Chapter 4 - Eight Months of Lies“You knew my father was alive?”
Ethan sat on the edge of the couch.
“I suspected.”
“That isn't what you said.”
“I knew someone was pretending to be dead.”
“Was it him?”
“I don't know.”
My hands shook.
“Then what do you know?”
He stared at the floor.
“Your father was working with a private financial group.”
“Doing what?”
“Moving money.”
“Illegal money?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“Because my father was part of it too.”
I felt sick.
The two men whose deaths had shaped our lives had been connected.
Ethan continued.
“Years ago, they moved money through shell companies. Political donations. Construction contracts. International accounts.”
“And then?”
“Something went wrong.”
“What?”
“Your father wanted out.”
“And your father?”
“My father didn't.”
I stared at him.
“So our families destroyed each other?”
“They tried to protect themselves.”
“That isn't an answer.”
He looked at me.
“Four years ago, your father disappeared.”
“You told me he died.”
“I was told that.”
“By who?”
He hesitated.
“Vanessa.”
I almost laughed.
“She knew my father?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Her father worked for him.”
I sank into the chair.
The pieces were becoming a picture I didn't want to see.
“Then why marry me?”
Ethan went still.
“Claire…”
“Was marrying me part of this?”
“No.”
“Did you ever love me?”
He didn't answer immediately.
That silence hurt more than anything.
Then he said:
“Yes.”
I looked away.
“Once.”
His voice cracked.
“I loved you before I knew who your father was.”
“And after?”
He stared at his hands.
“After I learned, things changed.”
I felt something inside me break.
“So you married me for information.”
“No.”
“You stayed married to me because of information.”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because every time I tried to leave, someone threatened you.”
I looked at him.
He continued.
“I thought if I stayed close, I could protect you.”
“You protected me by sleeping with Vanessa?”
“I wasn't sleeping with her because I wanted her.”
“That's a terrible defense.”
“I know.”
“You lied for eight months.”
“Yes.”
“Was every night a lie?”
He looked at me.
“No.”
That answer confused me.
“What does that mean?”
“It means not everything between us was fake.”
I couldn't decide whether that made it worse.
My phone buzzed.
A message.
UNKNOWN: Come to Pier 47. Alone.
Ethan saw it.
“No.”
“I’m going.”
“You don't understand.”
“You've been saying that all night.”
He stood.
“I'll come with you.”
“No.”
“Claire.”
“This concerns my father.”
“It concerns your life.”
“I don't trust you.”
Pain flashed across his face.
“You shouldn't.”
I grabbed my coat.
Before I reached the door, he said something.
“There's a reason Vanessa was terrified when she saw the compass.”
I turned.
“What reason?”
He looked directly at me.
“Because that compass belonged to your father.”
I froze.
“What?”
“He gave it to my father twenty years ago.”
My hand tightened around the doorknob.
“And now it's mine.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
I opened the door.
A cold Seattle wind rushed inside.
Ethan called after me.
“Claire.”
I looked back.
He whispered:
“Don't trust the man at Pier 47.”
I asked, “Why?”
May you like
His expression changed.
“Because I already killed him.”
