Chapter 4 - THOMAS'S LIE
Owen pointed the gun directly at Thomas.
Claire stepped between them.
“No.”
Owen's voice was cold.
“Move.”
“Not until he explains.”
Thomas looked at the photograph.
“I can explain.”
“Then do it.”
Thomas swallowed.
“I was there.”
Claire stared.
“You knew my grandfather?”
“Yes.”
“You knew me?”
“Yes.”
“And you lied to me for nine months.”
Thomas looked down.
“Yes.”
Claire felt something inside her crack.
She had spent nine months cleaning this mansion.
Nine months bringing coffee to Thomas.
Nine months believing he was simply the quiet financial adviser who occasionally asked her to dust the library.
All that time, he had known exactly who she was.
“Why?”
Thomas looked at Owen.
“Because your grandfather asked me to.”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“He asked you to lie to his granddaughter?”
“He asked me to protect you.”
“From whom?”
“Harrison.”
Owen lowered the gun slightly.
“That's not the whole story.”
Thomas closed his eyes.
“No.”
Claire stepped closer.
“Tell me everything.”
Thomas looked at her.
“When Robert Bennett realized Harrison was killing witnesses, he tried to expose him.”
“Why didn't he go to the police?”
“Because Harrison had already infiltrated the department.”
“So he came to your family.”
Thomas nodded.
“My father helped Robert hide the evidence.”
Claire looked confused.
“But Owen said your father was involved.”
“He was.”
“How?”
Thomas's face hardened.
“He wasn't trying to save Robert.”
Claire stared.
“He wanted the ledger for himself.”
Silence.
Thomas continued.
“My father betrayed Robert.”
“What happened?”
“Robert escaped.”
“And then?”
“Harrison found him.”
Claire remembered Owen's words.
I watched him die.
She turned toward Owen.
“What did you see?”
Owen looked away.
“I was nineteen.”
Claire's anger softened for a moment.
“My father sent me to collect the ledger.”
“You were involved?”
“I was sent as a messenger.”
“What happened?”
“I found Robert in an abandoned warehouse.”
Owen's voice became quieter.
“He was bleeding.”
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
“Who shot him?”
“Harrison.”
“What did you do?”
“I tried to help him.”
“And?”
“He gave me the ledger.”
Claire whispered, “Then why didn't you tell anyone?”
“Because Harrison had my younger sister.”
Claire stopped.
Owen continued.
“He told me if I spoke, she would die.”
“What happened to your sister?”
“She's alive.”
Claire stared.
“Where?”
“Switzerland.”
Thomas suddenly interrupted.
“Owen.”
Owen looked at him.
“You promised.”
“I promised nothing.”
Claire looked between them.
“What are you talking about?”
Thomas took a breath.
“Your grandfather didn't give Owen the entire ledger.”
Claire's heart pounded.
“What did he give him?”
“Half.”
“Where is the other half?”
Thomas looked at Claire.
“You.”
Claire shook her head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You're wrong.”
Thomas reached into his jacket and pulled out a small photograph.
It showed Claire as a child.
Around her neck was the crescent necklace.
On the back, Robert had written:
“THE SECOND HALF LIVES WITH HER.”
Claire touched the necklace.
She suddenly remembered something.
Her grandfather had once told her:
“Never let anyone take this from you.”
She had assumed he meant because it was valuable.
She had been wrong.
She removed it.
Owen examined the pendant.
“It's hollow.”
Thomas nodded.
Claire twisted the crescent.
A tiny compartment opened.
Inside was a miniature memory card.
Claire stared at it.
Twenty-two years of secrets reduced to something smaller than her fingernail.
Owen reached for it.
Claire pulled it away.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“Claire.”
“You've lied to me too.”
“Yes.”
“You watched my grandfather die.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
“I was protecting you.”
She shook her head.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Then the vault door opened.
All three turned.
A security guard stood outside.
His face was pale.
“Mr. Mercer.”
Owen stepped forward.
“What?”
The guard looked at Claire.
“Someone has taken control of the estate security system.”
Thomas asked, “Who?”
The guard's voice trembled.
“The system identifies him as an authorized administrator.”
Owen's eyes narrowed.
“Name?”
The guard looked at his tablet.
“Harrison Hale.”
Thomas stepped backward.
“No.”
Owen looked at Claire.
“Give me the card.”
Claire held it tighter.
“No.”
A loudspeaker crackled overhead.
Then a man's voice filled the mansion.
“Hello, Claire.”
She froze.
Harrison.
“You have something that belongs to me.”
Claire looked at Owen.
The voice continued.
“And if you want to know why your grandfather really died…”
May you like
A pause.
“…come downstairs alone.”
