Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN WHO HAD BEEN WATCHING THEM ALL ALONG
Claire wanted to leave immediately.
Graham wanted to call the police.
Rebecca wanted both of them to slow down.
None of them got what they wanted.
Because within an hour, the federal investigators arrived.
The note had been photographed.
The trust had been frozen.
Thomas Vale was moved to a secure location.
Owen was placed under professional protection.
For the first time since his birth, Claire allowed strangers to carry her son away from her.
She hated every second.
But she knew fear could make people careless.
And she refused to become careless with Owen.
Graham stood beside her.
“He'll be okay.”
Claire didn't look at him.
“You don't know that.”
“No.”
“Then don't promise.”
He nodded.
“Okay.”
The investigator assigned to the case was named Rachel Donovan.
She was calm.
Direct.
And uninterested in the Ashford family's reputation.
She placed several documents on the table.
“We believe the financial network goes back more than ten years.”
Claire looked at her.
“Who's behind it?”
“We don't know yet.”
“Charles?”
“Possibly.”
“Patricia?”
“Possibly.”
“Elias Vance?”
Rachel's expression changed.
“Where did you hear that name?”
Claire told her.
Rachel leaned back.
“We have reason to believe Elias Vance may still be alive.”
Graham's face tightened.
“Why would everyone think he's dead?”
“Because someone wanted him believed dead.”
Rachel opened a file.
“There was no body.”
Claire's eyes widened.
“Then why wasn't that investigated?”
“Because the death occurred overseas.”
“Who reported it?”
Rachel looked at Graham.
“Your mother.”
The room went silent.
Graham stood.
“No.”
Rachel nodded.
“We found the original report.”
“My mother said he died.”
“She reported it.”
Graham sat down slowly.
Claire watched him.
For the first time, he looked less like an Ashford heir and more like a son discovering his childhood had been built on lies.
Rachel continued.
“Elias Vance and Arthur Ashford were business partners.”
“We know.”
“They had a falling out.”
“Over Northstar?”
“Yes.”
“What was Northstar?”
Rachel slid over a file.
“Money laundering.”
Claire's stomach turned.
“Arthur discovered it.”
“Yes.”
“Charles was involved?”
“Evidence suggests he was.”
“Patricia?”
“We don't know.”
Graham asked—
“Why would my mother protect Elias?”
Rachel looked at him.
“Because Elias was her brother.”
Silence.
Claire stared.
“What?”
Graham looked stunned.
“My mother doesn't have a brother.”
“She does.”
Rachel pushed a photograph across the table.
A younger Patricia.
Beside her stood Elias Vance.
Claire looked at Graham.
He couldn't speak.
Rachel continued.
“Patricia changed her surname when she married Charles.”
“Why?”
“To distance herself from the Vance family.”
“Why?”
“Because the Vance family was investigated for financial crimes.”
Graham covered his face.
“My mother lied to me.”
Claire looked at him.
“She lied to everyone.”
Rachel nodded.
“Arthur discovered the truth.”
“And tried to expose them.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he arrange my marriage?”
Rachel looked at Claire.
“Because he believed the only way to protect you was to make you part of the family legally.”
Claire swallowed.
“That makes no sense.”
“It does if Arthur believed Patricia and Charles would never move against someone whose death would expose their own financial interests.”
Graham whispered—
“He used Claire as leverage.”
Rachel shook her head.
“Arthur used the marriage as protection.”
Claire looked away.
Protection.
The word had become complicated.
Her marriage had protected her financially.
But it had destroyed her emotionally.
Both things could be true.
Rachel continued.
“There is one more person we need to discuss.”
“Who?”
“Daniel Whitaker.”
Claire froze.
“No.”
Graham looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because Daniel handled the divorce.”
Rachel nodded.
“And before that, he represented Arthur.”
Claire's heart sank.
“Is he involved?”
“We don't know.”
“But?”
“He accessed the trust records shortly before the attempted transfer.”
Graham stood.
“Where is he?”
Rachel answered.
“He disappeared this morning.”
Claire felt sick.
The man who had brought her divorce papers in the hospital.
The man who had seemed uncomfortable.
The man she had almost trusted.
Now he was gone.
Then her phone rang.
Daniel.
Claire stared at the screen.
Graham looked at her.
“Answer.”
She did.
“Hello?”
Daniel's voice came through quietly.
“Claire.”
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Are you involved?”
“No.”
“Then explain.”
“There isn't time.”
“Daniel.”
“I know who has the ledger.”
Claire's heart raced.
“Who?”
“Your father.”
She froze.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It does.”
“What are you saying?”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Your father has been protecting you.”
“From whom?”
“Everyone.”
The line went dead.
Claire stared at the phone.
Graham said—
“What did he say?”
She told him.
He shook his head.
“My father-in-law?”
“That's what he said.”
Rachel immediately called Claire's father.
No answer.
She tried again.
Nothing.
Then another phone rang.
This time, it was Graham's.
His mother's number.
He answered.
“Mom?”
Patricia's voice was strangely calm.
“You need to come home.”
“Why?”
“You're asking the wrong questions.”
Graham stood.
“Where are you?”
“Chicago.”
“With Dad?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
A pause.
“Elias.”
Graham went completely still.
Claire heard the name through the phone.
Patricia continued.
“Bring Claire.”
Graham's jaw tightened.
“Why?”
“Because she deserves to know why Arthur chose her.”
The call ended.
Claire looked at him.
“We're not going.”
Graham nodded.
“We aren't.”
But then Rachel received an urgent message.
She read it.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
She looked at Claire.
“Your father's car was found abandoned.”
Claire's heart stopped.
“Where?”
Rachel answered.
“Outside the Ashford estate.”
Graham looked toward the door.
“My mother has him.”
And for the first time, Claire understood the real danger.
This was no longer about money.
May you like
It was about everyone who had known the truth before she did.
And someone was running out of time.
