Chapter 7 - the dead man's key)
If Daniel Rowe possessed the third key, then one of two things had to be true.
Either it had vanished with him.
Or Daniel had never died.
Claire preferred the second possibility.
Vanessa did too.
She contacted Claire that evening and instructed her to come alone to a small church in the mountain town below Saint Orison.
Claire told Ethan.
He insisted on following at a distance.
This time she allowed it.
Vanessa waited inside the empty church.
She was dressed in jeans and a black coat, almost unrecognizable from the polished woman Claire had met in New York.
"You brought him."
Claire sat in the pew behind her.
"Ethan stays outside."
"He always stays close enough to hear the scream."
"Where is Thomas?"
"I don't know."
"Do you expect me to believe that?"
"No."
Vanessa turned.
"I expect you to decide who is lying better."
Claire leaned forward.
"Was Daniel carrying the third key when he disappeared?"
Vanessa's face changed.
"Richard told you."
"Yes."
"Then Richard is more frightened than I thought."
"Answer me."
Vanessa looked toward the altar.
"Daniel stole Richard's key."
"Why?"
"He had already opened two locks."
Claire frowned.
"How?"
"My mother had the Vale key."
"And my mother had the second."
"Yes."
"So they opened the chamber together."
"Not completely."
"What does that mean?"
"The outer chamber."
Vanessa reached into her coat and removed a folded sheet of paper.
It was a hand-drawn floor plan.
Saint Orison.
Beneath the chapel was a network of rooms.
"The three keys open the first door," Vanessa said. "Inside is another vault."
"What's inside that?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I know what Daniel thought was inside."
"What?"
"Records."
"Financial?"
"Not just financial."
Vanessa looked at Claire.
"Names."
"What kind of names?"
"People who paid the Ashford network for favors."
Claire thought of politicians, executives, donors.
"Your brother found a criminal ledger."
"Maybe."
"Then why not tell the police?"
"He tried."
"What happened?"
"He disappeared."
Claire looked at the floor plan.
"Why did you threaten Lily?"
Vanessa stared at her.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"I have never threatened your daughter."
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm not."
Claire stood.
"The photograph. The anonymous message. The storage unit. Thomas disappearing."
"I sent the photograph."
Vanessa's voice sharpened.
"I confronted you in the lobby. That's all."
"Then why are you following me?"
"Because I need the key."
Claire moved toward the aisle.
"Stay away from my family."
"Claire."
She stopped.
Vanessa's voice softened.
"If someone wanted to frighten you, why tell you not to marry at Saint Orison?"
Claire turned.
"What?"
"The first message warned you away."
Claire thought about it.
Do not marry there.
Then Thomas disappeared.
The wedding must happen at Saint Orison.
Two opposite instructions.
Two different people.
Vanessa continued.
"Someone wants you away from the ruins."
"And someone else wants me there."
"Exactly."
"Which one are you?"
Vanessa gave a sad smile.
"I haven't decided."
Claire stared at her.
"Who took Thomas?"
"I don't know."
"Who trapped me in the storage unit?"
"I don't know."
"Who killed my mother?"
Vanessa looked toward the church doors.
"I used to think it was Richard."
"And now?"
"I think Richard helped cover it up."
"That's not the same question."
"No."
Vanessa stood.
"And that's what frightens me."
She walked past Claire.
At the door she stopped.
"Your wedding is still scheduled?"
"Yes."
"Cancel it."
"Richard said the same."
Vanessa's expression hardened.
"For once, listen to him."
She opened the door.
Claire called after her.
"Where is Daniel's key?"
Vanessa turned.
"He hid it somewhere only I would remember."
"Where?"
Vanessa looked almost ashamed.
"Saint Orison."
Then she disappeared into the night.
The next morning Claire received a package at the lodge.
Inside was Thomas Vale's watch.
And a handwritten note.
Bring Eleanor's key to the wedding.
May you like
Come with your daughter.
Or Thomas dies.
