Chapter 7 - Evelyn's SecretClara returned to the city without telling Daniel or Marcus.
She went directly to Evelyn.
The older woman was waiting in her mansion.
"You found Julian."
Clara stopped.
"You knew."
Evelyn nodded.
"I always knew."
"Why did you lie?"
"Because if Adrian discovered you found him, he would kill him."
Clara's jaw tightened.
"My father."
Evelyn closed her eyes.
"I didn't kill him."
"But you knew what was going to happen."
Silence.
Then Evelyn walked to a cabinet.
She removed an old photograph.
It showed Clara's father, Richard Sterling, Evelyn, and Julian.
Clara stared.
"This was twenty years ago."
Evelyn nodded.
"Your father and I were partners."
"Partners?"
"In a private intelligence network."
Clara froze.
"What?"
Evelyn sat down.
"Your father didn't merely build businesses. He investigated people who used corporations to finance criminal organizations."
"And Sterling Global?"
"A front."
Clara's eyes widened.
"Richard was involved."
"Yes."
"Then why did you marry him?"
"Because I thought I could control him."
Evelyn's voice cracked.
"I was wrong."
She continued.
"Richard became obsessed with power."
"He used Julian."
"He used Adrian."
"He used everyone."
Clara whispered.
"What happened to Julian?"
"Richard tried to kill him."
Evelyn stopped.
"Julian survived. I hid him."
"Why?"
"Because I knew Richard would come after him."
Clara stood.
"And my father?"
Evelyn looked at her.
"Your father discovered what Richard had done."
"So Richard killed him?"
"No."
Evelyn's voice became barely audible.
"Richard was already dead."
Clara froze.
"Then who killed my father?"
Evelyn looked down.
"I don't know."
Clara stared at her.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I expect you to understand that there is another player."
"Who?"
Evelyn hesitated.
Then she handed Clara an envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Clara's face drained of color.
It showed her father the night before he died.
Standing beside him...
was Adrian.
But behind them stood someone else.
Clara.
Her younger self.
Impossible.
She was supposed to have been in another city that night.
"That's not me."
Evelyn shook her head.
"It is."
Clara stared harder.
Then noticed the date.
The photograph had been taken exactly twenty-four hours before her father's death.
She remembered that night.
She had been at a charity event.
At least...
she thought she had.
Evelyn whispered.
"Your memories were altered."
Clara slowly turned.
"What?"
"You were given medication after the accident."
"What accident?"
Evelyn's voice broke.
"Three years ago wasn't the first time they tried to erase you."
Clara stepped backward.
"What are you saying?"
"Before your father's death, there was another incident."
Evelyn reached for her hand.
"Clara..."
The mansion lights suddenly went out.
A crash echoed downstairs.
Then another.
Someone was inside.
Evelyn whispered.
"Run."
A gunshot tore through the ceiling.
Clara grabbed her arm.
"Who's here?"
Evelyn looked terrified.
"The person who has been waiting for you to remember."
Then footsteps approached the door.
Slow.
Calm.
Deliberate.
The handle began to turn.
May you like
And Clara realized something terrifying.
The person entering the room already had a key.
