Chapter 3 - THE LOCKED ROOM
Adrian moved Claire and Emma to a secure apartment above one of his private offices.
Claire protested the entire way.
“I don’t need your protection.”
“You were shot at.”
“I’ve survived worse.”
“You shouldn’t have had to.”
She turned toward the window. “You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it.”
Claire remained silent.
Emma sat at the kitchen table, coloring a picture of three stick figures. One was tall and dressed in black. One had long hair. The smallest wore a blue dress.
Adrian stared at the drawing.
Emma held it up. “That’s us.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Adrian’s voice lowered. “How old is she?”
“Six.”
His hand tightened around the edge of the table.
“Claire.”
“I didn’t know how to find you.”
“You had seven years.”
“I was running.”
“From whom?”
She finally turned. “From the people who killed the woman in that coffin.”
Adrian felt the room grow colder.
Claire explained in broken pieces. On the night of her supposed death, she had discovered that Adrian’s business had been infiltrated. Someone close to him was selling information to a criminal syndicate called the Black Ledger.
Claire had found proof.
Before she could tell Adrian, her car was forced off the road. She survived, but the attackers took her identification and left another woman inside the burned vehicle.
Claire escaped with a head injury and discovered she was pregnant.
“I tried to contact you,” she said. “Every attempt brought them closer to me.”
“Who were they?”
“I never saw the leader.”
Adrian stepped closer. “And Emma?”
“She was born in hiding.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about my daughter?”
Claire’s eyes filled with tears. “Because the Black Ledger wanted your heir. If they knew she existed, they would use her to control you.”
Adrian looked at Emma again.
His daughter.
The word struck deeper than any bullet.
A knock sounded at the apartment door.
Everyone froze.
Adrian signaled his guards. One moved toward the entrance while another covered the hallway.
The door opened.
An old woman stood outside, trembling.
“Mrs. Bell?” Claire whispered.
The woman held out a folded newspaper. “You need to see this.”
Adrian took it.
The headline read:
ADRIAN VALE’S DEAD WIFE SEEN ALIVE IN BELLHAVEN.
Beneath it was a blurry photograph of Claire.
Mrs. Bell’s voice shook. “They already know.”
Then she looked at Emma.
May you like
“And they know about the child.”
Cliffhanger: A second knock came from the apartment door—slow, heavy, and deliberate.
