Chapter 6 - THE SECOND TRAITOR
Gabriel replayed the sentence three times.
The person helping Vincent sleeps under your roof.
Claire looked at him.
“Who lived at your house eleven months ago?”
“Too many people.”
“Family?”
“Vincent sometimes. Eli’s nanny. Staff.”
“Mason?”
Gabriel’s eyes snapped toward her.
“No.”
“You asked.”
“And I answered.”
Claire crossed her arms.
“You trust him.”
“With my life.”
“That doesn’t mean Nathan did.”
Gabriel shut the laptop.
“Mason took bullets for Nathan.”
“People change.”
“Not Mason.”
Claire saw the wall rise in Gabriel’s eyes.
“Fine.”
Gabriel’s phone buzzed.
Mason.
“We have trouble.”
“What?”
“Vincent just called a family council.”
Gabriel’s jaw tightened.
“When?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Why?”
“He says your judgment has become unstable.”
Claire stared.
Mason continued.
“He’s telling people Cross kidnapped Eli because of your private war.”
Gabriel gave a cold laugh.
“Of course he is.”
“There’s more.”
“What?”
“He says Claire orchestrated the kidnapping.”
Gabriel’s expression changed instantly.
“What?”
“He circulated security footage showing her entering Nathan’s office several times before the crash. Says Nathan was having an affair with her and she stole company information.”
Claire went pale.
“That’s insane.”
“I know.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“Do you?”
Claire stared at him.
“Excuse me?”
“Did Nathan ever meet you outside work?”
“Gabriel.”
“I need facts.”
Her hurt became anger.
“I risked my life carrying your nephew out of a warehouse.”
“I know.”
“I got beaten because I refused to give these people Nathan’s ring.”
“I know.”
“And you’re still asking whether I slept with your married brother?”
Gabriel regretted it immediately.
Claire picked up her coat.
“Where are you going?”
“Away from you.”
“You’re not leaving this building.”
Her eyes flashed.
“You don’t own me.”
“No.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“But somebody is trying to kill you.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to treat me like a suspect.”
“I’m trying to keep you alive.”
“Then start by believing me.”
Silence stretched between them.
Gabriel finally spoke.
“I do.”
Claire looked away.
“No. You want to.”
Before Gabriel could answer, Mason entered.
He held a tablet.
“You need to see this.”
Security footage from Gabriel’s mansion appeared.
Timestamp: eleven months earlier.
Nathan entered Gabriel’s private study.
Five minutes later, another man followed.
Daniel Rourke.
Operations chief.
Rourke had known the convoy route tonight.
Gabriel stared.
“Keep watching.”
Twenty minutes later Nathan left.
Rourke remained inside.
Then Vincent entered.
Claire whispered, “There.”
Mason shook his head.
“Not finished.”
The camera jumped ahead.
2:14 a.m.
A fourth person entered the study.
A man Claire recognized immediately.
Her stomach dropped.
It was the man who had attacked her six weeks ago.
Gabriel looked at her reaction.
“You know him.”
“He’s the one who grabbed me.”
Mason zoomed in.
Gabriel’s face became stone.
He knew him too.
The man was Peter Vale.
Gabriel’s personal estate manager.
May you like
He had worked for the Kane family for fourteen years.
And Peter Vale still lived inside Gabriel’s house.
