Chapter 5 - Clara Was Never the Mistress
For three days Evelyn told no one about the photograph except Miriam.
Not even Arthur knew it existed.
They met in Miriam’s office after midnight.
Miriam placed Clara’s photograph beneath a forensic scanner.
“Where was this taken?”
“According to the back, Buenos Aires. Twelve years ago.”
“Jonathan disappeared long before that.”
“Apparently not.”
Miriam enlarged the image.
Clara looked young.
Angry.
Jonathan stood with one hand on her shoulder.
There was nothing obviously affectionate in the gesture.
More like possession.
“Daughter?” Evelyn asked.
“We’re checking.”
“Sister? Niece?”
“Possibly.”
Evelyn stared at Clara’s face.
The affair suddenly looked different.
What if Clara had not entered Nathan’s life because she desired him?
What if she had been assigned to him?
“Run her entire history.”
“I already did.”
“And?”
“Parts are fabricated.”
“Which parts?”
“Education is real. Employment before Grant Meridian is real. Birth certificate is legally registered.”
“That sounds normal.”
“Her mother, Helena Voss, supposedly died when Clara was seven.”
“Supposedly?”
“No death certificate.”
Evelyn looked up.
“Father?”
“Listed as unknown.”
“Financial history?”
“Ordinary until age twenty-two. Then she received an overseas trust distribution.”
“How much?”
“Eight million dollars.”
“Source?”
“Sealed.”
Evelyn leaned back.
Nathan thought Clara needed him.
Clara had been independently wealthy before meeting him.
That mattered.
“So the romance is theater.”
“Maybe not entirely.”
Miriam showed Evelyn surveillance photographs.
Nathan and Clara entering an apartment.
Leaving restaurants.
Holding hands in the back of a car.
“People can have multiple motives,” Miriam said.
Evelyn felt surprisingly little pain looking at them.
Perhaps betrayal stopped hurting when it became predictable.
“Can we prove she forged my signature?”
“Not yet.”
“Can we prove Nathan knew?”
“No.”
“What can we prove?”
“That someone inside Grant Meridian’s executive office accessed scanned copies of your signature, passport, historic trust resolutions, and medical power-of-attorney documents.”
Evelyn went still.
“Medical?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
That frightened her more than the financial theft.
Miriam continued.
“They also accessed your blood type, medication records, and emergency contact protocols.”
Evelyn stood.
“Who?”
“Clara’s credentials.”
A chill moved across Evelyn’s skin.
“Why would she need my medical records?”
Miriam did not speculate.
Instead she said, “From now on, do not eat or drink anything prepared exclusively for you.”
Evelyn looked at her.
“You think they might kill me.”
“I think a document becomes effective upon your death, and somebody accessed your medical history. I refuse to call that coincidence.”
That night Evelyn returned home at 2:10.
Nathan was awake.
He sat in the bedroom holding a glass of whiskey.
“Where were you?”
“With Miriam.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“Old estate matters.”
“At two in the morning?”
“She bills aggressively.”
Nathan did not laugh.
Evelyn removed her earrings.
“Is something wrong?”
“You’ve been distant.”
“Have I?”
“You disappeared to Brooklyn. Now you’re meeting attorneys.”
“I have always had attorneys.”
“You know what I mean.”
Evelyn met his eyes through the mirror.
Nathan stood.
“Are you planning something?”
“Yes.”
He froze.
Evelyn turned.
“I’m redecorating the east guest wing.”
Nathan stared.
Then released a short breath.
“You think this is funny.”
“I think you’re nervous.”
“About what?”
“That depends on what you’ve done.”
He walked toward her.
For an instant, Evelyn saw something different in him.
Not arrogance.
Fear.
“Evelyn.”
“What?”
“Whatever you think you know…”
She waited.
Nathan stopped.
A long silence stretched between them.
Then his phone rang.
Clara.
Evelyn saw the name on the screen.
Nathan declined the call.
“You should answer.”
“It can wait.”
“Can it?”
His jaw tightened.
Evelyn stepped closer.
“Does she know you’re afraid of me?”
Nathan looked genuinely shaken.
Then anger covered it.
“Go to sleep.”
He walked out.
Evelyn waited ten seconds.
Then followed quietly.
Nathan entered his study and locked the door.
Evelyn used the hidden service corridor her father had once joked was the only reason to buy an old mansion.
From behind the wall, she heard Nathan speaking.
“You said she wouldn’t notice.”
Pause.
“No, she’s asking questions.”
Another pause.
“I don’t care what he wants.”
Evelyn’s heart stopped.
He.
Nathan continued.
“I’ve done everything you asked.”
Silence.
“No. Absolutely not.”
His voice dropped.
“She is my wife.”
Another pause.
Then:
“I said nobody touches Evelyn.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Nathan knew.
Maybe not everything.
But enough.
The voice on the other end spoke for nearly thirty seconds.
May you like
Nathan finally answered.
“When is he coming back?”
