Chapter 7 - The Last Phone CallClaire Had Met My Father Before She Met Me
The tunnel went silent.
I looked at Claire.
"Is that true?"
She didn't answer.
"Claire."
Margaret's voice was calm.
"She was there."
Claire finally spoke.
"I was twenty-four."
I stared at her.
"You knew my father?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Through my mother."
I didn't understand.
"My mother?"
"Your father used one of her businesses."
"What business?"
"Financial investigations."
I stared at her.
Claire had never told me her mother worked in finance.
She had always described her as retired.
Margaret smiled.
"She was an investigator."
Claire glared at her.
"You've said enough."
"No."
I stepped between them.
"I deserve the truth."
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
"I met your father before I ever met you."
"How long?"
"Two years."
"Two years?"
"Before we started dating."
I felt betrayed in a completely different way.
"Why did you marry me?"
"At first, I didn't know who you were."
"And later?"
"I loved you."
"That isn't an answer."
"It became one."
She walked closer.
"Your father asked me to keep an eye on Victor."
"What?"
"He believed Victor was moving money."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because by then I had already fallen in love with you."
My voice broke.
"You knew my family was dangerous."
"Yes."
"And you stayed?"
"Yes."
"You knew I was being manipulated."
"Yes."
"And when Hope was born, you still stayed."
"Until I found the final file."
"What file?"
Claire reached inside her jacket.
She pulled out a document.
It was a birth certificate.
Not Hope's.
My father's.
I looked confused.
Claire said,
"Your father's real name wasn't Daniel Mercer."
I stared at her.
"What?"
"He changed his identity when he entered the business."
Margaret looked away.
Victor said nothing.
Claire handed me another document.
A photograph of a much younger man.
The face was unmistakable.
My father.
But the name underneath wasn't Mercer.
It was Adrian Vale.
I whispered,
"Who is Adrian Vale?"
Margaret answered.
"The founder of the network your father spent twenty years trying to destroy."
I stared at her.
"My father founded it?"
"No."
"He inherited it."
My head spun.
"Then why did he try to leave?"
"Because he discovered the network had been infiltrated."
"By who?"
Margaret looked at Victor.
Victor lowered his head.
"Not me."
"Then who?"
Margaret turned toward Claire.
"Her."
Claire's face hardened.
"I didn't know."
"You knew enough."
"I was twenty-four."
"You were working with her mother."
"Because she asked me to!"
I looked between them.
"Someone please tell me what happened."
Claire finally broke.
"My mother discovered that someone inside the network was selling information to a foreign buyer."
"Who?"
"She didn't know."
"Then?"
"She asked your father for help."
"And?"
"They worked together."
"To catch the traitor?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
Claire looked at Hope.
"Your father found the traitor."
"Who?"
"Someone in your family."
Silence.
I felt the world narrowing.
"Who?"
Claire hesitated.
Then she said,
"My mother."
I stared at her.
Margaret took a breath.
"No."
Claire shook her head.
"She disappeared after that."
Margaret laughed.
"My dear, you believed your mother."
"You said she betrayed my father."
"She did."
"And then?"
"She killed him."
My entire body went numb.
Margaret looked at me.
"Your father was planning to expose her."
"Why?"
"Because she stole the ledger."
"Where is it?"
Margaret smiled.
"Hidden inside your house."
I thought of the empty rooms.
My eyes widened.
"The nursery."
Claire looked at me.
Then her face changed.
"The crib."
We all understood at once.
The only piece of furniture Claire had left behind.
The crib I thought she couldn't take.
Margaret whispered,
"Go home."
Victor stared at her.
"That's exactly what they want."
Margaret nodded.
"Yes."
"And that's why they'll be waiting."
A gunshot echoed through the tunnel.
Everyone turned.
May you like
Someone had found us.
And this time, there were no more places to run.
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