Chapter 7 - Someone Is Watching Claire Again
Daniel called security.
Within fifteen minutes, the townhouse was locked down.
Claire stood behind an upstairs window watching Boston traffic.
“Richard was telling the truth.”
Daniel joined her.
“About what?”
“Someone was looking for me.”
“Maybe.”
“He said he made me invisible.”
Daniel did not soften his answer.
“He also benefited from keeping you powerless.”
Claire looked at him.
“Both can be true.”
“Yes.”
She hated how often that sentence applied.
Daniel’s security team traced the threatening email through several
anonymous relays.
No useful origin.
But the photograph contained one clue.
A reflection in a parked car.
A man holding the camera.
Claire enlarged it.
She knew him.
“That’s Thomas.”
“Who?”
“My father’s driver.”
Daniel stared.
“Richard’s driver?”
“He’s worked for us since I was seventeen.”
Daniel immediately called Samuel.
Thomas Mercer had disappeared from the Hale mansion that morning.
His employee file was fake.
Social Security number belonged to a dead man.
Claire felt sick.
“He was inside our house for ten years.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Watching you.”
The realization changed old memories.
Thomas driving her to grocery stores.
Thomas waiting outside community college classes.
Thomas carrying luggage.
Thomas always knowing where she was.
Claire had thought he was one of the few staff members who treated her
kindly.
Now she wondered whether kindness had been surveillance.
Daniel’s phone rang again.
This time Richard.
“Claire with you?”
“Yes.”
“Put me on speaker.”
Claire folded her arms.
“You knew Thomas was fake?”
“No.”
“You hired him.”
“Victoria did.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Of course.
“What does Victoria know?”
Richard’s voice became grim.
“More than I realized.”
“Where is she?”
“Gone.”
Daniel asked, “When?”
“After you left for Boston.”
Richard continued.
“She emptied one account and took her passport.”
Claire felt no surprise left.
“Madison, Lauren, Emily?”
“With me.”
“Are they safe?”
“I think so.”
Daniel’s voice sharpened.
“Thinking isn’t enough.”
Richard did not argue.
“I hired security.”
Claire stared out the window.
“Why would Victoria help Adrian Vale?”
Richard was silent.
Then:
“Because Adrian was her uncle.”
Claire turned.
“What?”
“Victoria’s mother was Adrian’s older sister.”
Daniel swore quietly.
Claire tried to follow the family lines.
“So Victoria knew who Catherine was.”
“Yes.”
“And she knew I was Catherine’s daughter.”
“I believe so.”
“Before she married you?”
Richard’s silence answered.
Claire laughed without humor.
“She married you to watch me.”
“I don’t know.”
“Dad.”
“I don’t know!”
His voice cracked.
Claire had never heard Richard sound frightened.
Daniel asked, “Did Victoria encourage you to keep Claire at home?”
Richard did not answer immediately.
“Yes.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“Did she convince you college was unsafe?”
“Yes.”
“Did she tell you people might recognize me?”
“Yes.”
“Did she suggest I work at family events instead of getting a job
elsewhere?”
Richard’s voice became barely audible.
“Yes.”
Claire felt the truth settle.
Her father had controlled her.
But someone had also controlled him.
Victoria had turned Richard’s fear into a cage.
It did not absolve him.
It explained the architecture.
Daniel’s security chief entered.
“We located Caroline Hayes.”
Claire stopped breathing.
“Where?”
“Portland, Maine.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
Claire grabbed the desk.
“Can I speak to her?”
The security chief hesitated.
“She refused.”
Claire stared.
“What?”
“She said Claire Hale must stop looking.”
Daniel frowned.
“Did she explain?”
“Yes.”
The man looked uncomfortable.
“She said, ‘If Claire finds me, Victoria will finish what Adrian
started.’”
Claire whispered, “Victoria.”
Her stepmother was not running from the secret.
She was protecting it.
Daniel asked, “Can we secure Catherine?”
“She refuses protection.”
Claire turned toward the door.
“Then I’m going to her.”
Daniel stepped in front of her.
“Claire.”
“No.”
“Listen.”
“I’ve spent eleven years letting people decide what truth I can handle.”
“I’m not stopping you.”
She paused.
“I’m coming with you.”
Claire stared.
“Why?”
Daniel looked at Eleanor’s letter on the desk.
“Because your mother asked me to protect you.”
“I’m twenty-seven.”
“I noticed.”
Despite everything, Claire almost smiled.
Daniel continued.
“Protection doesn’t mean making your decisions. It means making sure you
have backup while you make them.”
Claire looked at him for a long moment.
“That’s different from my father.”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
They left for Maine before sunset.
Halfway there, Claire received a text from an unknown number.
A photograph of Catherine leaving a hospital.
Then:
ASK YOUR MOTHER WHY SHE NEVER CAME BACK.
A second message followed.
AND ASK DANIEL WHAT HIS FATHER DID TO KEEP HER AWAY.
Claire slowly turned toward him.
Daniel saw her expression.
“What?”
She showed him the phone.
He read the message.
His face changed.
May you like
Claire’s voice was quiet.
“What else did Robert Whitmore hide?”
