Chapter 7 - The Woman They Were Told to Trust
“Claire!”
Adrian’s voice echoed through the house.
No answer.
Mara dropped beside the wounded guard.
“Who fired?”
He grimaced.
“Crowe.”
“How did he get loose?”
The guard looked humiliated.
“Claire cut him free.”
Adrian stared at the black ring.
Victor’s note flashed through his mind.
TRUST CLAIRE.
Either Victor had been wrong.
Or he had wanted Adrian to trust the wrong person.
Emily stepped closer to the guard.
“Did Claire leave with Mason?”
“No. She gave him the gun. He ran toward the rear hall. She went the other direction.”
“Why?” Adrian asked.
“I don’t know.”
Mara stood.
“Lock every interior zone. Nobody moves alone.”
Emily lifted the tablet.
“I can track door sensors.”
Adrian looked at her bruise.
“You stay here.”
“No.”
“Emily.”
“No.” Her voice cracked, but she did not back down. “Every time someone tells me to stay somewhere safe, I end up being the last person to know what’s happening. I’m done with that.”
Adrian wanted to argue.
Then he saw himself in her.
That same stubborn refusal to be managed.
“Stay beside me.”
She nodded.
The tablet chimed.
“Wine cellar door.”
Mara frowned.
“There’s no exterior exit from the cellar.”
“There’s one sensor down there.”
Adrian picked up the ring with a handkerchief.
“Then let’s find out what she opened.”
The cellar smelled like cedar and dust.
Rows of expensive bottles disappeared into darkness.
Emily checked the floor plan.
“The sensor should be behind that wall.”
There was no door.
Adrian ran his hand along the paneling.
One section shifted.
A hidden passage opened.
Cold air rolled out.
Mara raised her weapon.
“Stay behind me.”
They entered single file.
The tunnel sloped downward beneath the mansion.
Fifty feet in, they found Claire.
She was sitting on the ground.
Blood covered her blouse.
Adrian rushed toward her.
“Where are you hit?”
She laughed weakly.
“Not my blood.”
Mara’s eyes narrowed.
“Whose?”
Claire pointed into the darkness.
A man lay facedown twenty feet away.
Sheriff Pike.
Dead.
Emily covered her mouth.
Adrian turned back to Claire.
“What happened?”
“He followed me.”
“Why did you free Mason?”
“I didn’t.”
“The guard saw you.”
“The guard saw someone wearing my coat.”
Claire reached beneath her torn sleeve and pulled out a small memory card.
“I came down here because Victor told me this was the only place North couldn’t erase.”
Adrian took it.
“What’s on it?”
Claire looked at Emily.
“The reason Mason wanted her signature.”
“Which is?”
Claire swallowed.
“Emily doesn’t inherit your company when you die.”
Adrian frowned.
“She inherits it now.”
Emily stared at her.
Claire finished.
May you like
“Because according to the documents on that card, Adrian Vale died three months ago.”
