Chapter 5 - The Secret Cole Had Been Buying Piece by Piece Was Claire's Entire Life
Claire expected the Red Room to be hidden in a building.
A vault.
A basement.
A safe.
It wasn't.
It was a chain of things.
The first was her childhood home.
Cole bought it.
She stared at him.
“You bought my house?”
“Yes.”
“You bought the house I grew up in?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew someone would eventually search it.”
The second was her mother's photography studio.
Cole had purchased the building six years earlier.
The third was the small community center where Catherine taught.
He had bought that too.
The fourth was the apartment Claire lived in.
The fifth was the storage unit where Claire kept her mother's belongings.
She stared at him.
“You've been buying my life.”
Cole didn't deny it.
“I've been securing it.”
“Without telling me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because people were looking for you.”
Claire became angry.
“You don't get to decide where I live.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“You're right.”
“Then why?”
“Because I was afraid.”
Claire stopped.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“Losing you before I ever got the chance to know you.”
Silence.
Claire's anger softened.
“You knew who I was.”
“From the beginning.”
“When?”
“The moment you walked through my gate.”
She frowned.
“The locket?”
“Yes.”
“My mother's?”
“Yes.”
He looked away.
“My father once told me that if a woman ever wore that necklace, I was to protect her.”
Claire's eyes filled.
“Why?”
“Because she would be Catherine's daughter.”
She stared.
He continued.
“I never expected to fall in love with her.”
Claire's heart stopped.
“You're in love with me?”
“Yes.”
She didn't answer.
Instead, she kissed him.
It was not planned.
It was not careful.
It was the kind of kiss that happens after months of pretending something isn't there.
When they separated, Cole whispered:
“This changes things.”
“It changes everything.”
But then a phone rang.
Catherine.
Alive.
On the screen.
Claire answered with shaking hands.
“Mom?”
A woman's voice trembled.
“Claire.”
She began crying.
So did Claire.
“I thought you were dead.”
“I know.”
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor is listening.”
Claire looked at Cole.
Catherine continued.
“The Red Room isn't a place.”
“What is it?”
“It's an account.”
Claire frowned.
“A bank account?”
“No.”
“A trust.”
“Whose?”
“Yours.”
Claire stopped breathing.
“My what?”
“The Red Room trust was created in your name when you were six.”
Cole went still.
Catherine continued.
“Everything Victor wants belongs to you.”
Then the call ended.
Claire looked at Cole.
“What does that mean?”
Cole's answer was simple.
May you like
“Your mother hid the Mercer fortune in your name.”
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