Chapter 6 - The Woman Behind the DoorClaire was found six hours later.
Alive.
Barely.
She was locked inside an empty storage room across town.
When Lorenzo arrived, she was tied to a chair.
Nora stood behind him.
Claire looked at her.
Then she began crying.
“I’m sorry.”
Nora frowned.
“For what?”
Claire shook her head.
“You shouldn't have come here.”
Lorenzo's guards searched the room.
Nothing.
No cameras.
No weapons.
No clues.
Lorenzo stepped closer.
“Who took you?”
Claire looked at him.
“Victor.”
“What did he ask?”
Her voice trembled.
“He wanted to know where Nora was.”
Lorenzo turned to Nora.
“Did you ever meet Victor?”
She hesitated.
“No.”
Claire suddenly interrupted.
“You have.”
Nora's face changed.
Claire pointed at her.
“Three years ago.”
Nora stared.
“I don't remember.”
“You were at the hospital.”
Claire swallowed.
“After Daniel died.”
A chill moved through the room.
Nora slowly shook her head.
“I wasn't.”
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
“You were.”
She reached for her pocket.
Lorenzo's guard searched her and found a folded receipt.
Claire handed it to Nora.
It was from a hospital.
Three years earlier.
Room 417.
Nora's name appeared as a visitor.
But Nora didn't remember visiting.
“I wasn't there,” she whispered.
Claire nodded.
“I know.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because you weren't conscious.”
Nora looked at her.
Claire continued.
“You were drugged.”
Silence.
“By whom?”
Claire looked toward Lorenzo.
“Your father.”
Lorenzo froze.
“My father?”
“He ordered me to take Nora out of the hospital.”
Nora stared at Claire in disbelief.
“Why?”
“Because Daniel had left something for you.”
“What?”
Claire shook her head.
“I never saw it.”
“Where is it now?”
Claire looked terrified.
“Leo has it.”
Lorenzo's jaw tightened.
“What is it?”
“A recording.”
“Of what?”
Claire whispered:
“Daniel's murder.”
Nora's face went white.
“My brother recorded his own murder?”
“He knew they were coming.”
Nora stepped forward.
“Then why didn't he give it to me?”
Claire looked at her.
“Because he did.”
Nora blinked.
“What?”
Claire pointed toward Nora's necklace.
Nora touched her neck.
Her fingers froze.
The pendant was missing.
The necklace Leo had stolen.
Lorenzo understood.
“The pendant.”
Claire nodded.
“There's a memory chip inside.”
Nora looked horrified.
Leo didn't steal her necklace because he wanted revenge.
He stole it because he knew what was hidden inside.
A recording.
A witness.
Proof.
Then Lorenzo's phone buzzed.
One message.
A photograph of Leo.
Standing beside Nora's mother.
May you like
The caption contained only four words.
Your mother remembers everything.
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