Chapter 7 - Victor Shaw Called Me the Next Morning and Offered Me a Deal I Couldn't RefuseAt 8:00 the next morning, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Claire.”
I recognized the voice immediately.
Victor.
“What do you want?”
“You know who I am.”
“Yes.”
“Then you know your husband lied to you.”
“You're the reason he died.”
He laughed softly.
“Richard was stubborn.”
“You killed him.”
“I didn't.”
“Then who did?”
Silence.
“You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
“Meet me.”
Michael immediately shook his head.
I ignored him.
“Where?”
“Your old house.”
I froze.
“The house Richard left you.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I was there the night he bought it.”
Victor gave me an address.
Then he said:
“Come alone.”
“No.”
“Then you will never know who betrayed your family.”
The line went dead.
I looked at Michael.
“We're going.”
“No.”
“I need answers.”
“You need to stay alive.”
“I've spent five years being afraid.”
I stood.
“I'm not doing it anymore.”
We went to the house.
It looked exactly as I remembered.
The garden.
The porch.
The kitchen window.
I cried when I saw it.
Victor was waiting inside.
He looked older than the photograph.
But his eyes were sharp.
“You look like your mother,” he said.
I froze.
“My mother?”
He smiled.
“Richard never told you?”
“No.”
“Of course he didn't.”
Victor revealed that Richard's investigation had uncovered a network involving Thomas, Victor, and several executives.
But he denied killing Richard.
“Who did?”
Victor looked at me.
“Your sister-in-law.”
I stared.
“Thomas's wife?”
He nodded.
“Laura.”
I remembered Laura.
Always sweet.
Always helpful.
Always asking about our family.
Victor said she had been the real strategist.
“She used Thomas as a shield.”
“Why?”
“Money.”
He handed me a file.
Inside were photographs.
Laura meeting Thomas.
Laura meeting Victor.
Laura standing beside Richard's car.
I felt sick.
“She was there the night Richard died.”
Victor nodded.
“She arranged the accident.”
I couldn't speak.
Then Victor said:
“But she wasn't acting alone.”
“Who?”
He looked directly at me.
“Someone you trust more than anyone.”
My heart stopped.
“Who?”
Victor smiled.
“You'll find out.”
Then he walked away.
Samuel tried to stop him.
Victor disappeared through the back door.
I looked down at the file.
One photograph had been circled.
A photograph of my daughter, Emily.
May you like
And suddenly I understood why Richard had warned me not to trust anyone.
The betrayal was closer than I had imagined.
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