Chapter 14 - Claire's Missing Sister
The paper on my hood was genuine.
It carried the official red stamp of the county registrar.
My father’s signature was at the bottom, right next to Arthur Sterling’s ornate scrawl.
"What did you do to him?" I demanded, stepping forward until the suited men shifted their weight.
"What did your family do to my father?"
Evelyn laughed, a sound like dry autumn leaves scraping across concrete.
"Your father was a thief, David," she purred.
"In 1998, he took fifteen million dollars from Arthur to build his empire. He promised a twenty percent cut of every development project. But then he got greedy."
"He wanted to wash the money clean and cut us out."
"He used Thomas to alter the books. He used Victor to launder the cash through the union funds."
"And when Michael threatened to expose the whole ring, your father tried to buy his silence with shares."
"Then why was Emily pushed into the pool?" I shouted, my voice cracking with fury.
"Why did your thugs try to kill an eight-year-old girl?"
Evelyn’s smile vanished.
Her eyes darkened into something utterly cold and venomous.
"We didn't push Emily into the pool, David."
I stopped.
"Don't lie to me," I hissed.
"Michael confessed! Victor admitted they were working together!"
"They were working for themselves," Evelyn said calmly.
"Michael and Victor were small-time parasites trying to collect an insurance policy before we arrived. They knew Arthur was still alive. They knew the debt was coming due. They wanted to stage an accident so they could cash out the family trust before we seized it."
She turned her head slowly to look at Claire.
"Isn't that right, Claire?"
Claire was shaking violently, clutching her arms around her chest.
"I didn't know they would hurt her," Claire wept.
"Michael swore to me that he only needed the financial clearance! He swore he would never touch Emily!"
"You gave them the security codes, Claire," Evelyn whispered.
"You gave them the timer for the pool cameras."
My lungs stopped working.
The world shrank down to a pinprick of white-hot shock.
I turned my head toward my wife.
"Claire... what did she just say?"
"David, no! Please, listen to me!" Claire fell to her knees on the driveway.
"They had proof of my father's crimes! They told me they would send me to prison and take Emily away if I didn't help them wipe the debt!"
"You gave them the codes to our home?" I whispered, my voice trembling with disgust.
"The day she almost died?"
"I thought they were going to steal the documents from your safe while we were outside!" she cried.
"I didn't know Michael was going to push her! I swear on my life, I ran to save her! I jumped into the pool!"
"You jumped in after David heard the scream," Evelyn interrupted coldly.
"You waited three minutes, Claire. Three minutes to make sure the trust papers were secure in Michael’s trunk."
Evelyn looked back at me.
"Your wife didn't try to save your daughter, David."
May you like
"She tried to save her inheritance."
***
