Chapter 5 - The Voice in the Dark.
Claire was discharged after four days against Adrian's objections.
He had petitioned the hospital to keep her under psychiatric observation.
The request failed because Detective Ortiz produced the emergency call, the disabled cameras, and inconsistencies in Adrian's statement.
Still, the judge had not authorized an arrest.
There was no video of the push.
There was no memory card.
And Adrian's legal team was already attacking Claire's credibility in the press.
She moved into a private rehabilitation apartment rented under Detective Ortiz's name.
Mason Crowe remained in the hospital under guard.
He had a fractured jaw, two broken fingers, and no memory of who attacked him.
At least, that was what he told the police.
Claire suspected he remembered more.
On the fifth night, the prepaid phone vibrated again.
COME ALONE TO ST. MATTHEW'S PARKING GARAGE.
Ortiz wanted to set a trap.
Claire refused.
"If whoever has the real card sees police, they disappear."
"You were thrown off a balcony last week."
"Exactly. I'm done letting other people decide when I'm allowed to know the truth."
Ortiz hated the plan but followed Claire in an unmarked car from a distance.
At eleven-thirty, Claire entered the empty garage wearing a brace beneath her coat.
Every step pulled at her ribs.
A figure stood between two concrete pillars.
Mason Crowe stepped into the light.
Claire stopped.
"You're supposed to be in the hospital."
"So are you."
His voice was rough from his injuries.
He handed her a small envelope.
Inside was a black memory card.
Claire did not touch it.
"Why did you call Ortiz?"
Mason looked away.
"Because I saw Adrian follow you onto the balcony."
"Then testify."
"You don't understand what Evelyn can reach."
"She already tried to kill me."
"Adrian tried to kill you."
Mason looked back at her.
"Evelyn has done worse."
Claire's heartbeat slowed in a way that frightened her more than panic.
"My father?"
Mason said nothing.
That silence answered her.
Claire's knees nearly gave way.
Mason caught her elbow.
"Seven years ago, your father discovered a network of shell companies inside Vale Holdings."
"I know that part."
"He also found payments to a private contractor named Mercer Response."
Claire had never heard the name.
"What did they do?"
Mason's face tightened.
"Whatever Evelyn needed done."
He pointed to the card.
"Your father recorded a meeting with her three days before he died."
Claire stared at the envelope.
"How do you have it?"
"Because your father gave me a copy."
Anger broke through her shock.
"You had this for seven years?"
"I was afraid."
"My father died because you were afraid."
Mason accepted the accusation without defending himself.
"Yes."
A car engine started on the floor above them.
Mason suddenly looked toward the ramp.
"We're out of time."
He shoved the envelope into Claire's coat pocket.
Headlights appeared at the far end of the garage.
A black SUV accelerated toward them.
Mason pushed Claire behind a concrete pillar.
The SUV missed her by inches.
As it sped past, Claire saw the driver's face.
It was Adrian.
May you like
But the passenger beside him was someone she never expected.
Detective Lena Ortiz.
