The Better Sister

A contributor to the online forum Poppit reveals that Chloe is married to her brother-in-law. Another user asks if KurtLoMein can confirm whether this information is true.

While police officers search the East Hampton house for evidence, Chloe and Ethan move into the pool house. Chloe wonders if she will have to fight Nicky in court for custody of Ethan. Although Adam was awarded sole custody when Ethan was two, Nicky retained some parental rights. Chloe asks Detective Guidry to check if Nicky was in Cleveland at the time of Adam’s murder.

Detective Guidry questions Kevin Dunham, who claims that he and Ethan spent the previous night driving around and then returned to his house. When Guidry asks if they saw a movie first, Kevin confirms this is correct. Guidry knows Kevin is lying, as Ethan has already revealed that the movie they planned to see was sold out.

Chloe receives a message from her lover on her burner phone. Leaving the house unobserved, she replies to the message, saying they can no longer see each other. She disposes of the phone in a public trash can.

Catherine arrives after hearing about Adam’s death. She encourages Chloe to control the public’s perception of the event by issuing a press release through Eve.

Detective Guidry asks Chloe and Ethan to check the main house for any missing items. Their orderly vacation home has been ransacked, and Chloe adjusts three overturned vases. She explains that a friend made the vases to represent herself, Adam, and Ethan. The pieces fit together to create a unified whole.

Chloe observes that Adam’s bank cards and Tag Heuer watch are still on the nightstand, and no other valuables have been taken. However, Ethan declares that his Beats and Rayguns (expensive headphones and trainers) are missing. Chloe recalls Adam’s anger when he learned how much Ethan had paid for the headphones and trainers. She asks Guidry to investigate Adam’s movements on the days before his death. Although he claimed to be meeting a client from the Gentry Group, Chloe sensed he was hiding something.

Chloe and Ethan travel back to Manhattan. On the way, Ethan picks up the backpack that he left at Kevin’s house. Chloe recalls breaking up with her lover, Jake Summer, earlier that day. Jake did not know about Adam’s meeting with the Gentry Group before his death. Chloe wonders if her husband was having an affair.

Detective Bowen believes that Chloe killed her husband. Guidry reminds her partner that Chloe has an alibi and suggests that Bowen is prejudiced against Chloe because he doesn’t like “what she stands for” (93). She shows her colleague a photograph of the broken bedroom window through which the intruder apparently broke in. Guidry points out that the glass shards are scattered on top of a comforter on the floor and inside an open drawer. This indicates that the window was broken after the room was ransacked to give the false appearance of a break-in. Guidry suspects Ethan.

Chloe recalls Adam’s rage when he discovered a bag of marijuana in Ethan’s room. Unappeased by Ethan’s claim that it belonged to a friend, he accused his son of paying for his expensive shoes by dealing drugs. While Adam was shouting at Ethan, Chloe disposed of the marijuana, further angering her husband. Afterward, Chloe gave Ethan $500 to compensate his friend for the marijuana.

Chloe looks inside Ethan’s backpack and finds a burner phone. Ethan’s contacts are listed only by their initials. She places the phone in her office drawer.