Chapter 7 - THE FATHER SHE NEVER KNEWClaire read the sentence three times.
Your real father is still alive.
Her hands shook.
“Mom lied to me.”
Emily looked equally stunned.
“Claire…”
“She told me Dad was my father.”
Victor had raised Claire.
He had taken her to school.
He had taught her to drive.
He had kissed her forehead when she was sick.
Every memory she had was now uncertain.
Marcus took a step toward her.
“Claire, we don't know whether the letter is real.”
She looked at him.
“That is my father's handwriting.”
Davis picked up the paper.
“Authenticity can be tested.”
Emily opened another box.
Inside were old photographs.
Her mother.
Victor.
And a third man.
Emily stopped.
“I've seen him before.”
“Where?”
“In the background of family photos.”
Marcus examined the image.
The man was standing beside Claire's mother.
Never beside Victor.
Always nearby.
A quiet observer.
There was a name written on the back.
Nathan Cross.
Claire frowned.
“Who is Nathan Cross?”
Emily shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Davis searched his database.
Then he looked up.
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“Nathan Cross was a financial investigator.”
Claire stared at him.
“Was?”
“He disappeared seventeen years ago.”
Marcus said:
“Just like Emily.”
Davis continued searching.
“Officially presumed dead.”
Claire felt the room closing around her.
Too many dead people.
Too many disappearances.
Too many lies.
Then Lily spoke.
“Mommy.”
Claire turned.
“Grandpa showed me his picture.”
Everyone went still.
“When?”
“Before.”
“What did he tell you?”
Lily pointed to the photograph.
“He said Mr. Cross was bad.”
Emily whispered:
“Victor knew him.”
Officer Davis zoomed in on the photograph.
On the back was a handwritten date.
And a location.
“An old Vale property,” Marcus said.
“Where?”
Davis looked at the address.
His expression changed.
“It doesn't exist anymore.”
Claire frowned.
“Why?”
“Because it burned down.”
Emily stared.
“Which property?”
Davis answered:
“The original family estate.”
Claire's heart jumped.
“The basement.”
Marcus looked at her.
“What?”
“Our old house had a basement.”
Emily nodded.
“But it was destroyed.”
Claire shook her head.
“No.”
“What are you saying?”
Claire stared at the photograph.
“When I was a child, Dad told me never to go below the second staircase.”
Marcus frowned.
“There was another basement?”
“I thought it was storage.”
Officer Davis asked:
“Can you remember where?”
Claire closed her eyes.
The memory came slowly.
A long hallway.
A wooden staircase.
A blue door.
A brass handle.
A locked room.
And a sound.
Someone crying.
Claire suddenly opened her eyes.
“I heard someone there.”
Emily stepped closer.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“But I remember Dad saying…”
Claire swallowed.
“He said, ‘That's where the lies sleep.’”
Marcus looked at Davis.
“We need to go there.”
Davis nodded.
“Tomorrow.”
Claire shook her head.
“Tonight.”
“It's abandoned.”
“Exactly.”
They drove to the property.
The old estate was hidden beyond a forest road.
Trees covered the broken fence.
The house was mostly rubble.
But one section remained intact.
The lower foundation.
Davis brought a flashlight.
They descended.
Claire recognized the corridor immediately.
Her breathing quickened.
“This is it.”
Marcus pointed.
“There.”
A blue door.
Still intact.
The brass handle was rusted.
Davis forced it open.
Inside was a narrow room.
Empty.
Except for one chair.
And a wall covered in photographs.
Hundreds.
Claire.
Emily.
Their mother.
Julian.
Victor.
Marcus.
Lily.
Everyone.
Someone had monitored the entire family for decades.
At the center was Nathan Cross.
Claire stepped closer.
A photograph had been pinned beneath his name.
It showed Nathan standing beside Victor.
But between them stood Claire's mother.
Pregnant.
Marcus whispered:
“Claire…”
He pointed to the date.
The photograph had been taken one month before Claire was born.
And written below it were three words:
THE ORIGINAL AGREEMENT.
Claire touched the photograph.
Then a voice came from behind them.
“You finally found it.”
They turned.
May you like
Julian stood in the doorway.
Holding a gun.
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