Chapter 4 - A House Full of Eyes.
Claire did not answer the phone.
The ringing stopped after six seconds.
Then a message appeared on the screen.
Mom, if you found the black phone, do not involve Claire.
Margaret covered her face with one hand.
Claire watched her carefully.
“You said Adrian thinks you’re at the doctor.”
“He does.”
“Then why is he texting you about this phone?”
Margaret lowered her hand.
“Because he watches the house.”
Noah frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Margaret looked toward the closed conference-room door as if the mansion itself might be listening.
“Cameras.”
“More than the security system Claire knows about.”
Claire felt a flash of anger.
“Where?”
“His study.”
“The upstairs hall.”
“The kitchen.”
“The garage.”
Margaret hesitated.
“And your sitting room.”
Claire stood so quickly the chair rolled backward.
“My private sitting room?”
Margaret nodded.
“I found the monitor last week.”
Claire remembered dozens of conversations in that room.
Calls with board members.
Arguments with Adrian.
A private meeting with Rachel, the CFO Claire had trusted for twelve years.
Rachel had once sat beside Claire on the sofa and promised that no one could move company money without Claire’s authorization.
Now Claire understood how Adrian always seemed to know what had been discussed.
Noah closed both blue folders.
“We need a forensic audit and a preservation notice today.”
Claire stared at the black phone.
“We need more than that.”
She scrolled through Adrian’s messages.
Most were vague.
Some referred to “the vote,” “the trust,” and “the evening window.”
One message from Rachel contained an address.
A private dining room at the Monarch Club.
Tonight, 7:30.
Margaret leaned forward.
“That is where Adrian is going.”
Claire looked at her.
“How do you know?”
“He told me we had a family dinner.”
“He said you would not be there.”
Noah shook his head.
“Claire, you should not go near that meeting.”
“They may already be preparing to claim you abandoned your responsibilities.”
Claire understood the warning.
If she disappeared for even a few days, Adrian could build a story around it.
He could say she was unstable, overwhelmed, unavailable, anything that made his forged authorization look believable.
Then an idea formed.
“What if I don’t disappear?”
Noah studied her.
“What are you thinking?”
Claire looked at Margaret.
“Can you get back into the house without Adrian knowing you came here?”
Margaret nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“Then go home.”
Margaret looked wounded.
“You think I’m helping him?”
“I think I don’t know what you’re doing yet.”
Claire pushed the second blue folder back across the table.
“Take this with you.”
Margaret’s mouth opened.
“Why?”
“Because Adrian thinks I left with the wrong folder.”
“I want him to keep thinking that.”
Noah immediately understood.
“You’re using Margaret to confirm which document he is protecting.”
Claire nodded.
Margaret did not look pleased.
“You’re asking me to lie to my son.”
Claire’s eyes hardened.
“No.”
“I’m asking you to decide whether you’re still willing to lie for him.”
The room fell silent.
Margaret finally took the folder.
As she reached the door, Claire stopped her.
“One more thing.”
“If Adrian asks whether I opened the folder, tell him I did.”
Margaret looked back.
“What if he asks what you saw?”
Claire glanced at the black phone.
“Tell him I saw the company name.”
“Which company?”
Claire pointed to the false consulting firm registered under Margaret.
Margaret’s face drained of color.
“That will terrify him.”
“That’s the point.”
Margaret left.
Ten minutes later, Noah’s assistant entered with a printout from the corporate registry.
She looked confused.
“You need to see this.”
Claire took the page.
The consulting company under Margaret’s name had been dissolved that morning.
The dissolution time was 9:52 a.m.
May you like
Six minutes after Claire checked into the lakeside inn.
Someone had known exactly when she stopped running.
