Chapter 7 - WHAT DANIEL OWED
Claire survived.
Barely.
Someone had beaten her, drugged her, and left her tied to a chair for nearly twelve hours.
When she woke, she asked for Elena.
Nora refused.
Claire started screaming.
“She needs to know!”
So Elena went.
Under guard.
Claire looked twenty years older than the woman in the employee photograph.
Her left eye was swollen shut.
“Elena.”
Elena remained by the door.
“You forged my signature.”
Claire cried.
“I know.”
“You helped him steal my house.”
“I know.”
“You knew he wanted me dead.”
Claire shook her head violently.
“Not at first.”
“Then when?”
“When he took out the insurance.”
Elena stepped closer.
“Tell me everything.”
Claire looked at Nora.
“If I talk, I get protection.”
Nora said, “Depends what you tell me.”
Claire laughed weakly.
“Daniel owes money.”
“How much?” Elena asked.
“More than he can ever pay.”
“To who?”
“A man named Raymond Cole.”
Nora’s eyes sharpened.
Elena noticed.
“You know him?”
Nora ignored the question.
Claire continued.
“Daniel got involved in private real estate deals. He borrowed money. Lost it. Borrowed more.”
“How much?”
“Four million.”
Elena stared at her.
“That’s impossible.”
“No. Your husband has been broke for almost two years.”
Elena thought about their vacations.
Restaurants.
New car.
Country club.
All of it suddenly looked fake.
Claire wiped blood from her lip.
“He needed your assets.”
“So he forged documents.”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
“He needed the insurance.”
Elena felt cold.
“Why not just divorce me?”
Claire looked at her sadly.
“Because in a divorce, you live.”
The room went silent.
Elena turned away.
The cruelty of it landed harder than she expected.
Eleven years.
Birthdays.
Christmas mornings.
His hand on her back at her mother’s funeral.
All of it had led here.
“How did he drug me?”
Claire shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
“You said there was a plan.”
“I knew he wanted to create an accident. I didn’t know when.”
“What about Raymond Cole?”
Claire began shaking.
“He’s the one you should be afraid of.”
Nora stepped closer.
“Why?”
Claire looked at her.
“Because Daniel isn’t running this anymore.”
A phone started ringing.
Not Elena’s.
Not Nora’s.
Claire stared at the nightstand.
The sound came from inside the drawer.
Nora opened it carefully.
A cheap black cell phone was ringing.
“How did that get there?” Elena asked.
Claire looked terrified.
Nora answered on speaker.
A man’s voice said, “Hello, Claire.”
Claire began crying.
Nora said, “Who is this?”
The man laughed.
Then he spoke directly to Elena.
“Your husband owes me four million dollars.”
Elena’s skin crawled.
“Raymond?”
“Smart girl.”
“What do you want?”
“What Daniel promised me.”
“I don’t owe you anything.”
“No,” Raymond said calmly. “But your life is worth a lot of money.”
Elena looked at Nora.
Raymond continued.
“And if Daniel can’t collect the insurance…”
May you like
A pause.
“…I’ll collect you.”
