Chapter 12 - Claire’s Last Lie
Claire had not escaped.
She had been taken.
The transport van camera showed a sedan forcing the police vehicle off the road. Two masked men dragged Claire out while the officers were stunned.
One officer recognized the driver.
Daniel.
The message on my mother’s mirror had been a trap designed to turn me against Claire one final time.
It almost worked.
Mara traced an old emergency GPS unit hidden in Claire’s ankle bracelet from an earlier protective order interview. The signal was moving north.
Toward the family’s abandoned hunting lodge.
We followed police vehicles through heavy rain.
Lena stayed with Rachel and a federal protection team.
Before I left, she grabbed my sleeve.
“Bring Grandma back.”
My mother had helped steal Lena from me.
And Lena still did not want her hurt.
That was the difference between my daughter and the adults who had failed her.
The hunting lodge stood dark among the pines.
Police surrounded it.
No response.
Marcus and Ruiz entered through the rear with a tactical team.
I was ordered to stay outside.
I ignored them after I heard my mother scream.
Inside, furniture had been overturned.
Claire was tied to a chair in the dining room.
My mother sat on the floor beside the fireplace, one hand bleeding from a cut.
Daniel stood behind her holding a pistol.
He looked exhausted, soaked, and strangely calm.
“There he is,” he said. “The golden son.”
“Let them go.”
Daniel smiled. “You still think this is about them?”
“It’s about Lena.”
“No. Lena is evidence. You are the problem.”
My mother began crying.
“Daniel, please.”
He shoved the gun against her shoulder.
“Tell him.”
She shook her head.
“Tell me what?” I demanded.
Daniel laughed.
“Tell him who my father was.”
My mother looked at me.
Her face collapsed.
“Ethan,” she whispered, “your father knew Daniel wasn’t his.”
I stared at her.
“Then why did he let Daniel control the trust?”
She closed her eyes.
May you like
“Because Daniel’s real father owned half the company.”
