Chapter 10 - THE LETTER CLAIRE LEFT BEHIND|
I opened Claire's letter in the car.
Her handwriting was slightly uneven.
My love,
If this reaches you, something has gone terribly wrong. I need you to know that I love you, and I love our little boy.
I stopped reading.
My eyes blurred.
Then I continued.
There are people who believe our family is a business arrangement. Your father spent years creating alliances that I never understood. Margaret says everything is necessary to protect Noah, but I no longer trust her judgment.
My fingers tightened around the paper.
I discovered that somebody had been asking questions about my medical records. I also discovered that Vanessa Hart's father had contacted the hospital administration.
I looked at Marco.
"Keep driving."
The letter continued.
I don't know whether they intend to hurt me. Perhaps I'm frightened because the pregnancy has been difficult. But if something happens, please don't let anybody use Noah as a bargaining tool.
Then came the final paragraph.
There is a woman who has been kind to me at the hospital. Her name is Grace Miller. She helped me when I was frightened. If you ever meet her, please listen to her.
I couldn't breathe.
Claire had known Grace.
I turned toward her.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Grace looked stunned.
"I didn't know she wrote about me."
"She knew your name."
Grace began crying.
"She was kind to everyone."
I read the letter again.
Then I found a small additional note folded inside.
Luca, if Vanessa Hart ever enters your life, be careful. Her father believes our families owe him something. He has never forgiven your father for refusing a business arrangement.
I stared at the page.
Vanessa hadn't entered our lives by accident.
My phone rang.
It was Marco's deputy.
"Boss, we have a problem."
"What?"
"Somebody accessed the estate security system last night."
"Who?"
"We found an outside connection."
"Where did it originate?"
There was a pause.
"Inside the house."
I looked at Grace.
Then at the photograph of Claire.
"Who had access?"
"Four people."
"Names."
"Your mother, Vanessa Hart, the house manager, and..."
He stopped.
"And who?"
"Grace Miller."
I turned toward her.
Her face went white.
"I didn't do it."
I wanted to believe her.
May you like
But the security logs showed that her personal access code had been used to open the private archive.
And inside that archive was the original recording from Claire's hospital room.
