Chapter 6 - Lisbon)
Claire slept for ninety minutes.
At sunrise, she was awake again.
The word Lisbon would not leave her mind.
She searched Daniel’s travel history.
Or tried to.
Most of his corporate travel was arranged through assistants and private aviation services.
Maya called a former Hawthorne security consultant named Adrian Bell.
Adrian arrived at the coastal house before eight.
He was in his late fifties, calm, discreet and irritatingly difficult to surprise.
Claire showed him the messages.
“Can you identify the sender?”
“Possibly.”
“How long?”
“I’ll tell you if I can.”
Claire appreciated that answer.
No promises.
No false certainty.
Adrian examined the nursery photograph.
“This image was taken inside your home.”
“Yes.”
“Do you have domestic staff?”
“A housekeeper three days a week. Building maintenance. Occasionally a maternity nurse comes for planning appointments.”
“Security cameras?”
“Common areas. Not bedrooms.”
“Who has keys?”
Claire started listing names.
Then stopped.
“Daniel.”
Adrian looked up.
“Obviously.”
“No. I mean Daniel has several temporary access cards created for assistants, drivers, security. I don’t know how many.”
Adrian exchanged a glance with Maya.
Claire felt foolish.
Her home had never really been under her control.
Daniel managed the building.
Daniel managed security.
Daniel decided who needed access.
“What about Lisbon?” Claire asked.
Adrian opened his laptop.
Maya had already sent corporate aviation records.
Adrian searched.
“Daniel’s company jet landed in Lisbon four times in the past eighteen months.”
Claire stared.
“Four?”
“Yes.”
“He told me he had never been there.”
“Then he lied.”
“When?”
Adrian read the dates.
The first was sixteen months earlier.
The second eleven months.
The third seven months.
The fourth twelve weeks ago.
Claire’s hand moved to her stomach.
Seven months ago.
Around the time of the first photograph dated during her pregnancy.
“Who traveled with him?”
“Passenger records are private, but we may be able to reconstruct.”
Claire stood and walked to the window.
The Atlantic looked gray beneath the morning sky.
She remembered seven months earlier.
Daniel had told her he was attending negotiations in Zurich.
He sent flowers to her hotel during a Hawthorne charity conference.
The card said:
Wish I were there.
She had kept it.
“Claire,” Maya said gently.
Claire turned.
“Find out where he stayed.”
Adrian nodded.
“I will.”
“And whether Vanessa was there.”
Another nod.
Claire’s phone rang.
Daniel.
She watched it vibrate.
Maya reached for the phone.
“Don’t.”
Claire picked it up.
“I’m answering.”
Maya frowned.
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
Claire accepted the call.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Daniel said her name.
“Claire.”
The sound of his voice almost destroyed her.
Five years of mornings.
Five years of whispered conversations in bed.
Five years of hearing that voice say her name with affection.
Now she heard only the gaps where truth should have been.
“Where are you?”
“Safe.”
“Are you alone?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Claire, you’re thirty-four weeks pregnant.”
“I was also thirty-four weeks pregnant yesterday when you were lying to me.”
Daniel inhaled.
“So you found the diary.”
She closed her eyes.
“You knew exactly what I found.”
“Listen to me.”
“No.”
“The photographs are not what they look like.”
Claire laughed softly.
“Which one? The restaurant? The lake? Or the one where your tongue is practically in her mouth?”
Maya looked away.
Daniel became silent.
Claire’s eyes filled.
“Who is Vanessa?”
“You searched her.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
“She used to work with me.”
“You slept with her.”
Silence.
Claire pressed her hand against the counter.
“How long?”
“Claire.”
“How long?”
“Before you.”
“Don’t lie.”
“I’m not.”
“March eighteenth.”
Daniel stopped.
“June fourth.”
Still silence.
“I was in the hospital June fourth.”
“I know.”
“You told me you were in Geneva.”
“I know.”
“You were with her.”
Daniel’s breathing became audible.
“It’s complicated.”
“No. Infidelity is remarkably uncomplicated.”
“It wasn’t about sex.”
Claire stared at the wall.
That sentence hurt almost worse.
“Then you loved her.”
“No.”
“Were you in Lisbon?”
Silence.
Claire’s heart thudded.
“Daniel.”
“Who told you about Lisbon?”
Claire looked at Maya.
There.
Fear.
For the first time, not defensiveness.
Fear.
“What happened there?”
“Claire, tell me where you are.”
“What happened in Lisbon?”
“I can explain everything, but not over the phone.”
“Then start with one thing.”
Daniel said nothing.
Claire lowered her voice.
“Did something happen to Vanessa in Lisbon?”
The silence lasted so long she thought the call had disconnected.
Then Daniel said quietly:
“Yes.”
Claire stopped breathing.
“What?”
Daniel spoke quickly.
“Claire, you need to stay away from her.”
“From Vanessa?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she is not who you think she is.”
Claire nearly laughed.
“I don’t know who she is.”
“That’s exactly the problem.”
“Did she send me the diary?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did she take the photograph inside my nursery?”
Daniel did not answer.
Claire felt a chill.
“You knew she had been inside our home?”
“Claire.”
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“And you didn’t tell your pregnant wife that your mistress might have entered our apartment?”
“She is not my mistress.”
“The photographs say otherwise.”
“She was using me.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“Of course she was.”
“I’m serious.”
“Goodbye, Daniel.”
“Wait.”
Claire ended the call.
Her hand shook.
Maya took the phone away.
Adrian looked thoughtful.
“What?”
Claire asked.
“Daniel lied about several things.”
“I noticed.”
“But not everything.”
Claire stared at him.
“How can you tell?”
“When you asked about Lisbon, he stopped trying to protect himself.”
May you like
Adrian closed the laptop.
“He started trying to protect you.”
