Chapter 9 - CLAIRE’S FILE
They didn’t have time to examine the drive properly.
But Noah had a laptop.
Battery charged.
Offline.
Enough.
Daniel, Eric, Thomas and Vanessa gathered around it in the chapel basement while Rachel kept Mia upstairs.
Noah inserted the drive.
Folders appeared.
FINANCE.
TRANSFER.
VANESSA.
BOARD.
Then one labeled:
CLAIRE_CARTER.
Daniel’s hands went cold.
“Open it.”
Eric stepped forward.
“Danny—”
“Open it.”
Noah clicked.
Documents.
Bank records.
Emails.
Photographs.
And one audio file.
Claire_FINAL.wav
Daniel stared at the filename.
“What is that?”
Eric’s voice cracked.
“I don’t know.”
Daniel looked at him.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I never opened it.”
“Why was it on your laptop?”
“Marcus sent me an archive three months ago.”
Vanessa laughed.
“He sent you evidence?”
“He told me it was leverage on Daniel.”
“Idiot.”
Eric rounded on her.
“Shut up!”
Daniel slammed his hand onto the table.
“Enough.”
Noah clicked the audio file.
Claire’s voice filled the basement.
Daniel stopped breathing.
Four years.
Four years since he had heard her voice.
“Daniel, if you’re hearing this…”
Mia appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
Rachel followed.
“Mia, I told you—”
Daniel lifted a hand.
“Let her stay.”
Mia walked beside him.
Claire continued.
“…something happened before I could talk to you.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Mia began crying silently.
“I found transfers from Carter Aerospace into shell companies linked to Eric.”
Eric looked down.
“But Eric isn’t the real problem.”
Eric’s head snapped up.
Claire’s recording continued.
“Marcus Vale has been using him.”
Vanessa whispered, “Jesus.”
“I confronted Eric tonight. He panicked. I think he told Marcus.”
Daniel looked at Eric.
His brother whispered, “I did.”
Claire continued.
“I’m driving to meet a federal investigator.”
Thomas exhaled sharply.
“She was going to the FBI?”
“No,” Daniel whispered. “Maybe corporate crimes division.”
Claire’s voice shook now.
“There’s a car behind me.”
Daniel gripped the edge of the table.
Mia reached for his hand.
“It’s Eric.”
Eric closed his eyes.
Claire continued.
“He’s been following me for twelve miles.”
Daniel looked ready to explode.
Then Claire said something none of them expected.
“There’s another car behind him.”
Eric looked up.
“What?”
Claire’s voice became frightened.
“I don’t recognize it.”
Daniel turned to Eric.
“You said you were alone.”
“I was!”
Claire continued.
“Eric’s flashing his lights.”
Breathing.
Road noise.
Then—
“Oh my God.”
Tires squealed.
Mia covered her mouth.
Claire screamed.
The recording became chaos.
Then a crash.
Metal.
Glass.
Silence.
Daniel bent forward like he’d been punched.
Mia sobbed.
Noah reached for the laptop.
But another sound came through.
A car door opening.
Footsteps.
Then a man’s voice.
Calm.
Close.
“Well, Claire.”
Daniel’s eyes widened.
Marcus.
Claire groaned faintly.
Marcus continued.
“You really should have left this alone.”
Daniel stopped moving.
The recording ended.
No one spoke.
Eric sat down hard.
“I didn’t know.”
Daniel grabbed his shirt.
“You led him to her!”
“I DIDN’T KNOW HE WAS FOLLOWING ME!”
“You chased her!”
“I KNOW!”
Eric broke.
Actually broke.
Tears came.
“I know.”
Daniel shoved him away.
Mia stared at Eric.
“You killed my mom.”
Eric looked at her.
“No words came.”
Vanessa looked toward the tunnel.
“We need to move.”
Daniel ignored her.
She grabbed his arm.
“Daniel.”
He turned.
“If Marcus realizes you have that recording, he will burn the warehouse down with Lily inside.”
Noah went pale.
Daniel took the flash drive.
“Then we move.”
The priest unlocked the ancient iron door to the tunnel.
Cold air rushed in.
Daniel stepped through first.
Eric followed.
Then Vanessa.
Thomas.
Noah.
Before Daniel disappeared into the darkness, Mia called his name.
He turned.
She stood under the basement light.
Small.
Terrified.
But steady.
“Dad.”
“Yeah?”
“Bring back the truth.”
Daniel nodded.
May you like
Then the iron door slammed shut behind him.
And somewhere ahead, deep inside the tunnel, a man began running toward them.
