Chapter 6 - The Threat Reaches Harbor Ridge
Roman didn't go to the carriage house immediately.
Claire expected him to.
Instead, he ordered the entire building sealed.
Then he drove her to Connecticut.
“You have people who can check on Lily,” Claire said from the passenger seat.
“I know.”
“You don't need to come.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you?”
Roman kept his eyes on the highway.
“Because you won't believe she's safe until you see her.”
Claire looked out the window.
Annoyingly accurate.
By late morning, snowplows had cleared the interstate. The world beyond the car remained white.
Roman's security vehicle followed behind.
Claire noticed people staring when they reached Harbor Ridge.
Roman DeLuca wasn't someone who entered places invisibly.
Even wearing a plain black coat, he changed the atmosphere.
Lily was waiting near the rehabilitation gym in her wheelchair.
The moment she saw Claire, her face changed.
“Oh my God.”
Claire hurried forward.
Lily opened her arms.
They held each other.
For nearly a minute, Claire said nothing.
She simply felt her sister breathing.
Alive.
Safe.
When they separated, Lily examined her.
“You look terrible.”
“Thank you.”
“Like actually terrible.”
“Nice to see you too.”
Lily's eyes moved to Roman.
Then widened.
Claire sighed.
“Don't.”
Lily whispered, “That's him?”
Roman approached.
“Lily.”
She stared.
“You know my name.”
“I've heard it several hundred times in the last four hours.”
Claire shot him a look.
Lily grinned.
That grin nearly made Claire cry.
It was normal.
For ten seconds, their lives felt normal.
Then Harbor Ridge's director arrived holding paperwork.
“Ms. Bennett, we need to discuss what happened last night.”
They moved into a conference room.
The visitor had arrived at 9:17 p.m.
He identified himself as Thomas Grant.
He carried documents claiming Lily had been approved for emergency transfer to a private neurological facility in Manhattan.
The papers contained Claire's signature.
Forged.
Lily's medical identification number.
Correct.
Insurance data.
Correct.
Even her physician's name.
Roman examined the papers.
“Who provided this information?”
The director shook her head.
“We don't know.”
“Who approved the transfer?”
“No one here.”
“Security footage?”
“We have it.”
A screen showed the lobby.
Claire's stomach turned.
The man from the snow.
Not clear enough for certainty.
But same height.
Same dark coat.
Same way of moving.
She pointed.
“That's him.”
Roman looked at her.
“You're sure?”
“No.”
Claire swallowed.
“But I think so.”
Roman's security team captured still images.
Lily looked between them.
“Can someone please tell me what is happening?”
Claire sat beside her.
For years she had protected Lily by hiding the ugly parts.
Debt collectors.
Threats.
Late notices.
Claire had wanted her sister focused on walking again—not on their father's mistakes.
But hiding the truth had nearly allowed someone to remove Lily from the facility.
So Claire told her everything.
Their father's loan.
Granite Harbor.
The amount.
Vivian.
The carriage house.
The storm.
Lily listened silently.
When Claire finished, she looked furious.
“You've been paying this for how long?”
“Three years.”
“You told me Dad had life insurance.”
“He did.”
“Claire.”
“It paid part of it.”
“You lied.”
“I was protecting you.”
“No. You were deciding what I could handle.”
Claire flinched.
Roman looked away.
The words struck because Claire had said almost the same thing to him.
Lily wiped tears angrily.
“You were working double shifts because of me.”
“Not because of you.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Claire—”
“Dad made a bad decision because he loved you. I continued paying because I love you. None of that makes this your fault.”
Lily stared at her.
Then whispered, “You almost died.”
Claire's eyes filled.
“I know.”
Lily looked at Roman.
“What are you going to do?”
Roman answered plainly.
“End it.”
“How?”
“Legally where possible.”
“And where it isn't?”
Claire shot him a warning look.
Roman adjusted.
“Also legally.”
Lily almost smiled.
Then a nurse knocked.
“There is another issue.”
She handed the director a package.
It had been delivered thirty minutes earlier.
No return address.
Claire's name was written on the front.
Roman stopped her before she touched it.
Security opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Claire and Lily leaving a café three months earlier.
On the back:
YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT QUIET.
Claire's hands went numb.
Lily stared.
Roman's face became frighteningly calm.
“Who knew we were coming here?” Claire asked.
“Very few people.”
“Vivian?”
“No.”
“Victor?”
“No.”
Claire looked at him.
Roman understood.
Someone inside his organization was still feeding information to the Mercers.
Marcus wasn't the only one.
He walked into the hallway and called Gabriel.
“Lock down the estate.”
“Why?”
“We have another leak.”
“How do you know?”
Roman looked through the glass at Claire sitting beside Lily.
“Because someone knew exactly where I'd take her.”
Back in the conference room, Lily took Claire's hand.
“Are you scared?”
“Yes.”
It was the first time Claire admitted it.
Lily squeezed her fingers.
“Good.”
Claire frowned.
“What?”
“Maybe you'll finally stop pretending you can do everything alone.”
Claire laughed despite herself.
Across the room, Roman heard it.
He looked through the doorway.
For the first time since finding Claire beneath the snow, the tightness in his chest eased.
Then his phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
The carriage house.
Taken from inside DeLuca property.
Beneath it were six words.
THE KEY DOESN'T BELONG TO YOU.
Roman looked toward Claire.
Nobody outside the estate should know about the brass key.
Only Roman.
Claire.
Mrs. Patel.
Daniel.
Gabriel.
Unless Vivian had known about it first.
Roman typed one response.
WHO IS THIS?
The answer appeared seconds later.
ASK YOUR UNCLE.
Roman stared at the screen.
His uncle Salvatore DeLuca had helped build the family's organization alongside Roman's father.
He had attended Christmas dinner.
He had been inside the house when Claire was sent into the storm.
And he was one of the few people with unrestricted access to the property.
Roman put the phone away.
May you like
The betrayal had just moved much closer to home.
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