Chapter 10: Clara’s Secret
The woman pulled back her hood.
“I’m Clara Bennett.””
My knees nearly gave out.
For years, I had imagined my father’s final moments as something peaceful. A hospital bed. A monitor slowing. A doctor quietly explaining that his heart had simply stopped.
Now the woman who had treated him that night was standing three feet away, telling me he had been alive when she left.
I stared at her.
“Then who killed him?””
Clara shut the door behind her.
“I don't know.””
Nathan stepped forward.
“You said he wasn't alive when you came back.””
Clara looked at him.
“You were there.””
“I was outside.””
“You were inside the house.””
Nathan froze.
“You saw me?””
“I saw everyone.””
Evan locked the apartment door.
“Start from the beginning.””
Clara nodded.
“Your father called the hospital himself. He said he'd been attacked.””
I felt my throat tighten.
“By whom?””
“He wouldn't say.””
“Why?””
“Because he thought the person might still be listening.””
Clara opened her bag and removed a small notebook.
“He was conscious when the ambulance arrived. He had a head injury, but he was talking.””
“What did he say?”” I asked.
Clara looked directly at me.
“He kept repeating your name.””
My eyes burned.
“He asked whether you were safe.””
I pressed my fingers against my lips.
“What happened after that?””
“He became agitated when he saw Diane.””
Nathan closed his eyes.
Clara continued.
“She came into the emergency room claiming to be family. She demanded access to his records.””
“She wasn't his family,” I said.
“No. But she had a marriage certificate showing she was connected to you.””
I frowned.
“The certificate?””
Clara nodded.
“She told hospital staff that your father had a history of heart problems.””
“He didn't.””
“I know.””
She opened the notebook.
“I wrote that down because it didn't match his chart.””
I leaned closer.
“What happened then?””
“Your father was about to tell me something.””
“What?””
“He said, ‘The certificate is fake. Rachel is still legally married.’”
My pulse jumped.
“He knew?””
“Yes.””
Nathan whispered, “How?””
Clara looked at him.
“Because your father had already discovered the forged divorce.””
Nathan swallowed.
Clara continued.
“He asked me to make a copy of his medical records and keep them somewhere safe.””
“Why?””
“Because he believed someone would change them.””
I looked at Evan.
“Someone did.””
“Yes,” Evan said.
Clara nodded.
“Before dawn, your father's chart disappeared from the system.””
My stomach twisted.
“Who removed it?””
“I don't know.””
“You must have seen someone.””
“I saw Diane.””
Nathan shook his head.
“My mother couldn't access hospital records.””
“She didn't need to,” Clara replied.
Then she looked at me.
“She had someone inside the hospital.””
Silence.
“Who?””
Clara hesitated.
“A man named Victor Hale.””
Nathan looked sick.
“He was there?””
“He arrived around 2 a.m.””
“What did he do?””
“He spoke to Diane in the hallway.””
“And then?””
Clara lowered her voice.
“Your father's condition suddenly worsened.””
I stared at her.
“How?””
“He went from speaking clearly to unconsciousness in less than ten minutes.””
“Heart attack?””
“No.””
“Then what?””
Clara shook her head.
“I don't know. I wasn't in the room when it happened.””
“Where were you?””
“With Diane.””
My blood ran cold.
“She asked me to leave your father's room.””
“Why?””
“She said he was violent.””
“She lied.””
“Yes.””
Clara opened another compartment in her bag.
Inside was a tiny cassette recorder.
“I recorded our conversation.””
Evan took it.
“Why keep this?””
“Because I knew I was being followed.””
She looked at Nathan.
“I knew your family wouldn't stop.””
Nathan looked down.
Clara's voice softened.
“Your father survived long enough to write something.””
She handed me a folded piece of paper.
I recognized his handwriting immediately.
*Rachel, the truth isn't in the divorce papers. It's in the original marriage certificate.*
My breath caught.
Below that was another sentence.
*If they ever show you a new certificate, compare the witness signature.*
I looked at Nathan.
“Who witnessed our wedding?””
He shook his head.
“I don't remember.””
“I do,” Clara said.
She looked at me.
“Your father.””
I frowned.
“My father wasn't at the ceremony.””
Clara nodded.
“Exactly.””
The room seemed to tilt.
I unfolded the paper completely.
At the bottom, my father had written one final line.
*The man who signed as witness was already dead.*
Before I could speak, Clara's phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her face went white.
“What?””
I asked.
She turned the phone toward me.
A text message.
*Victor knows where you are. Leave now.*
Then another message appeared.
*And Rachel, don't trust the man standing beside you.*
I looked at Nathan.
His phone buzzed at the exact same moment.
He read the message.
Then slowly raised his eyes to mine.
“Rachel…”
I stepped backward.
May you like
Because the message on his phone had come from Victor.
*You still haven't told her what you did with the original certificate.*
