Chapter 13 - What Serena Wanted
Serena contacted Clara before police found her.
The message contained an address.
Midnight.
Come alone if you want Julian alive.
Clara showed Cole.
He wanted tactical units.
Clara refused to walk blindly into a trap but agreed to wear a concealed transmitter.
The address led to an unfinished office tower overlooking East Harbor.
Wind moved through exposed concrete columns.
Clara arrived at 11:58.
Serena stood near the open edge of the twenty-third floor.
No coat.
Pale pink dress.
Hair blowing across her face.
“You brought police.”
Clara stopped.
“You expected me not to?”
“I expected you to be smarter.”
“I expected you not to poison my husband.”
Serena flinched.
“I didn’t intend to kill him.”
“That sentence doesn’t help you.”
“I was dosing him.”
“So Teresa told the truth.”
“About that.”
“Why?”
“To make him investigate.”
Clara stared.
“You poisoned him so he would investigate?”
“He never questioned anything. Not his father. Not the company. Not where the money came from.”
“So you made him sick.”
“I needed Reeve to find it.”
“Why?”
“Because Reeve was part of the original network.”
Clara’s eyes narrowed.
“What network?”
Serena laughed without humor.
“You still think Peter Hale arranged one illegal adoption?”
Clara said nothing.
“He arranged hundreds.”
The wind seemed colder.
“Babies?”
“Children. Infants. Sometimes older.”
“For whom?”
“People with money.”
Clara thought about the bodies beneath Parcel 17.
“What happened to Julian’s mother?”
Serena looked toward the river.
“Her name was Mara Bell.”
“How do you know?”
“She was my mother’s sister.”
Clara stared at her.
“You’re Julian’s cousin.”
“Yes.”
“Peter Hale?”
“My grandfather.”
The entire puzzle shifted.
“Why enter Vance Development?”
“To find what happened to Mara.”
“And you found the bodies.”
“Not exactly.”
Serena pulled a small flash drive from her dress pocket.
“Arthur found them first.”
“You had the photographs.”
“My grandfather left files before he died.”
“Then why blackmail Arthur?”
“Because he deserved it.”
“And Julian?”
“I didn’t know he was Mara’s baby until last year.”
Clara’s anger sharpened.
“So you discovered Julian was your cousin and started poisoning him.”
“I was trying to force the truth into the open.”
“You nearly killed him.”
“I know.”
“No, Serena. You understand the sentence. You don’t understand what it means.”
Serena began crying.
“Someone changed the dosage.”
Clara froze.
“What?”
“I used Teresa’s pills in quantities that would make him weak. Sick. Enough for Reeve to test him.”
“That is already criminal.”
“I know.”
“But the dose that caused the collapse…”
“Wasn’t mine.”
Clara watched her carefully.
“Prove it.”
Serena held up the flash drive.
“This contains everything.”
“Then give it to police.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because somebody inside the department is feeding information.”
Clara thought about the anonymous messages.
“Are you the one texting me?”
Serena shook her head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
“I hoped you knew.”
Footsteps sounded behind them.
Clara turned.
A shadow moved between columns.
Serena’s expression changed.
“Run.”
A gunshot cracked through the unfinished floor.
Concrete exploded beside Clara.
Serena grabbed her arm.
They ran.
A second shot.
Then police shouted from the stairwell.
Serena screamed as she fell.
Clara dropped beside her.
Blood spread across the pale pink dress.
“Serena.”
The bullet had struck her shoulder.
Not immediately fatal.
Serena pushed the flash drive into Clara’s hand.
“Don’t give it to Cole.”
Clara stared.
“What?”
May you like
Serena’s eyes widened.
“Cole was at East Harbor.”
