Chapter 9 - The Price of Publicity
Claire’s life disappeared beneath a storm of cameras.
By evening, news vans lined the streets outside the hospital. Reporters camped near her apartment and workplace. People she had not spoken to since high school sent congratulatory messages.
Others asked for loans.
Her landlord increased security after strangers entered the building searching for her.
Richard appeared on television before midnight.
He described the Bellweather money as a family inheritance and presented himself as Evelyn’s loyal son.
He failed to mention laughing at the check.
Brittany posted a photograph of herself holding an old Christmas picture with Evelyn. Her caption claimed that their family had always remained close.
Marcus sold an interview describing Claire as emotionally unstable.
Elaine remained silent.
That worried Claire more than the others.
Whitmore moved Claire to a private residence owned by the bank. The house contained bullet-resistant windows, security cameras, and a panic room.
Daniel was transferred under an assumed name.
Cole resigned temporarily from Whitmore National, arguing that his family connection created a conflict of interest. Claire asked him to remain as an independent adviser.
“You still don’t trust me,” he said.
“No.”
“Then why keep me involved?”
“Because Vale killed your father.”
“That doesn’t prove I’m useful.”
“It proves you won’t stop.”
He accepted.
The following morning, Harold Mercer contacted Claire through an encrypted video call.
He appeared inside a dim room with shelves of archival boxes.
“I apologize for leaving the bank,” he said.
“You stole the vault records.”
“I protected them.”
“Where is Martha?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“I will not tell you.”
“Is Evelyn with her?”
Mercer hesitated.
“No.”
Claire’s hope faded.
Mercer explained that Martha’s adoptive parents had told her almost nothing about the Bellweather family. She grew up believing she had been abandoned.
Evelyn grew up believing her twin had died.
“Why were they separated?” Claire asked.
“Silas Bellweather wanted a son. When Margaret delivered twin daughters, Dr. Vale offered a solution.”
“He stole one child?”
“He declared the weaker infant dead and arranged an adoption. Silas knew.”
Claire felt disgusted.
“Which twin was kept?”
“That is the question no one can answer.”
“What do you mean?”
“The hospital wristbands were switched before the birth certificates were completed.”
“So Grandma might be Martha.”
“And Martha might be Evelyn.”
“Does it matter?”
“Legally, yes. The Bellweather trust belongs to Silas’s recognized daughter and her descendants.”
“They’re identical twins.”
“The trust documents identify Evelyn through a genetic marker inherited from Margaret Bellweather.”
“Both sisters would have it.”
“Correct.”
“So why create the test?”
Mercer looked troubled.
“Because Silas knew something else.”
He opened an archive box and removed a letter.
“In his final months, Silas claimed one of the twins was not biologically his child.”
Claire stared at him.
“Margaret had an affair?”
“Possibly. Silas ordered private genetic tests, but the results disappeared.”
“And the trust goes only to his biological daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Which one?”
“We don’t know.”
Claire thought of the message on the photograph.
We were both given the wrong name.
“If Vale finds the test results, he can challenge the trust.”
“Or control whichever sister is legally entitled to it.”
“Is that why he kidnapped Grandma?”
“We believe so.”
“Who is we?”
Mercer’s eyes moved toward someone outside the camera’s view.
Martha stepped into frame.
She looked so much like Evelyn that Claire’s throat tightened.
The same silver hair.
The same sharp cheekbones.
But Martha’s expression was softer and more uncertain.
“Claire,” she said.
Claire could not answer.
“I wish we had met differently.”
“Do you know where Grandma is?”
“No.”
“Did you escape the ambulance?”
“Yes. Evelyn arranged a vehicle near the service road. Harold found me.”
“Why didn’t you contact us?”
“I did not know whom to trust.”
Claire glanced at Cole.
“Do you trust Andrew?”
Martha’s face changed.
“I trusted his father once.”
“What happened?”
“Samuel helped Evelyn and Arthur fake the funeral. Later, Vale forced him to testify against her.”
“Samuel said fear didn’t excuse what he did.”
“He was right.”
Martha held up a small black notebook.
“This is one section of the Bellweather ledger. It lists payments to judges, doctors, and officials. Vale believes the complete ledger can destroy him.”
“Can it?”
“It can destroy more than Vale.”
“Then release it.”
Mercer intervened.
“Some entries concern national security contracts. Publishing the ledger without verification could cause panic and put innocent people at risk.”
Claire was tired of people using danger as a reason for secrecy.
“Everyone keeps telling me the truth is too dangerous. Meanwhile, Grandma is missing, Samuel is dead, and someone tried to murder Daniel.”
Martha lowered her eyes.
“You sound like Evelyn.”
The video feed distorted.
Mercer looked toward another screen.
“We are being traced.”
“Wait. Where are you?”
“Do not activate the five-hundred-million-dollar check until we contact you.”
The call ended.
Seconds later, Claire received a message from an unknown number.
The photograph showed Evelyn seated in a metal chair. Her hands were bound, but she appeared alive.
A newspaper from that morning rested in her lap.
Beneath the photograph was a demand.
ACTIVATE THE VOTING TRUST BY NOON TOMORROW.
May you like
APPOINT RICHARD BENNETT AS CO-CHAIRMAN.
OR EVELYN DIES.
