pages.
“Sophie was quiet during the session.”
“Did she accuse Vanessa of hurting her?”
“No.”
Ethan felt a brief drop in his stomach.
Then the doctor continued.
“She would not speak while Mrs. Bennett was in the room.”
Ethan looked up.
“What happened when Vanessa left?”
Dr. Clarke’s expression tightened.
“Sophie asked whether I would tell her stepmother what she said.”
“And what did you say?”
“I told her I could not promise secrecy if someone was hurting her.”
“What did Sophie say?”
“She said she wanted her daddy.”
That was all.
No accusation.
No description.
Just one sentence.
I want my daddy.
Dr. Clarke had recommended a follow-up with Ethan present.
Vanessa canceled it.
Then she began sending emails describing Sophie’s supposed behavior.
The doctor printed them.
In one, Vanessa wrote:
“Sophie is increasingly obsessed with portraying herself as a victim.”
In another:
“I worry she may eventually make serious accusations against family members.”
The email had been sent seven months earlier.
Before Ethan had noticed any bruises.
Before Sophie had ever told him Vanessa hurt her.
Vanessa had been building a defense before the accusation existed.
Ethan left the office with copies.
Outside, Claire Hart was waiting near the parking structure.
He recognized her from the photograph she had texted.
She was thirty-eight.
Dark hair.
Simple black dress.
Exhausted eyes.
“Thank you for coming.”
Claire looked at the folder in his hand.
“She started documenting Sophie as unstable?”
“Yes.”
Claire gave a sad nod.
“That was how it started with Julian.”
Ethan felt cold.
“Tell me.”
Claire looked toward the street.
“My brother married Vanessa when he was thirty-two.”
“She told me they were married less than a year.”
“Three years.”
Ethan frowned.
“She said he was unstable.”
Claire laughed without humor.
“Of course she did.”
“What happened?”
“At first, Julian adored her.”
“Then?”
“She began telling people he was paranoid.”
“About what?”
“Money.”
Claire looked directly at him.
“She was moving money out of their accounts.”
Ethan went still.
“When he confronted her, she told everyone he was becoming mentally unstable.”
“How did he die?”
Claire’s face changed.
“He fell from the balcony of their home.”
Ethan already knew that.
“What don’t I know?”
Claire reached into her bag.
“Two days before he died, Julian sent me a recording.”
She held out an old phone.
“I never listened to the entire thing until last month.”
“Why?”
“Because Vanessa told police it was one of his paranoid episodes.”
Ethan took the phone.
May you like
Claire’s voice dropped.
“The last thirty seconds are not paranoia.”
