Chapter 9: The Price of Knowing the Truth
"Thomas!""
I tried to crawl toward him, but Daniel pulled me back.
"Claire, stay down!""
People screamed.
A waiter dropped a tray of coffee cups.
The black car outside accelerated away before anyone could reach the street.
Daniel pressed his hand against Thomas's shoulder.
"Stay with us!""
Thomas was conscious, but blood was spreading across his coat.
He grabbed Daniel's wrist.
"The recording...""
"Don't talk.""
Thomas shook his head.
"She has the original.""
I leaned closer.
"Who?""
His eyes found mine.
"Celeste.""
Then his head fell back.
For one terrifying moment, I thought he was dead.
But a faint movement crossed his chest.
Someone called emergency services.
Within minutes, paramedics arrived and carried him away.
I watched the ambulance disappear through the rain.
Daniel stood beside me.
"That wasn't an accident.""
"No.""
"Celeste knows we have the recording.""
I reached into my handbag.
The USB drive from my mother's storage facility was still there.
I held it tightly.
"Then she doesn't know about this.""
We drove to Daniel's apartment, where he had installed an old computer disconnected from the internet.
He inserted the drive.
A password prompt appeared.
"Any ideas?"" I asked.
Daniel stared at the screen.
"Mom's birthday?""
We tried it.
Incorrect.
My birthday.
Incorrect.
The date of her accident.
Incorrect.
I closed my eyes.
Then I remembered something.
When I was little, my mother used to sing a song while drawing.
She called it her secret studio song.
At the end, she always whispered the same four words.
"Beauty remembers its maker.""
Daniel typed the phrase.
The screen unlocked.
A folder appeared.
*ELEANOR BENNETT — FINAL ARCHIVE.*
Inside were dozens of files.
Original sketches.
Bank statements.
Voice recordings.
And a video.
The date was two days before my mother's death.
I clicked play.
My mother appeared on the screen.
She looked tired, but her eyes were clear.
"Claire, my darling. If you're watching this, then something has happened to me, and you have finally discovered the truth.""
I covered my mouth.
"There's something I need you to understand. I didn't build my company alone. I built it with people I trusted.
Some of those people became family. Others became enemies.""
She paused.
"Adrian is not the only person responsible for what happened.""
Daniel leaned closer.
My mother continued.
"Celeste has been hiding the original ownership records. She believes that by controlling the archives, she can control the entire company. She has spent years trying to persuade me to surrender my voting rights.""
My heart pounded.
"However, the most dangerous person is not Celeste. It is the person who helped her create the false transfer documents.""
My mother looked directly into the camera.
"Claire, that person has been living in our house.""
The video stopped.
I stared at the screen.
"Living in our house?""
Daniel whispered, "Adrian.""
But the video wasn't finished.
A second file opened automatically.
This one contained a scanned letter.
The first paragraph was addressed to me.
My darling daughter,
There is one more thing you must know about the emerald necklace. The hidden compartment contains a master authentication key. It can unlock the original Bennett archive, but only when combined with the matching key held by Celeste Moreau.
I looked at Daniel.
"Celeste has the other key?""
He nodded slowly.
"Which means she needs the necklace.""
I remembered Vanessa wearing it at the fashion show.
Perhaps she hadn't simply stolen it for revenge.
She had been helping Adrian obtain something far more valuable.
Daniel opened another file.
A list of unauthorized transactions appeared.
There were hundreds of them.
But one entry stood out.
A transfer of eighteen million euros to a private account registered under the name Margaret Hart.
The date was two days after my mother's accident.
"Vanessa's mother received the money," I whispered.
Daniel checked the attached authorization.
"Look at the signature.""
I leaned toward the screen.
The document was signed by Celeste Moreau.
But beneath her signature was a second name.
*CLAIRE BENNETT.*
My name.
I had never seen that document before.
Someone had forged my signature again.
Daniel shook his head.
"Mom knew this was coming.""
I scrolled through the remaining files.
A final document appeared.
It was a list of people authorized to access the original Bennett archive.
There were four names.
Eleanor Bennett.
Celeste Moreau.
Thomas Whitmore.
And Claire Bennett.
But someone had added a fifth name in red ink.
*VANESSA HART — TEMPORARY BENEFICIARY.*
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Why would Vanessa have access?""
Daniel opened the attached note.
It contained a paragraph written by my mother.
Vanessa is not simply Margaret's daughter. She was entrusted with the second half of the archive key before she understood what it represented. If she ever returns wearing my emerald necklace, it means someone has convinced her to finish what Margaret started.
I stared at the screen.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Hello?""
Vanessa's voice came through.
"Claire, please don't hang up.""
I stood.
"Where are you?""
"I can't tell you.""
"Then why are you calling?""
She began crying.
"Because Adrian lied to me.""
I almost laughed.
"You're surprised?""
"No. Not about the affair. About everything.""
"What do you want?""
She took a shaky breath.
"I have the necklace. I also have the second key.""
My heart started pounding.
"Where did you get it?""
"From Celeste.""
I looked at Daniel.
He mouthed one word.
Trap.
Vanessa continued.
"Adrian is going to meet Celeste tonight. They're planning to open the original archive and destroy the evidence.""
"Why are you telling me?""
There was a long silence.
Then Vanessa whispered:
"Because I finally found the truth about our mother.""
I gripped the phone.
"What truth?""
"Margaret wasn't the person who abandoned me.""
My throat tightened.
"Then who?""
Vanessa's voice broke.
"Eleanor tried to adopt me when I was six. She wanted us to grow up together. But someone changed the legal papers and convinced Margaret that your mother had rejected us both.""
I couldn't speak.
"Claire, I think someone deliberately kept us apart.""
"Who?""
Vanessa whispered the answer.
"Your father.""
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Daniel slowly turned toward me.
"Claire, we need to find out who your father really was.""
Before I could answer, another notification appeared.
A bank alert.
My personal account had just received a transfer of €1.
The sender's name was listed as:
*JAMES WHITMORE.*
The reference message contained a single sentence.
Your mother was protecting you from the wrong man.
May you like
And beneath it was a photograph of a man I had never met.
A man who looked exactly like me.
