Chapter 4 - The House That Turned Against Her
By evening, Charles Whitmore had created a new version of events.
According to the statement released through company contacts, Claire had suffered an “emotional reaction” after a private family disagreement.
She had removed confidential documents.
She had disappeared with Dominic Vale.
Claire read it twice.
Then laughed.
“My father spent fifteen years convincing people I didn't matter.”
Dominic looked up.
“Now apparently I'm dangerous enough to destroy the company.”
“Fear changes definitions.”
Claire looked tired.
Not defeated.
Just tired.
Richard agreed to speak from the hospital.
He confirmed Anne had discovered millions missing from Whitmore Freight long before her death.
Rebecca and Victor were involved.
After Anne died, Rebecca brought investors and helped keep the company alive.
That was how she gained Charles's trust.
Or his dependence.
Then Richard revealed something worse.
Anne's shares had not simply been left to Claire.
Until Claire formally claimed them, voting authority belonged to a protective trustee.
Antonio Vale.
When Antonio died, that authority transferred under his estate.
To Dominic.
Claire stared at him.
“You control my shares?”
“I didn't know.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
“I'll have attorneys confirm everything.”
“You could use them against me.”
“I won't.”
“You run a mafia organization.”
Dominic looked at her calmly.
“And your father runs a shipping company.”
He paused.
“Which one of us has lied to you more?”
Claire hated that she couldn't answer.
That night on the terrace, Baltimore glittered in the distance.
“Why are you helping me?” Claire asked.
“My father promised Anne.”
“That isn't enough.”
“No.”
Claire turned.
Dominic's eyes stayed on her.
“I noticed you before I knew any of this.”
“Why?”
“Your father introduced three daughters.”
Claire swallowed.
“And?”
“You were the only person at that table he seemed afraid to acknowledge.”
She laughed faintly.
“That sounds dramatic.”
“You were also the only person who knew his business.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“You spent twelve years keeping everyone else standing.”
“That makes me useful.”
“No.”
His voice softened.
“That makes you powerful.”
No one had ever described Claire that way.
Not sincerely.
Her phone vibrated.
Emily.
Please answer. I'm scared.
Claire called.
Her half-sister whispered.
“Mom and Dad are fighting.”
“Leave the house.”
“They're arguing about Anne's files.”
Claire's blood went cold.
“Emily, go to Martha's cottage.”
A door opened on Emily's end.
Rebecca's voice:
“Who are you talking to?”
The call ended.
Dominic was already moving.
Three vehicles left his estate.
They never reached the mansion.
A truck blocked the road.
Another vehicle struck them from behind.
Glass broke.
Security responded.
Dominic pulled Claire out through the opposite side.
They ran toward the trees.
A man stepped from behind an oak.
Dominic shoved Claire aside.
A shot cracked.
He staggered.
“Dominic!”
Blood appeared across his shoulder.
The attacker was overwhelmed seconds later.
Claire ran to Dominic.
“You're shot.”
“Grazed.”
“That's still shot.”
“Technically.”
“Don't be irritating right now.”
His mouth almost curved.
Then Claire looked at the captured man.
She knew him.
“Patrick?”
Whitmore Freight security.
Nine years.
Patrick laughed.
“Your father should've kept you in that storage room.”
Dominic stepped forward.
“Who sent you?”
Patrick smiled.
“You think Rebecca is the one you should fear?”
Claire's stomach tightened.
“Who?”
“Your mother didn't die because she discovered Rebecca.”
He leaned toward Claire.
“She died because she discovered who Rebecca really worked for.”
“Who?”
Patrick opened his mouth.
Then collapsed.
One final attack from somewhere beyond the road.
Security pulled Claire back.
She crawled toward Patrick.
“Who?”
His lips moved.
She leaned close.
One word.
“Charles.”
Patrick died.
Claire sat on the ground beside him.
Her father had stolen her inheritance.
Erased her from his family.
Hidden her mother's truth.
But until that moment, one possibility had still been too terrible to accept.
May you like
Charles might not merely have known about Anne's death.
He might have helped cause it.
