Chapter 9 - THE WOMAN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH|
Claire could barely hold the photograph.
Her mother, Eleanor, had disappeared when Claire was seventeen. The official explanation had been that she died in a house fire. Claire had attended a memorial service, but no body had ever been recovered.
She had never questioned it.
Not until she saw the photograph.
"Where was this taken?" she asked.
Marcus checked the image details.
"Looks like a private property outside Chicago."
"Can you identify it?"
He enlarged the background.
A stone fountain stood behind the woman. Beyond it was a white building with a distinctive tower.
Ethan recognized it.
"The Blackwell summer estate."
Richard smiled.
"Very good."
"You kept Claire's mother there?"
"She was useful."
Claire stepped toward him.
"What did you do to her?"
Richard looked at her.
"She knew too much."
Ethan raised his weapon.
"Enough."
Daniel moved behind his father.
"Careful, little brother. You still haven't learned who is really in charge."
Ethan looked at him.
"You think I care about your games?"
Daniel smiled.
"I think you care about your wife. That's why you keep making mistakes."
He pressed the remote again.
A loud alarm sounded through the basement.
Metal doors began closing along the corridor.
Marcus shouted.
"Sir, the exits are sealing!"
Richard stood.
"Nobody leaves until we have the ledger."
Ethan grabbed Claire's hand.
"Move!"
They ran toward the staircase. Daniel's men fired, forcing them behind a stone pillar. Marcus returned fire while Ethan helped his mother move.
A bullet struck the wall beside Claire.
She stumbled.
Ethan caught her.
"Are you hit?"
"No."
They reached the upper corridor, but the staircase door slammed shut.
A second exit opened behind them.
A narrow passage led toward the kitchen.
"That way!" Marcus shouted.
They moved through the passage as the alarm grew louder.
When they reached the kitchen, Lucy was waiting beside the pantry.
"Mr. Blackwell!"
Ethan stopped.
"What are you doing here?"
"I heard the alarms. The guards said the house was under attack."
"Get outside."
Lucy looked at Claire.
Then she lowered her voice.
"There's something I need to tell you."
"Not now."
"It's about Vanessa."
Ethan turned.
"What?"
Lucy swallowed.
"She came to my room last week. She said if I ever told you what I saw, my little brother would disappear."
Ethan's expression changed.
"What did you see?"
Lucy looked toward the hallway.
"Vanessa was meeting someone in the old chapel."
"Who?"
"Daniel."
Ethan stared at her.
"Daniel was supposed to be dead."
"I know. I saw him. But there was someone else with them."
"Who?"
Lucy's voice broke.
"Your fiancée's father."
Ethan frowned.
"Vanessa's father died five years ago."
Lucy shook her head.
"No, sir. He was standing right there."
She opened her phone and showed him a photograph.
The man beside Vanessa and Daniel was unmistakable.
May you like
It was Senator Robert Hart.
And he was holding a document with Ethan's signature.
