Chapter 8 - THE PROXY
Ethan had authorized proxy access to Claire’s hospital portal during the first trimester, when severe nausea made it difficult for her to manage appointments. Claire had forgotten the permission remained active.
Ethan claimed he had forgotten too.
The hospital audit showed that his credentials had been used to open Claire’s records from Vivian’s home on seven occasions.
Some access occurred while Ethan was at work.
Other sessions began late at night when he could have been inside Vivian’s house.
Investigators could not determine from an internet address alone who had touched the keyboard. They needed device records, browser history, and testimony.
Ethan surrendered his laptop voluntarily.
Vivian refused.
Detective Vega sought a warrant.
The accessed records included Claire’s notes about anxiety, sleep deprivation, and fear that Vivian would invade their home after Lily’s birth. One message to Dr. Shah said:
I feel as if every boundary becomes proof that I am cruel.
That sentence appeared almost word for word in Ethan’s petition, reframed as evidence of paranoia.
Rebecca requested sanctions and asked the family court to exclude any improperly obtained medical information. Ethan’s attorney argued that Claire had granted proxy access and had never revoked it.
The judge reserved the issue for the hearing.
Meanwhile, Lily remained under observation for transient breathing difficulty. Claire’s incision burned whenever she moved. The bruise along her side had darkened into bands of purple and yellow.
She needed help lifting Lily from the bassinet.
She hated needing help.
Ruth stayed overnight. Daniel brought meals, changed diapers under the nurse’s supervision, and avoided discussing Grant.
Claire noticed the avoidance.
“What did you do?”
Daniel looked at the floor.
“Dad.”
“I went to the police station after Grant was released.”
Ruth closed her eyes.
Daniel admitted he had waited near the parking lot and confronted Grant. He had shouted, grabbed Grant’s shirt, and shoved him against a truck before an officer separated them.
Grant had not filed charges, but his lawyer had obtained the incident report.
Now the defense could argue that Claire’s family was violent and vindictive.
“You could have been arrested,” Claire said.
“I saw the bruise.”
“And you made my case harder.”
Daniel’s expression tightened with shame.
“I know.”
Claire wanted to excuse him because he had acted from love. Instead, she said, “Love does not make the consequences disappear.”
The sentence applied to more than her father.
That afternoon, Ethan requested a supervised visit with Lily at the hospital.
Rebecca advised Claire that refusing every controlled contact could be used against her. The hospital social worker arranged ten minutes in a family room with a security officer present. Claire remained in a wheelchair beside the bassinet.
Ethan entered without Vivian.
He looked thinner than he had three days earlier.
When Lily stirred, he moved toward her and stopped at Claire’s raised hand.
“You can look,” she said. “You cannot pick her up.”
He obeyed.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Then Ethan said, “My mother asked me to record our arguments.”
Claire’s fingers tightened around the wheelchair arm.
“How many?”
“I don’t know. Twelve. Maybe more.”
“For the custody lawyer?”
“She said we needed proof in case you took Lily.”
“Did you edit them?”
“No.”
“Did she?”
“I don’t know.”
Claire watched him carefully.
“You always know less when the truth becomes expensive.”
Ethan lowered his eyes.
Before leaving, he placed a small external drive on the table.
“These are the files I still have.”
Rebecca arranged for a forensic copy rather than opening it directly.
By evening, the examiner confirmed that several recordings had been cut and re-exported.
One file contained Claire shouting, “I wish your mother would disappear from our lives.”
The original began twenty-three seconds earlier.
In those missing seconds, Vivian had threatened to use the eighty-five-thousand-dollar debt to force the sale of Claire and Ethan’s condo.
May you like
The edited recording had been created on Ethan’s laptop.
Two days before the dinner.
