Chapter 13 - Elise's Box Was MissingWilla admitted everything that evening.
Not immediately.
Alistair waited until Theo was asleep.
Then sat with her on his mother's porch.
“I found the key.”
Her face changed.
“Where?”
“Behind your dresser.”
Willa looked down.
“I wasn't snooping.”
“I know.”
“Police had already cleared the room.”
“I know.”
He held out the key.
“Your mom's box is gone.”
Willa didn't seem surprised.
Alistair noticed.
“You knew.”
She nodded.
“When did Corinne take it?”
“A month ago.”
His chest tightened.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Willa looked at him with sad patience.
“I did.”
He froze.
“What?”
“I told you Mom's box disappeared.”
Memory came back.
Willa asking at dinner whether he had moved “Mom's old box.”
Alistair had said:
Probably Beatrice. We'll look later.
He never did.
Another warning.
Another tomorrow.
“What did Corinne say?”
“That you didn't want us reading Mom's things anymore.”
Alistair shook his head.
“No.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because you never call her Mom when you talk about her. You call her Elise.”
He stared.
Children noticed more than adults thought.
“So you didn't believe Corinne.”
“No.”
“Why hide the key?”
“Because I found the box first.”
His pulse changed.
“Where?”
“Corinne's closet.”
“What?”
“Before she moved it.”
Willa explained.
She had been looking for a sweater when she saw Elise's wooden box beneath blankets.
She tried the key.
Opened it.
Inside were letters, photographs, keepsakes—
and a small external drive.
Alistair frowned.
“What drive?”
“I don't know.”
“Where is it?”
Willa looked toward the house.
“I hid it.”
His heart started pounding.
“Where?”
“In Theo's old stuffed bear.”
Alistair nearly laughed.
Of course.
Children's hiding places often worked because adults searched like adults.
“What did you think was on it?”
“I didn't know.”
“Did you open it?”
“No.”
“Why take it?”
“Because Corinne was taking Mom's stuff.”
Willa's eyes filled.
“I thought maybe it mattered.”
Alistair hugged her.
“It might.”
The stuffed bear was at their house.
Police allowed Alistair to retrieve it the following morning.
Inside the repaired seam—
the drive.
Rachel insisted they make a forensic copy before opening it.
By afternoon, they knew what Elise had stored.
Medical documents.
Estate planning.
Photographs.
Video messages for the children.
Nothing secret at first.
Then a folder:
C — ONLY IF NEEDED.
Alistair stared.
“C.”
“Corinne?” Rachel asked.
He didn't answer.
Inside were screenshots.
Messages.
Most from six years earlier, when Elise was sick.
Corinne had texted Elise.
I CAN HELP WITH THE CHILDREN IF YOU NEED.
YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ALISTAIR BEING ALONE.
Elise's responses were polite.
Short.
Then more messages.
Corinne asking whether Alistair was coping.
Whether he needed company.
Whether Elise worried he would remarry quickly.
One message made Alistair's stomach turn.
CORINNE: MEN LIKE HIM DON'T STAY ALONE LONG.
Elise replied:
THEN I HOPE HE FINDS SOMEONE KIND.
Corinne:
YOU REALLY WOULDN'T MIND?
Elise:
I'LL BE DEAD. I WOULD PREFER NOT TO SPEND THE AFTERLIFE MICROMANAGING.
Classic Elise.
Dark humor.
Then another exchange weeks later.
Elise:
Please stop asking Alistair to dinner while I'm in treatment.
Corinne:
You're misunderstanding.
Elise:
I'm not.
Alistair stopped.
He had forgotten those dinners.
Corinne had occasionally invited him and others after hospital visits.
He thought she was being supportive.
Elise saw something else.
The final screenshot contained Elise's message:
If you want him after I'm gone, that is between you and him. But stay away while I'm still his wife.
Corinne never replied.
Alistair felt sick.
Rachel looked toward him.
“This doesn't establish wrongdoing beyond boundary crossing.”
“I know.”
“But it explains the letter.”
“Yes.”
Then they opened a video.
Elise appeared on screen.
Thin.
Headscarf.
Tired.
Still smiling.
“If you're watching this, I apparently decided paper wasn't dramatic enough.”
Alistair's eyes filled instantly.
Elise continued.
“I don't think Corinne is dangerous.”
He stopped breathing.
“I think she's lonely, ambitious, and more interested in Alistair than she should be while I'm alive.”
Rachel looked at him.
The video continued.
“But people change. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe someday she'll be exactly what this family needs.”
Elise paused.
“Ali, if that happens, don't punish her for my suspicion.”
He covered his mouth.
Then:
“But if she ever makes the kids feel like loving me is disloyal to her, believe the kids.”
Alistair closed his eyes.
He had failed the simplest instruction.
Believe the kids.
The video continued.
“And if Willa is the one who found this drive someday, sweetheart, stop snooping.”
Despite himself, Alistair laughed through tears.
Then Elise's expression became serious.
“There is one more thing.”
Alistair leaned forward.
“Corinne asked me about the children's trust twice.”
His heart stopped.
“Before you ever married her.”
May you like
Elise looked directly into the camera.
“I told her it was none of her business.”
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