Chapter 13 - We found Claire two hours later.Not at the house.
Not at the warehouse.
Not at the hospital.
She was waiting in the old chapel where we had gotten married.
I entered alone.
She sat in the first pew.
Her hands were covered in blood.
I stopped.
“Whose?”
She looked up.
“Not mine.”
“Where's the key?”
She smiled faintly.
“I knew you'd ask that.”
“Where's Tommy's DNA sample?”
“In my pocket.”
She held up a small vial.
I stared.
“You took it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your father was lying.”
I stepped closer.
“About what?”
“Tommy isn't the key.”
“Then what is?”
She touched her chest.
“Me.”
I didn't understand.
“I am the last person connected to your father's network.”
“My father?”
“Your father and mine created it together.”
She swallowed.
“When your father tried to expose them, they needed someone close to you.”
“You.”
“Yes.”
“But your father..."
“Never died.”
I already knew.
“But my father really did.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
I stared.
“Then who died?”
“The man everyone thought was him.”
A body.
A fake identity.
A staged death.
Claire continued.
“Your father has been moving between safe houses for years.”
“Why did he stay away?”
“To protect you.”
“By letting me hate him?”
“Yes.”
I sat beside her.
For the first time, she looked exhausted.
“I locked Tommy away because I was trying to buy time.”
“Time for what?”
“To finish the plan.”
“What plan?”
She handed me a small drive.
“Your father's real plan.”
I plugged it into my laptop.
A document appeared.
It contained names.
Dates.
Payments.
And one final target.
THE CARTER CHILDREN.
I scrolled.
Beside my name was a status.
PROTECTED.
Beside Marcus:
COMPROMISED.
Beside Lily:
LEVERAGE.
Beside Tommy:
ACQUISITION.
My stomach turned.
“Who created this?”
Claire looked at me.
“My mother.”
I stared.
“She has been controlling all of this.”
“Yes.”
“And my mother?”
“Working with her.”
The two women had been partners.
My entire childhood.
My marriage.
My children's lives.
All connected.
Then I saw one final name.
Claire.
Beside it was a status I couldn't understand.
FINAL WITNESS.
“What does that mean?”
She whispered,
“They can't kill me.”
“Why?”
“Because I know where the original records are.”
“Where?”
“In the house.”
“The storage room.”
She nodded.
“The scratches on the wall.”
I remembered them.
Hundreds.
She continued.
“They aren't scratches.”
I frowned.
“They're numbers.”
We returned home.
Claire showed me.
Every mark corresponded to a date.
Every date matched a transaction.
The children hadn't scratched the wall randomly.
Someone had taught Lily to remember.
She had been counting.
One day.
One payment.
One name.
Lily stepped into the room.
She pointed to a cluster of scratches.
“That's the day Mommy cried.”
“What happened?”
“She said Grandpa was coming.”
I looked at Claire.
She nodded.
“Your mother came that night.”
“And?”
“She took the original records.”
“Then why are they still here?”
Claire smiled.
“Because she took the fake ones.”
I stared at her.
She reached behind the wall.
Pressed three marks.
A compartment opened.
Inside was a small camera.
I looked at the screen.
Live feed.
My mother.
Marcus.
My father.
All in the same room.
They were arguing.
Then another person entered.
I recognized him immediately.
The hospital doctor.
The doctor who had treated Tommy.
He walked toward my father.
And said,
“We're out of time.”
My father looked at him.
“Is the boy safe?”
The doctor nodded.
“Tommy is not the boy you're looking for.”
My father froze.
“What?”
The doctor held up another file.
“The DNA was swapped.”
I stared at the screen.
Claire whispered,
“What?”
The doctor continued.
“The blood sample from Tommy is not Tommy's.”
My heart stopped.
“Then whose blood is it?”
The doctor slowly looked toward the camera.
As if he knew someone was watching.
May you like
Then he smiled.
“Yours.”
