Chapter 3 - Claire couldn't breathe.Rebecca.

She knew the name.

Everyone in Boston knew the name.

Rebecca Mercer.

Adrian's wife.

Lily's mother.

Dead for one year.

Claire stared at the door.

Lily sat upright in bed.

“Mommy?”

Claire turned.

Lily's eyes were wide.

“You heard that?”

“Someone said Mommy.”

Claire's pulse hammered.

She reached for Lily.

“Stay behind me.”

The door opened again.

This time, Adrian was standing there.

His gun was in his hand.

“Move.”

Claire immediately stepped aside.

Adrian entered.

He checked the closet.

The bathroom.

Under the bed.

Every corner.

Nothing.

Marcus appeared behind him.

“No one in the hall.”

Adrian's gaze moved toward Claire.

“What happened?”

“She heard someone.”

Lily clung to Claire.

“They said Mommy's name.”

Adrian went completely still.

“Exactly what did they say?”

Claire answered.

“Rebecca.”

Adrian's expression became unreadable.

Marcus looked at him.

“We need to talk.”

“No.”

Adrian's eyes remained on Lily.

“Not here.”

They left the bedroom.

Claire waited.

Five minutes.

Ten.

Then she heard voices downstairs.

She shouldn't have listened.

She did anyway.

“I told you she died.”

Adrian's voice.

Marcus replied.

“Then why does someone keep using her name?”

“Because they know it scares Lily.”

“What about the medical records?”

A long silence.

“What medical records?”

“The toxicology report.”

Claire's stomach tightened.

Toxicology.

She leaned closer.

Marcus lowered his voice.

“Your wife's death was ruled accidental.”

“I know.”

“But the private lab report says otherwise.”

Adrian didn't speak.

Claire covered her mouth.

Rebecca's death wasn't an accident?

Then Adrian said quietly:

“Who had access?”

“Three people.”

“Names.”

“Dr. Bennett.”

Claire's blood went cold.

Bennett.

Her surname.

For several seconds she couldn't hear anything else.

Then Marcus continued.

“Your wife's physician. Your family attorney. And Rebecca herself.”

Claire stepped backward.

That was impossible.

Her father had been a physician.

A physician who had died three years ago.

He had never mentioned the Mercers.

Never mentioned Rebecca.

Never mentioned Adrian.

Unless he had.

A memory surfaced.

Her father's study.

A locked drawer.

A silver key.

And one sentence he had told her shortly before his death.

If anyone ever asks you about the Mercers, Claire, tell them you know nothing.

She had forgotten about it.

Until now.

Claire's hands began to shake.

The bathroom cabinet in Lily's room reflected her face.

She looked pale.

She suddenly understood why Adrian's security team had been watching her from the day she arrived.

Maybe she hadn't been hired by coincidence.

Maybe somebody had put her there.

Before Claire could think further, footsteps approached.

Adrian entered.

He closed the door behind him.

“You heard.”

It wasn't a question.

Claire faced him.

“Was Rebecca murdered?”

Adrian's jaw tightened.

“I don't know.”

“But you think she was.”

He didn't answer.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“Because it wasn't your concern.”

Claire laughed bitterly.

“My father is one of the names Marcus mentioned.”

Adrian's eyes sharpened.

“What?”

“My father was Dr. Thomas Bennett.”

Recognition flashed across Adrian's face.

Not confusion.

Recognition.

Claire saw it.

“You knew him.”

Adrian's silence confirmed it.

“How?”

Adrian stepped closer.

“Your father was the doctor who treated Rebecca before she died.”

Claire stared.

“My father told me nothing.”

“He protected you.”

“From what?”

Adrian looked toward the window.

“From the same people who are watching you now.”

A sharp crack sounded downstairs.

A gunshot.

Lily screamed.

Adrian instantly pulled Claire behind him.

Marcus shouted from the hallway.

“DOWN!”

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Another gunshot exploded.

And then the lights went out.