Chapter 8 - Claire's Story
Mark could not speak when he saw her.
Claire sat on the floor wrapped in a gray blanket.
Her hair was tangled.
Her face was pale.
But she was conscious.
Alive.
Mark dropped beside her.
Claire reached for him.
"Lily?"
"Safe."
Her eyes closed.
"Thank God."
He held her.
For several minutes neither spoke.
Paramedics arrived.
They checked Claire and determined she was dehydrated and exhausted but did not appear to have life-threatening injuries.
She refused to leave until she told police what happened.
Detectives recorded everything.
Claire explained that she had begun investigating the red door after Lily mentioned hearing a woman's voice.
She discovered the hidden archive.
She found Robert's recording.
She also found something else.
A ledger.
Victoria had been secretly transferring money from family trusts for years.
Small amounts.
Then larger amounts.
Some went to shell companies.
Some went to Charles Benton.
Claire photographed every page.
When Victoria discovered her in the basement, she demanded Claire's phone.
Claire refused.
They argued.
Charles appeared.
Claire realized he had been helping Victoria.
They locked her inside the archive while deciding what to do.
Later Victoria moved her to another room beneath the west staircase.
"Why?"
Mark asked.
Claire looked at Lily.
"Because Victoria knew Lily had seen me."
Lily gripped Mark's hand.
Claire continued.
"Victoria needed time to find the photographs."
"Where are they?"
Claire almost smiled.
"Not on my phone."
Victoria had searched Claire.
Taken her phone.
Her jewelry.
Her shoes.
Even her wedding ring.
But Claire had hidden the memory card containing the photographs inside Lily's dollhouse before the confrontation.
The note Mark found had been deliberate.
Don't trust the wall.
It was supposed to lead him toward the hidden archive.
"What about your call?"
Mark asked.
"How did you call me?"
Claire looked toward one of the detectives.
"Charles helped me."
Mark frowned.
"Charles?"
"He wasn't helping Victoria anymore."
Everyone went quiet.
Claire explained.
Charles had worked for Victoria for years.
At first he believed he was helping protect Robert's privacy.
Later he understood what she was doing.
By then Victoria had evidence of financial crimes Charles had committed on her behalf.
He felt trapped.
After Claire was imprisoned, Charles began secretly helping her.
He brought water.
He left doors unlocked.
He gave her a phone.
Then he took Lily from Rachel.
Mark's face hardened.
Claire nodded.
"I know."
"Why would he do that?"
"Victoria ordered him to. She threatened his son."
"Where is Charles now?"
"I don't know."
Claire looked exhausted.
"But he told me one thing before he left."
"What?"
"Victoria wasn't only hiding financial records."
She looked toward the officers.
"She was hiding what happened to Robert."
Silence.
Mark felt the old fear return.
Claire explained that one file contained Robert's final medical records.
The medication levels did not match the prescriptions found in his bedroom after death.
Someone had altered them.
Robert had suffered heart disease.
But a change in medication could have worsened it dramatically.
Victoria had access.
Charles had access.
And Victoria had inherited millions when Robert died.
The detective asked, "Do you have proof?"
Claire nodded slowly.
"The ledger references payments to a private nurse."
"Name?"
"Evelyn Shaw."
Mark knew the name.
Evelyn had cared for his father during his final six months.
She disappeared from their lives immediately after Robert's funeral.
The detective checked records.
Evelyn Shaw was alive.
She lived in Maine.
Police contacted local authorities.
By evening she agreed to speak.
May you like
Her first sentence changed the investigation.
"I've been waiting ten years for someone to ask me about Victoria Hale."
