Chapter 3 - The Voice in the WindDetective Ortiz did not allow Grant to remove the watch.
Neither did she give it to Corinne.
She photographed it where it lay against Sadie’s wrist, documented the damage, then asked a hospital technician to help remove it without compromising potential evidence.
Corinne watched from the hallway.
“What exactly are you implying?” she demanded.
Ortiz turned.
“I haven’t implied anything.”
“You’re taking evidence from a traumatized child.”
“Yes.”
“She had a concussion.”
“Yes.”
“Then she may not remember clearly.”
Grant looked at his wife.
“That’s an interesting thing to say.”
Corinne stared at him.
“I’m trying to protect Sadie.”
“She says you pushed her.”
Pain appeared on Corinne’s face with perfect timing.
“Grant.”
“Did you?”
“Of course not.”
“You took her there without telling me.”
“I told you why.”
“And your explanation makes no sense.”
Corinne’s voice dropped.
“You’re frightened. So am I.”
Grant stepped closer.
“I’m frightened because my daughter almost died.”
“So did I.”
Grant’s expression hardened.
“No. You didn’t.”
Corinne said nothing.
Ortiz interrupted.
“I need both of you to remain available for separate interviews.”
Corinne looked at her.
“Am I being detained?”
“No.”
“Then I’d like to go home and change.”
“Of course.”
Grant turned sharply.
“You’re leaving?”
“I can’t stand here while you look at me like a murderer.”
Sadie heard that word from inside the room.
She closed her eyes.
Grant did not follow Corinne when she walked away.
Two hours later, Ortiz returned with a digital-forensics technician.
The recording was incomplete.
The watch had not captured the entire confrontation.
Wind distorted sections.
There were gaps created when Sadie struck the cliff.
But nine seconds were clear.
Ortiz played them only after Grant agreed Sadie should not have to hear them again.
Corinne’s voice filled the small consultation room.
If you don’t jump on your own...
Wind.
Sadie crying.
Then Corinne again.
...I’ll shove you off myself.
Grant’s face drained of color.
Ortiz stopped playback.
Nobody spoke.
Grant stared at the table.
“Play it again.”
“We don’t need to.”
“Play it.”
Ortiz did.
This time Grant heard something underneath his daughter’s terrified breathing.
Corinne’s voice was not angry.
That was what destroyed him.
She sounded calm.
Deliberate.
He pushed his chair backward.
“I need air.”
Ortiz stopped him at the door.
“Mr. Mercer.”
He turned.
“The recording proves a threat. It does not show the actual push.”
Grant stared at her.
“My daughter said she pushed her.”
“Yes.”
“And now you have Corinne threatening to do exactly that.”
“Yes.”
“Then arrest her.”
Ortiz’s face remained professional.
“We’re building the case correctly.”
“She could run.”
“We’re aware of that.”
Grant looked through the glass toward Sadie’s room.
“I brought that woman into our house.”
Ortiz said nothing.
Grant continued almost to himself.
“I told Sadie to trust her.”
At the Mercer house in Aspen, Corinne entered through the garage.
She did not change clothes.
She went directly to Grant’s study.
The locked drawer beneath his desk required a key.
Corinne had copied it eight months earlier.
Inside was a folder marked:
Vaughn Family Trust — Sadie Mercer Beneficial Interest
She photographed three pages.
Then opened Grant’s laptop.
A message appeared on her phone.
R: How much did they recover?
Corinne typed:
Audio threat. Maybe more.
Three dots appeared.
R: Then stop improvising.
Corinne clenched her jaw.
C: You told me the watch wouldn’t have signal.
R: Signal and local recording are not the same thing.
Corinne stared at the message.
Her hands began to shake.
She typed:
What do we do?
The reply came immediately.
Burn the gear chain. Make it look like lodge negligence.
Corinne looked toward the study door.
Then another message arrived.
And check the trust. If the girl survives, Northcove dies.
Corinne deleted the thread.
Or thought she did.
At the hospital, Sadie woke close to midnight.
Grant was sitting beside her.
He had not moved for nearly two hours.
Sadie looked at him without speaking.
Grant leaned forward.
“I’m sorry.”
She turned her face away.
“I should never have asked if you were sure.”
Silence.
“I believe you.”
Sadie’s eyes filled.
“Because of the watch?”
Grant swallowed.
“No.”
She looked at him.
“I believe you because you’re my daughter and you told me what happened.”
“You didn’t before.”
“You’re right.”
Grant did not defend himself.
“I failed you for about ten seconds when you needed me most.”
Sadie stared at him.
He continued.
“And before today, I probably failed you in ways I didn’t see.”
“Corinne said you wanted me to jump.”
Grant closed his eyes.
“I never said that.”
“She said you would be proud.”
“I’m proud of you when you read three pages of a book you hate. I’m proud when you apologize to somebody. I’m proud when you tell me you’re scared.”
Sadie’s lower lip trembled.
“I was really scared.”
“I know.”
“She stopped pretending.”
Grant frowned.
“What?”
“Before she pushed me.”
Sadie stared toward the dark hospital window.
“She told me to stop calling her Mom.”
Grant’s hand tightened around the arm of his chair.
Then Sadie whispered something else.
“She was talking about shares before.”
Grant went still.
“What shares?”
“I don’t know.”
“When?”
“At home. A few nights ago.”
Sadie tried to remember.
“She was on the phone.”
Grant leaned forward.
“What did she say?”
Sadie looked at him.
“Once the shares are free, everything changes.”
Grant felt cold move through his chest.
May you like
There was only one block of shares in his life that Corinne could possibly have meant.
The shares held in trust for Sadie.
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