Chapter 3 - What Claire Found
Marcus could barely breathe.
“Our father never knew Julian.”
Claire stared at the photograph.
“That’s what I thought.”
Marcus grabbed it.
Samuel looked healthy in the picture.
Smiling.
Standing outside a warehouse beside Julian, who looked much younger.
Maybe twenty-five.
“What warehouse is that?”
Claire pointed to a faded logo in the background.
“Reed Logistics.”
Marcus looked at her.
Their father’s old company had collapsed after his death.
The family had sold the remaining assets for almost nothing.
Julian had entered Claire’s life four years later.
“He knew Dad before he knew you,” Marcus said.
Claire nodded.
“That’s what I discovered.”
Davis looked up.
“How?”
“Three nights ago, Julian left his laptop open.”
Claire walked slowly around the desk.
“I wasn’t snooping. Lily needed the printer for school. A message appeared on the screen.”
“What did it say?”
Claire swallowed.
“‘Samuel’s file is still missing.’”
Marcus’s skin went cold.
“What file?”
“I don’t know.”
She touched the bruising on her wrist.
“I asked Julian.”
Davis watched her carefully.
“And?”
“He smiled.”
Claire’s voice became quieter.
“He asked why I was touching his computer.”
Marcus clenched his fists.
“I told him I saw the message. He said it was an old client named Samuel.”
She laughed bitterly.
“I wanted to believe him.”
“So what changed?” Davis asked.
“I checked his office.”
Marcus stared at her.
“You searched it?”
“Yes.”
She looked toward the hidden room.
“I found a key taped beneath his desk.”
Her eyes filled with shame.
“I thought maybe he was cheating.”
Marcus almost smiled at the absurdity of it.
“Honestly, I wish he had been.”
Claire continued.
“The key opened the basement storage room. I came down here while he was at work.”
She pointed toward the false wall.
“I found this door.”
Davis glanced at the keypad.
“How did you know the code?”
“I watched him through the kitchen window later that night.”
“And then?”
“I came back down after Lily fell asleep.”
Claire’s breathing changed.
She was reliving it.
“I found the cameras. The insurance policy. The fake medical records.”
Her voice shook.
“And I found that picture of Dad.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“What happened when Julian came home?”
“I didn’t hear him.”
She looked at the floor.
“He was standing behind me.”
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
“He asked me what I thought I was doing.”
Claire touched the side of her head.
“I told him I was calling the police.”
“What did he do?”
“He grabbed my phone.”
She closed her eyes.
“We fought.”
Davis asked softly, “Did he hit you?”
“Not with his hands.”
Claire opened her eyes.
“He shoved me into the wall.”
Marcus looked ready to explode.
“He said I had two choices.”
“What choices?”
“I could tell everyone I had suffered another ‘episode’ and check myself into a private clinic.”
Marcus frowned.
“Another episode?”
“He had already started telling people I was unstable.”
Claire nodded toward the fake prescription bottles.
“Or I could refuse.”
“And then?”
“He said unstable women sometimes disappear.”
Silence.
Claire took a breath.
“I told him he was insane.”
“He locked you down here.”
“Yes.”
“For three days?”
Claire looked at Davis.
“He brought me water twice.”
Marcus swore under his breath.
“And food?”
“One sandwich.”
Marcus turned away, fighting himself.
Claire grabbed his sleeve.
“Marcus.”
“I should have come sooner.”
“You didn’t know.”
“I should have known.”
She shook her head.
“No. That’s how men like Julian survive. They don’t act like monsters in front of everyone.”
Davis interrupted.
“We need to know who else knew you were down here.”
Claire looked toward the ceiling.
“One person.”
Marcus faced her.
“Who?”
“Julian’s mother.”
Marcus blinked.
“Evelyn?”
Claire nodded.
“She came downstairs yesterday.”
“What did she do?”
“She stood outside the door.”
Claire’s mouth tightened.
“And told me to stop making things difficult for her son.”
Marcus stared.
“She knew?”
“She knew everything.”
Davis immediately pulled out his radio.
“Units need to locate Evelyn Mercer.”
Officer Grant appeared at the hidden doorway.
“Detective.”
She was holding a small external drive.
“This was taped under the desk.”
Davis took it.
“What’s on it?”
“Label says ‘SR Final.’”
Marcus stared.
“Samuel Reed.”
Davis connected it to an isolated laptop.
One video file appeared.
No title.
No date.
He pressed play.
The image showed their father sitting in an office.
Samuel looked directly into the camera.
His voice filled the basement.
“If Marcus or Claire ever sees this, then I was right to be afraid.”
Claire grabbed Marcus’s arm.
Their father continued.
“There are people inside my company stealing millions, and one of them is closer to our family than I ever imagined.”
The video glitched.
Samuel looked toward someone off camera.
Then he said a name.
May you like
“Evelyn Mercer.”
And upstairs, a window shattered.
