Chapter 18 - The Last Threat|
The threat changed the atmosphere around me.
Until then, I had been determined to prove that I could live independently. I still was. But independence did not mean pretending danger was imaginary, and courage did not mean refusing help when help was necessary.
I showed the message to Evelyn and reported it immediately. The investigator arranged a security assessment of my apartment and helped me document every contact that could be connected to Adrian or Thomas.
Vincent wanted to move me to a guarded property.
I refused.
He took a long breath before answering.
“Then tell me what would make you feel safe.”
The question startled me.
Not what will I do to protect you?
Not why won't you listen to me?
What would make me feel safe.
“I want to stay in my apartment,” I said. “I want the police to handle the threat. I want the investigation conducted through lawyers. And I want you to stop making arrangements before you speak to me.”
“All right.”
“You're not going to send men to stand outside my door?”
“No.”
“Or follow me?”
“No.”
“Or tell me I'm being unreasonable if I say no?”
He looked down.
“No.”
I believed that he wanted to honor the promises. Whether he could sustain them was another question.
The next day, the investigator discovered that the threat had been sent through an account connected to one of Thomas Vale's associates. The police were looking into the connection, but they warned us not to assume who had sent it until the evidence was complete.
Meanwhile, Adrian's lawyers proposed a private settlement. They offered to withdraw the accusations against me if I signed a statement declaring that I had never been involved in the foundation's affairs and agreed not to pursue the missing money.
Evelyn rejected the proposal.
“They're trying to make you trade your name for silence,” she explained. “You can state that you did not knowingly participate, but you should not agree to abandon the investigation.”
“I won't.”
The following afternoon, I gave a formal interview to investigators. I explained every document I had signed during my marriage, every charity event I had attended, and every time I had been told not to worry about the accounts.
I did not hide my mistakes.
I had trusted Vincent. I had accepted explanations without demanding proof. I had allowed my name to be placed on documents I didn't fully understand.
But I had not knowingly moved the money, and I would not accept blame for a scheme I had never agreed to.
When I left the interview, Vincent was waiting outside with Evelyn's permission. He kept a respectful distance.
“How did it go?” he asked.
“I told the truth.”
He nodded.
“That's all anyone can ask.”
“No,” I replied. “It's all anyone should demand.”
We walked toward the parking area together, leaving several feet between us. It was strange to be beside him without touching him, but I preferred the discomfort of distance to the suffocation of pretending nothing had changed.
At the car, he stopped.
“Claire, I need to tell you something.”
I waited.
“When I saw the ultrasound, I wasn't only afraid of losing the baby. I was afraid that you'd finally see me clearly and decide there was nothing left to save.”
I looked at him.
“I saw you clearly long before that morning, Vincent. I kept hoping you would choose to become the man you promised to be.”
His eyes shone, but he didn't reach for me.
“I don't expect you to forgive me.”
“Good.”
“I want to earn the chance to be a father.”
“That will be your responsibility. It won't be a reward I give you for being sorry.”
He nodded.
“I understand.”
For a moment, we stood in silence.
Then Evelyn's phone rang. She listened, asked two questions, and turned toward us.
“Adrian has been located,” she said. “He has agreed to appear for questioning.”
My shoulders relaxed slightly.
“Where is Thomas?”
Evelyn's expression tightened.
“They haven't found him.”
An hour later, we learned why.
Thomas had attempted to access the storage facility where the original records were kept. Security footage showed him entering through a side door, searching the unit, and leaving with an empty folder.
He had taken nothing of value.
Because the most important documents were already in investigators' hands.
But the footage captured something else: Thomas speaking to someone outside the camera's view before he left.
The audio was faint, but the technician enhanced it.
Thomas's words were clear enough to understand.
“It's too late. She already has the letter.”
Then another voice answered.
May you like
“Then we make sure she never gets to use it.”
The voice belonged to Adrian.
