Chapter 4: The Marriage That Was Never Supposed to Happen
“Put the gun down, Margaret.””
Detective Brooks stood between Claire and her mother-in-law, one hand raised, the other hovering near his holster.
Margaret didn't move.
Her silver pistol remained pointed toward the floor, but her finger rested dangerously close to the trigger.
“You don't understand what you're dealing with, Detective.””
“I understand that you're holding an unregistered firearm inside a private residence. Put it down.””
Margaret laughed bitterly.
“Do you really think a badge makes you powerful?””
“No,” Brooks replied.
“But it gives me a reason to arrest you.””
Claire barely heard them.
She was staring at the genetic report.
Nathan's father.
Her biological father.
The man she had believed died before she was born.
And Margaret had known the entire time.
“Why?”” Claire whispered.
Margaret looked at her.
“Why what?””
“Why did you let me marry Nathan?””
For the first time, something resembling shame crossed the older woman's face.
Then it disappeared.
“You were supposed to leave him.””
Claire shook her head.
“What does that mean?””
Margaret took a step forward.
“Nathan was never supposed to fall in love with you. He was supposed to keep you close until we could settle the matter.””
“What matter?””
“The inheritance.””
Claire stared.
Margaret's voice became sharper.
“Your father left behind a trust. A substantial one. It was established before he died, and your mother was supposed to manage it until you turned thirty-five.””
Claire's stomach tightened.
“My mother never mentioned a trust.””
“Of course she didn't. She wanted to keep you away from us.””
“Why?””
“Because your mother knew what your father had done.””
Detective Brooks interrupted.
“Mrs. Harper, I suggest you stop talking and put the weapon down.””
Margaret ignored him.
“Your father owned the original controlling shares of Harper Development. When he died, those shares were placed in a trust for his unborn child. You.””
Claire looked at the financial papers scattered across the desk.
“How much?””
“Forty percent of the company.””
Claire's breath caught.
Margaret continued.
“When Nathan's father died, I became the company's managing director. I raised Nathan to believe that everything belonged to him. But legally, it never did.””
“So you needed me?””
“I needed your signature.””
“And Nathan married me to get it?””
Margaret's eyes narrowed.
“That was the original arrangement.””
Claire felt sick.
She remembered her wedding day.
Nathan standing at the end of the aisle in a dark suit.
The way he had cried when he saw her.
The way he had whispered, You're the best thing that ever happened to me.
Had every moment been a lie?
“Did he know?”” she asked.
Margaret hesitated.
“That depends on what you mean by know.””
“Did Nathan know I was his father's daughter?””
“Yes.””
Claire stumbled backward.
A photograph fell from the desk.
It showed Nathan holding Ellie as a newborn.
Claire remembered the day it had been taken.
Nathan had cried when he first held their daughter.
He had kissed her tiny forehead and whispered that he would protect her forever.
She had never questioned his love.
Now every memory seemed contaminated.
“Why did he stay with me?”” Claire asked.
Margaret gave a cold smile.
“Because he eventually became attached to you.””
“Attached?””
“He was supposed to get you to sign the documents. Instead, he fell in love with you and began questioning everything.””
Claire's eyes filled.
“So he knew the truth and married me anyway?””
“He believed he could protect you.””
“By keeping me ignorant?””
Margaret shrugged.
“Men like Nathan always think they can save everyone.””
Detective Brooks took another step.
“Enough. Put the gun down.””
Margaret suddenly raised it.
“Don't come closer!””
Brooks stopped.
Claire looked at the weapon.
Then at Margaret.
“Did you try to kill him?””
Margaret's expression hardened.
“I didn't want him dead.””
“Then why was he declared dead?””
“Because he wouldn't cooperate.””
Claire felt a chill spread through her body.
“What did you do?””
Margaret looked away.
“I arranged for him to receive a medication that would slow his heartbeat and make him appear clinically dead. The doctor was supposed to monitor him until we could move him somewhere private.””
Claire's mouth fell open.
“You put him in that coffin?””
“I had no choice.””
“You had every choice!””
“He had stolen company documents! He was threatening to destroy everything!””
“He's your son!””
Margaret's face twisted.
“He chose you over his own family.””
The words struck Claire harder than she expected.
She thought of Nathan's last message.
I'll explain everything when I get home.
He had been trying to tell her.
He had been trying to come home.
Margaret looked directly at her.
“And now you've ruined everything by letting him survive.””
Brooks moved.
“Drop it!””
Margaret swung the pistol toward him.
A loud crack shattered the room.
Claire screamed.
The detective had fired first.
Margaret's weapon flew from her hand and struck the floor.
She collapsed against the doorway, clutching her shoulder.
Brooks rushed forward and kicked the pistol away.
“Don't move!””
Another officer appeared in the hallway.
“Suspect secured!””
Claire stood motionless.
Her ears rang.
Margaret looked up at her.
For a moment, the older woman seemed almost helpless.
“Claire,” she whispered.
Claire stepped backward.
“Don't.””
“Please. You have to understand—”
“You put my husband in a coffin.””
“I was trying to protect the company.””
“You made my daughter believe her father was dead!””
Margaret's face crumpled.
“Claire, listen to me.””
“No.””
Claire picked up the genetic report.
“You don't get to explain anything anymore.””
As officers escorted Margaret away, she twisted around.
“One more thing!””
Claire didn't respond.
Margaret shouted down the hallway.
“Ask Nathan why he never told you what happened to your mother!””
Claire froze.
“What?””
Margaret smiled through her pain.
“Your mother didn't die of cancer, Claire.””
The officers pulled her through the doorway.
“She was murdered!””
The door slammed.
Claire stood in the wreckage of her study, unable to move.
Detective Brooks approached carefully.
“Mrs. Harper?””
She looked at him.
“Is that true?””
“We'll investigate every allegation.””
Claire shook her head.
“No. I want to know what happened to my mother.””
Brooks glanced at the genetic report.
Then he looked at the sealed envelope again.
“There may be more information in your husband's files.””
Claire swallowed.
“Then we're going to find it.””
Her phone vibrated.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
Your husband isn't the only person Margaret arranged to bury.
A second message appeared.
Ask her what happened to Emily Carter.
Then came a photograph.
Emily Carter.
Standing outside Claire's childhood home.
May you like
And beside her was a woman Claire recognized immediately.
Her mother.
