Chapter 12 - THE CHOICE
Clare knew she was walking into a trap.
She went anyway.
Lily was left with a trusted neighbor.
Clare carried the flash drive in her coat pocket.
The meeting location was an abandoned warehouse outside Franklin.
She entered alone.
"Victor?"
Her voice echoed.
A light flickered on.
Victor appeared.
Daniel sat tied to a chair.
His eyes found Clare.
"No."
Victor smiled.
"You came."
Clare walked forward.
"Let him go."
"You have something I want."
She held up the drive.
"Here."
Victor laughed.
"You really think I'm stupid?"
"No."
Clare's voice was steady.
"I think you're scared."
His smile vanished.
"You have no idea what you're talking about."
"I know my father discovered you."
"He discovered too much."
"You killed him."
Victor said nothing.
Daniel stared at him.
"Victor."
Victor looked toward Daniel.
"You were supposed to stay out of this."
"You murdered my best friend."
Victor shook his head.
"Thomas made a choice."
"He chose to expose you."
"He chose his daughter over his own life."
Clare froze.
Victor looked at her.
"Your father knew the only way to stop us was to make you the beneficiary of something we couldn't touch."
"What?"
"The Mercer employee trust."
Clare frowned.
Victor laughed.
"Your father hid the controlling evidence inside it."
Daniel suddenly understood.
"The trust isn't money."
Victor looked at him.
"No."
"It's evidence."
Victor's expression changed.
Clare realized it too.
Her father's plan had never been about wealth.
He had built a legal mechanism that would release the evidence if Clare ever challenged her employment records.
The payroll investigation wasn't the key.
Clare herself was.
Victor lunged toward her.
Daniel kicked the chair sideways.
A gunshot exploded.
Clare screamed.
Then the warehouse doors burst open.
Police flooded inside.
Victor turned.
Elena Ross stepped through the doorway beside the detective.
"I told you I'd testify."
Victor's face collapsed.
Daniel looked at Clare.
"You came."
She rushed toward him.
"I couldn't leave you."
May you like
He closed his eyes.
For the first time in years, Daniel allowed himself to be held.
