Chapter 23 - The Chalet in the Alps
The armored motorcade drove through winding mountain roads until it arrived at a grand wooden chalet overlooking Lake Zurich.
Security personnel wearing international diplomatic badges opened the heavy wrought-iron gates for their arrival.
Clara stepped out into the crisp, cool air, her heart pounding against her ribs like a trapped bird.
The chalet's heavy oak front doors swung open, revealing an elegant sixty-year-old woman with dark hair streaked with silver.
She wore a dark green wool sweater and held an antique silver locket around her neck—identical to Clara's.
May you like
"Clara... my little girl," the woman whispered in a voice trembling with decades of suppressed love.
Clara ran up the stone steps, throwing her arms around her mother as tears spilled freely down her cheeks.
