Chapter 8 - A Lawyer Miles Never Mentioned
Grant Holloway did not speak to Elena.
He could not.
Miles was his client.
Claire explained that repeatedly.
“He is not going to tell us what Miles discussed.”
“Even if it involves me?”
“Especially then.”
“So we know nothing.”
“We know three consultations happened.”
“And Miles admits discussing custody.”
“Yes.”
“That’s enough.”
“No.”
Elena glared at her.
Claire did not care.
“Enough emotionally is not enough factually.”
Elena hated that.
Which meant Claire was doing her job.
They learned what they could from public and marital records.
The legal fees were paid from Miles’s separate account.
No joint funds.
The dates matched Elena’s timeline.
Then a new clue came from an unexpected source.
Miles’s assistant, Olivia Chen, called Elena.
Not because Elena asked.
Because Olivia had heard about the fall.
“Are you okay?”
“Physically, yes.”
“The baby?”
“Okay.”
Olivia exhaled.
“I’m glad.”
A pause.
“Elena, this may be none of my business.”
Elena sat straighter.
“What?”
“Miles had me prepare some personal scheduling material in August.”
“What kind?”
“Calendar summaries. Travel dates. Days you were at medical appointments.”
Elena’s hand tightened around the phone.
“Why?”
“He said it was for family planning.”
“What does that mean?”
“I assumed estate planning.”
“Did anything seem strange?”
Olivia hesitated.
“He asked me to identify nights he was out of town when you and Dorothy were alone in Wellesley.”
Elena felt cold.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you ask?”
“No.”
“Anything else?”
“He asked whether executives ever use contemporaneous incident logs in family disputes.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“When?”
“September.”
“Did you answer?”
“I said yes, probably, and suggested he ask counsel.”
“Olivia, why are you telling me?”
Another pause.
“Because after I heard you fell, I remembered.”
Elena thanked her.
After the call, Claire said, “That’s meaningful.”
“Finally.”
“But not proof of motive.”
Elena nearly threw a pillow.
Claire laughed.
“You hired the wrong friend if you wanted outrage.”
“I didn’t hire you.”
“Exactly. So my rates are unbeatable.”
The humor helped.
They returned to the timeline.
Miles had specifically asked when Elena and Dorothy would be alone.
Why?
If he feared conflict, maybe to avoid it.
If he planned documentation, maybe to create it.
Either interpretation fit.
Elena needed more.
That afternoon she received a certified letter.
From Dorothy’s attorney.
It requested return of Miles’s personal phone, claiming Elena had unlawfully retained confidential business information.
Claire read it.
“This is aggressive.”
“Can they force me?”
“Eventually they can seek relief. But the device also contains evidence relevant to an alleged assault.”
“What do we do?”
“Preserve it through counsel.”
Claire arranged for a neutral forensic examiner to image the device with proper documentation.
Elena did not access deleted content herself.
The process took time.
That mattered.
Truth was slow.
Dorothy’s version moved instantly because lies required no authentication.
Three days later, preliminary results showed something unexpected.
The visible thread between Miles and Dorothy had several gaps.
Deleted messages.
Not enough to recover immediately.
But timestamps remained.
On the morning of the fall:
10:14 a.m. — Dorothy message.
10:16 — Miles reply.
11:03 — Dorothy message.
11:05 — Miles reply.
12:31 — Miles message.
12:46 — Dorothy message.
12:50 — “It’s done.”
The fall occurred around 12:49.
Elena stared.
“What was at 12:31?”
“Deleted,” Claire said.
“Can they recover?”
“Maybe.”
“And 12:46?”
“Maybe.”
Elena looked at the sequence.
Miles had texted Dorothy eighteen minutes before the fall.
Dorothy texted three minutes before it.
Then the message immediately after.
Not random.
Not merely discussing household tension.
The entire sequence clustered around the event.
That night Miles called.
“Are you having my phone examined?”
“Yes.”
He went silent.
“You had no right.”
“I have not personally accessed anything beyond what was visible when it landed beside me.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I don’t.”
“Elena, there are business communications on that device.”
“Your attorney can raise privilege with the examiner.”
“That’s not the point.”
“What is?”
Miles’s breathing changed.
Then he said, “There are things you’ll misunderstand.”
Elena closed her eyes.
Not things unrelated.
Things you’ll misunderstand.
“What things?”
“Context matters.”
“Yes.”
She almost smiled.
“It does.”
Miles realized what he had done.
“Elena.”
“Good night.”
She ended the call.
Then she wrote one line on the timeline:
Miles is no longer denying related communications exist.
The question had moved again.
Not whether there had been a plan.
May you like
What kind of plan?
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