Chapter 5 - The Honeymoon That Never Left
The private aircraft waited at a small airfield forty minutes from Vale House.
Tom told Claire they would fly directly to Nice. He seemed relaxed again, almost like the man she had once hoped he might truly be.
A driver loaded their luggage while Tom spoke to the pilot.
Claire checked the time.
Nine hours remained before the Marlowe option expired.
She had no intention of boarding the plane.
As she approached the aircraft, her secure phone vibrated.
Daniel had found the merger documents.
Vale Consolidated would transfer its assets at midnight to an entity named Northstar Global Partners. Northstar had been incorporated six weeks earlier in the Cayman Islands. Its listed directors were nominees with no visible connection to the Vale family.
Daniel’s message ended with a warning.
The receiving bank is Halcyon Private. Same bank used in Margaret’s collapse.
Claire stopped beside the aircraft stairs.
Halcyon Private had processed the transfers that destroyed her grandmother.
The same institution was preparing to receive the Vale empire.
Tom turned toward her.
“Is something wrong?”
“I forgot my passport.”
His expression changed.
“You were holding it in the car.”
“I must have left it on the seat.”
“I’ll ask the driver.”
Tom walked toward the parking area.
Claire climbed into the aircraft.
The pilot looked back from the cockpit.
“We’ll be ready in five minutes, Mrs. Vale.”
Claire closed the cabin door behind her.
“I need to use the communications system.”
The pilot frowned.
“Mr. Vale asked that no calls be placed until we’re airborne.”
“I am asking now.”
“I’m sorry, but I have my instructions.”
Claire took out her normal phone.
There was no signal.
A blocking device had been activated inside the aircraft.
She moved toward the cockpit, but the cabin door opened behind her.
Tom entered alone.
“The driver couldn’t find your passport.”
Claire faced him.
“Perhaps because it’s in my handbag.”
Tom closed the door.
“You weren’t supposed to notice the signal blocker.”
“You weren’t supposed to use one on your honeymoon.”
He watched her carefully.
“My mother believes you’ve been communicating with someone.”
“Your mother believes many things.”
“Who is Daniel Reyes?”
Claire said nothing.
Tom’s jaw tightened.
“We traced the florist who delivered those flowers. He works for a courier company used by Reyes.”
“You traced a flower delivery on the morning after our wedding?”
“I was protecting us.”
“From flowers?”
“From whatever you’re doing.”
Claire looked toward the cockpit. The pilot had closed his door.
“Are we actually flying to France?”
“Yes.”
“Will I be allowed to leave when we land?”
Tom’s silence answered.
Claire took a step toward him.
“You knew who I was before we met.”
“I knew about your inheritance.”
“You knew about Silver Swan.”
His eyes flickered.
“That name means nothing to me.”
“You’re a poor liar when you’re frightened.”
“I’m not frightened.”
“Then open the door.”
Tom stood between her and the exit.
“My mother says you broke into the carriage house.”
“Your mother is correct.”
“What did you take?”
“Nothing.”
“What did you see?”
“Enough.”
Tom exhaled slowly.
“Claire, listen to me. My family’s company is going through a complicated restructuring. If you interfere, thousands of employees could lose their jobs.”
“Your mother is moving the company beyond the reach of its legal owner.”
“My family built Vale Consolidated.”
“My grandmother paid for it.”
“That’s not true.”
“She owned sixty-two percent through Silver Swan Holdings.”
Tom stared at her.
His surprise appeared genuine.
“You didn’t know,” Claire said.
“I knew there was an old claim. I thought it was worthless.”
“That is what your mother told you.”
Tom looked toward the dark window.
“She said Margaret tried to take the company after my grandfather saved her business.”
“Your grandfather used her company to hide stolen money.”
“You don’t have proof.”
“I have the original ownership agreement.”
“No, you don’t. It’s still in the basement.”
Claire watched him.
Tom realized his mistake.
“You’ve seen it,” she said.
“My mother showed me documents before the wedding.”
“Did she show you the page naming me as successor?”
His face changed.
“She said marrying you would prevent an outsider from taking the company.”
“By placing my property under the Vale trust.”
“It was supposed to protect everyone.”
“It was supposed to make your family control both sides of a legal dispute.”
Tom rubbed a hand over his face.
“You don’t understand what my mother is capable of.”
“I understand exactly what she is capable of.”
“No. You don’t.”
For the first time, Tom sounded afraid for her rather than himself.
He moved closer and lowered his voice.
“The person who sent that photograph is dead.”
Claire’s body went still.
“Who was it?”
“Lydia Crane. She worked for my grandfather, then my mother. She kept old correspondence and threatened to expose the company.”
“When did she die?”
“This morning.”
“How?”
“Her car went off a bridge.”
Claire remembered the distorted voice on Tom’s secret phone.
What do you mean, remove her?
“You knew someone planned to hurt me.”
“I told them no.”
“Who did you tell?”
“I don’t know his real name.”
“You spoke to him.”
“He contacts me. My mother says he manages sensitive problems.”
“And you believed taking me out of the country would save me?”
“I believed it would buy time.”
“For whom?”
“For both of us.”
Claire studied the panic beneath his controlled expression.
Tom was greedy. He had deceived her. He had married her partly for control of her inheritance.
But he had also resisted the order to remove her.
He was not innocent.
He might still be useful.
Claire looked toward the aircraft door.
“If we leave this country, your mother completes the merger at midnight.”
“Yes.”
“And you receive what?”
Tom did not answer.
“What did she promise you?”
“Control of Northstar after she retires.”
“She will never retire.”
“I know.”
The answer surprised Claire.
Tom reached into his coat and removed the steel key to the basement.
“I copied the original records.”
“Where are they?”
“In my office safe.”
“Why?”
“Insurance.”
“Against your mother?”
“Against everyone.”
Claire took the key from him.
“Tell the pilot the trip is canceled.”
“He works for her.”
“Then help me open the door.”
Tom gave a short, humorless laugh.
“You really are not the woman I thought I married.”
Claire held his gaze.
“No, Tom. I am exactly the woman you married. You simply never bothered to investigate anything beyond my bank account.”
He opened the cabin door.
The driver had disappeared.
Two black vehicles entered the airfield and stopped near the aircraft.
Men in dark suits stepped out.
Tom’s face drained of color.
“My mother knows.”
Claire looked toward the opposite side of the runway.
May you like
Daniel’s car was approaching fast.
Between the two groups stood the aircraft, its engines beginning to turn.
