Chapter 10 - The Drive
Flynn survived.
The bullet missed his heart by less than an inch.
I did not visit him.
Saving my life did not erase planning my death.
That was a distinction I refused to surrender.
The encrypted drive changed everything.
Federal investigators spent two days breaking its security.
When they finally opened it, they found twenty years of transactions.
Bribery.
Blackmail.
Fraud.
Shell corporations.
And detailed records connecting Aidan to the plot against my family.
There was enough evidence to imprison him for the rest of his life.
But they still had to find him.
Then Daniel discovered something investigators missed.
A maintenance log from the yacht showed Aidan had accessed navigation records repeatedly.
He wasn't checking where we had been.
He was checking where we could go.
One location appeared repeatedly.
A private island in the Bahamas owned through a shell corporation.
Ruiz looked at me.
“We found him.”
A multinational operation began.
I stayed home.
For once, I accepted that survival did not require personally chasing every monster.
Thirty-six hours later, Ruiz called.
“They have him.”
I sat down.
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
Aidan had been captured attempting to leave the island by seaplane.
No dramatic final battle.
No clever escape.
Just handcuffs.
For the first time since the yacht, every person directly involved was in custody.
I thought relief would feel bigger.
Instead, it arrived quietly.
I walked outside.
My mother joined me.
“Is it over?”
“I think so.”
She took my hand.
We watched the sunset.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then she said, “What will you do about Flynn?”
“Nothing.”
“You'll have to testify.”
“I know.”
“I mean afterward.”
I understood.
There would be no afterward for us.
Flynn had made choices.
Consequences were not cruelty.
They were reality.
The next morning, I removed my wedding ring.
I placed it inside an envelope.
Not dramatically.
No tears.
No speech.
Just an object that no longer belonged on my hand.
Then I called my lawyer.
“File for annulment.”
When I hung up, I felt lighter.
But the legal nightmare was only beginning.
Aidan's attorneys planned to argue that Flynn acted independently.
Sloane planned to blame Aidan.
Fiona planned to testify against everyone.
Marcus wanted a deal.
And Flynn?
Flynn asked for nothing.
Until three weeks later.
A letter arrived.
I almost threw it away.
Then I opened it.
There were only four sentences.
Claire, I will plead guilty.
I will testify against my father.
I won't ask you to forgive me.
But there is one more thing you need to know.
Below those words was an address.
And a name.
Rebecca Shaw.
I had never heard of her.
My father had.
The moment he saw the name, his face went pale.
May you like
“Claire,” he whispered, “Rebecca Shaw died twenty-seven years ago.”
But according to Flynn's letter, she was alive—and she knew why Aidan had really come back.
