Chapter 6 - THE WITNESS AT THE GATE|
Claire Donovan was brought into the estate's library under Rosa's supervision.
She was fifty-two, pale from exhaustion, and dressed in a gray coat that looked as though it had survived several winters without proper care. Her eyes moved constantly toward the windows and the door.
Lorenzo remained near the fireplace.
“You have a remarkable sense of timing,” he said.
Claire flinched.
“I deserve that.”
“You disappeared before my father died. You vanished after my accident. Now you appear at my gate claiming you helped arrange it.”
“I didn't arrange your accident.”
“You just said you helped her.”
Claire lowered her eyes.
“I helped Vanessa gain access to your father's records. I thought she was trying to protect her financial interests. I didn't know what she intended to do with them.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“You shouldn't. Not yet.”
The honesty surprised him.
Claire reached into her handbag and produced a small notebook. Its pages contained dates, account numbers, and brief notes written in a hurried hand.
“Your father discovered that Northstar Maritime was being used to move money through shell companies. He suspected someone inside the family was involved. He asked me to make copies of certain records.”
“Who?”
“Matteo.”
Lorenzo's face tightened.
Claire continued.
“Vanessa approached me after your father's death. She said she wanted to protect you from the consequences of his investigation. She offered me money to provide her with the records.”
“And you agreed.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“My husband had cancer. We were drowning in debt. Vanessa promised enough money to pay for his treatment.”
Claire's voice broke.
“He died anyway. I spent the next three years trying to convince myself that the documents I handed over hadn't been used to hurt you.”
Abigail sat across from her.
“What changed?”
“Two weeks ago, I received a package containing a copy of a medical assessment declaring Lorenzo incompetent. The assessment was dated before the independent examination ever took place.”
She placed another sheet on the table.
At the bottom was Dr. Whitaker's signature.
“I realized Vanessa was preparing to take permanent control of the estate. I contacted her and told her I wanted the original documents returned.”
“What did she say?” Lorenzo asked.
“She said I should be grateful she hadn't sent someone to silence me.”
Rosa took the papers for examination.
Claire then revealed that she had kept a copy of the financial records hidden in a storage unit outside Chicago. She had not opened it since her husband's death.
Lorenzo wanted to retrieve the files immediately, but Rosa advised against moving without first checking whether the unit had been compromised.
While they discussed the safest approach, Abigail noticed Claire watching Lorenzo with an expression of guilt that seemed deeper than the situation required.
“Is there something else?” Abigail asked.
Claire hesitated.
“Your father left a letter for you.”
“Where is it?”
“I gave it to Vanessa.”
Lorenzo's face went rigid.
“What was in it?”
“I never read it.”
“You handed her a sealed letter from my father without knowing what it contained?”
Claire began to cry.
“I was afraid. She had already threatened my family. I thought giving it to her would make her leave me alone.”
Lorenzo turned away.
Abigail wanted to comfort him, but she knew he needed space more than sympathy.
That night, Claire was placed in a protected guest room while Rosa arranged for a lawyer to take her statement. Lorenzo sat alone in the study, staring at his father's photograph.
Abigail found him after midnight.
“You don't have to forgive her tonight,” she said.
“I don't know if I can forgive anyone.”
“Then don't make that decision tonight, either.”
He looked at her.
“Why do you keep doing this?”
“Doing what?”
“Giving me permission to feel things I thought I wasn't allowed to feel.”
Abigail sat beside him.
“Because you are a person, Lorenzo. Not a business holding. Not a patient. Not a problem for your family to solve.”
He reached for her hand. This time, he did not stop himself.
She let him hold it.
For a moment, the future seemed less frightening.
Then Rosa burst into the room.
“Claire is gone.”
“What?” Lorenzo demanded.
“The guest room is empty. The window is open, and the guards at the western gate swear no one passed them.”
Abigail ran toward the corridor.
On the floor outside Claire's room lay a torn strip of paper.
May you like
It carried a single message written in red ink.
Stop investigating the accident, or the nurse becomes the next victim.
