Chapter 7 - The Sister He Never Suspected
Claire Whitmore had always been the person Daniel trusted most.
His younger sister.
Rachel's closest friend.
Lily called her Aunt Claire.
Sam adored her.
Claire had stood beside Daniel at the funeral.
She had held Lily when Daniel couldn't.
She had brought food to the house.
She had helped organize Rachel's belongings.
She had told Daniel more than once:
“You need to take care of yourself.”
Now her name was inside the center of the conspiracy.
Daniel refused to believe it.
He went to Claire's house.
She opened the door smiling.
“Daniel?”
He looked at her.
“Why did Vanessa say your name?”
The smile disappeared.
Claire stepped aside.
“Come in.”
Jonah stayed behind Daniel.
Claire poured coffee with steady hands.
“What exactly did she say?”
“That you were Rachel's nurse.”
Claire looked at the floor.
“I visited her in the hospital.”
“That wasn't my question.”
Claire slowly sat down.
“Rachel asked me to help her.”
“With what?”
“Leaving.”
Daniel stared.
“Leaving me?”
“No.”
“The company?”
“Yes.”
Claire took a breath.
“She had discovered everything.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Did you work with Greg?”
Claire shook her head.
“I worked against him.”
Daniel said nothing.
She continued.
“I was the anonymous person checking Rachel's old email.”
Daniel froze.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because someone inside the family was leaking information.”
“Who?”
Claire looked at him.
“Your former assistant, Mark.”
Daniel frowned.
“Mark died.”
“He didn't.”
Daniel's face went blank.
Jonah leaned forward.
“Explain.”
Claire opened a drawer.
Inside was a stack of documents.
“Mark was the one who gave Greg access to Rachel's medical records.”
Daniel sat down.
The world kept shifting.
One secret uncovered another.
“Why did Greg threaten Vanessa?”
“Because Ethan stole forty-three million dollars.”
“Why did Ethan steal it?”
“Because he discovered Greg had been transferring company money into accounts controlled by someone else.”
“Who?”
Claire hesitated.
“Your father.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
His father's legacy had been poisoning his company long before he inherited it.
“Why would Rachel hide that from me?”
“Because she thought you'd destroy yourself trying to fix it.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“She was right.”
Claire looked at him.
“Daniel, there is something worse.”
He opened his eyes.
“What?”
“Rachel's death was not caused directly by medication.”
Daniel's breathing stopped.
“She was poisoned.”
The room went silent.
“How do you know?”
“Because I saw the original toxicology report.”
“Why wasn't it in the file?”
“Because the hospital administrator removed it.”
“Under whose orders?”
Claire stared at him.
“Greg's.”
Daniel stood.
“What poison?”
“A compound that mimicked complications from chemotherapy.”
Daniel felt sick.
“Who administered it?”
Claire shook her head.
“We never found out.”
Then Claire pulled out a photograph.
It showed Rachel in the hospital.
Beside her was a woman in a nurse uniform.
Daniel recognized her.
“That's Vanessa.”
“No.”
Claire pointed.
“Look carefully.”
Daniel stared.
The woman wasn't Vanessa.
But she had the same blond hair.
Same height.
Similar build.
“Who is she?”
“Vanessa's cousin.”
“Why?”
“She worked as a nurse.”
Jonah picked up the photograph.
“When was this taken?”
“The night Rachel died.”
Daniel's heart pounded.
“So Vanessa wasn't there.”
“Not that night.”
Daniel realized something.
He had assumed Vanessa had been part of every stage.
Perhaps she had been a pawn.
A cruel pawn.
But still a pawn.
Then Claire said, “The woman in that photograph is missing.”
“Where is she?”
“We don't know.”
Marcus entered.
“We may.”
He placed a surveillance photograph on the table.
The woman was entering a private clinic in Milwaukee.
Daniel looked at the timestamp.
She had been there six weeks earlier.
They drove through the night.
At the clinic, the woman was found.
Her name was Natalie Price.
She had spent years living under a different identity.
When Daniel showed her Rachel's photograph, she broke down.
“I didn't kill her.”
“Then what did you do?”
“I switched the medication.”
Daniel stared.
“For Greg?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Natalie looked toward the door.
“Rachel asked me to.”
“What?”
“She knew someone was trying to poison her.”
Daniel couldn't breathe.
“She asked me to give her a harmless replacement.”
“Why?”
“She wanted whoever was watching her to think the poison had worked.”
Daniel stared.
“What happened then?”
Natalie whispered,
“She disappeared.”
Daniel's blood ran cold.
“What?”
“Rachel wasn't dead when they said she was.”
Silence.
“What are you saying?”
Natalie pulled out a photograph.
A woman walking through an airport.
Hat.
Sunglasses.
Medical mask.
But the posture was unmistakable.
Rachel.
Alive.
Daniel stared.
Impossible.
He recognized the shape of her shoulders.
The way she carried her left arm.
The small silver bracelet Daniel had given her on their tenth anniversary.
His knees weakened.
“Where is she?”
Natalie shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“Who does?”
Natalie looked frightened.
“Greg.”
Daniel's phone rang.
The number was unknown.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Daniel.”
May you like
His heart stopped.
Rachel.
