Chapter 10 - THE LAST PERSON EMILY TRUSTED

Nathan spent the entire night sitting in the living room.

The broken window had been covered with a wooden board.

The children were sleeping upstairs.

Claire sat across from him.

Neither of them spoke.

For years, Nathan thought the hardest moment of his life was losing Emily.

He was wrong.

The hardest moment was realizing he had been living inside a lie.

A lie built by the people closest to him.

Finally, Nathan looked at Claire.

“Tell me everything.”

Claire looked exhausted.

“I already told you most of it.”

“No.”

Nathan shook his head.

“You told me what you wanted me to know.”

Claire lowered her eyes.

“So tell me the rest.”

A long silence filled the room.

Then Claire began.

“After Emily died, Michael came to me.”

Nathan immediately became tense.

“Why?”

“He wanted the documents Emily had hidden.”

“What documents?”

“Proof.”

Claire looked at him.

“Proof that your father and Michael had been moving money illegally for years.”

Nathan leaned back.

“And Emily had it?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

Claire shook her head.

“She never told me.”

Nathan stared.

“But she trusted you.”

Claire’s eyes filled with tears.

“She did.”

“Why?”

Claire looked toward the stairs.

“Because Emily knew something about me.”

Nathan frowned.

“What?”

“She knew I wasn’t the person everyone thought I was.”

Nathan waited.

Claire took a deep breath.

“My real name isn’t Claire Wilson.”

Nathan froze.

“What?”

“My name was Claire Bennett.”

The room became silent.

“Bennett?”

“Yes.”

Nathan searched his memory.

Then he remembered.

Emily had once mentioned that name.

A woman who worked with her before she died.

“You knew Emily before me.”

Claire nodded.

“We were friends.”

Nathan stood.

“You were friends with Emily?”

“Yes.”

“Then why did you pretend you didn’t know her?”

Claire looked ashamed.

“Because after she died, everyone believed I was involved.”

Nathan stared.

“And were you?”

Claire looked directly at him.

“No.”

Her answer was immediate.

“I made mistakes.”

“I lied.”

“I hid things.”

“But I didn’t kill Emily.”

Nathan studied her face.

For the first time, he wondered if Claire was another victim.

Not the person who destroyed his family.

But someone trapped inside the same nightmare.

“Then who did?”

Claire whispered:

“The person Emily trusted most.”

Nathan felt cold.

“Who?”

Claire reached into her bag.

She pulled out an old envelope.

“I kept this because I was afraid.”

Nathan opened it.

Inside was a letter.

Emily’s handwriting.

Claire,

If something happens to me, give this to Nathan.

He deserves to know the truth.

Nathan’s hands shook.

There was another page.

A list of names.

At the top:

Michael Carter.

Underneath:

Detective Robert Hayes.

And the final name…

Nathan stopped breathing.

His own father.

Edward Carter.

But Edward had been dead for years.

“How is this possible?”

Claire looked at him.

“Because your father wasn’t working alone.”

Nathan looked at the list.

“Who else?”

Claire pointed at the bottom.

A name Nathan had never expected.

The person who had attended every family gathering.

The person who comforted him after Emily died.

The person who always said:

“We’re family.”

Nathan whispered:

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