Chapter 11 - THE WOMAN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH
The first thing Claire noticed was that her father had stopped breathing.
Not literally.
Jonathan was still standing in the hallway.
Still alive.
Still looking at her.
But the moment he saw the photograph of her mother, something inside him seemed to disappear.
Claire held the picture between two fingers.
“Who is that man?”
Jonathan didn't answer.
“Dad.”
His eyes remained fixed on the photograph.
Nicholas stood several feet behind Claire.
Vincent was still holding Lily in the nursery.
For once, even he seemed to understand that whatever was happening had nothing to do with the Hale family.
It was older.
Darker.
And far more dangerous.
Claire placed the photograph on the table.
“Who is he?”
Jonathan finally sat down.
His hands trembled.
“I don't know his real name.”
Claire stared at him.
“You know him.”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me.”
Jonathan closed his eyes.
“His name was Daniel Vale.”
Nicholas immediately looked at him.
“Vale?”
Jonathan nodded.
“You've heard of him.”
“Everyone in my world has.”
Claire looked between them.
“What does that mean?”
Nicholas didn't answer.
Jonathan did.
“Daniel Vale was an architect.”
“Architect?”
“Not buildings.”
Jonathan looked toward the windows.
“Networks.”
Claire frowned.
“Explain.”
“Twenty-five years ago, your mother and I discovered a group of investors who were purchasing companies nobody wanted.”
“Why?”
“They weren't interested in profits.”
“What were they interested in?”
“Control.”
Jonathan's voice became quieter.
“Ports. Banks. Telecommunications. Pharmaceutical companies. Security firms. Media organizations. Political consulting firms.”
Claire felt a chill.
“Eden.”
Jonathan nodded.
“Project Eden.”
“Why project?”
“Because nobody knew what the final project was.”
Claire picked up the photograph again.
“And this man?”
“He designed it.”
Nicholas stepped closer.
“That's impossible.”
Jonathan looked at him.
“You know something.”
Nicholas hesitated.
“I know the name Daniel Vale.”
“From where?”
“Palermo.”
Claire's stomach tightened.
“That's what Richard Mercer mentioned.”
Nicholas nodded.
“Palermo was where I first encountered Eden.”
Claire looked at him.
“And you never told me.”
“I didn't know if it was still active.”
Jonathan laughed bitterly.
“It never stopped.”
Silence filled the room.
Claire's phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
She opened the message.
Your father told you about Daniel Vale. Good.
A second message appeared.
Now ask him about the child.
Claire's blood ran cold.
“What child?”
Jonathan stood so quickly that his chair struck the wall.
“Give me the phone.”
Claire pulled it away.
“No.”
“Claire.”
“What child?”
Jonathan's face had gone pale.
“Your mother was pregnant.”
Claire froze.
“What?”
“Before you were born.”
The room became completely silent.
Claire stared at him.
“You told me I was your only child.”
“You were.”
“Then who was the baby?”
Jonathan looked toward Nicholas.
Nicholas's expression had changed.
He knew.
Claire saw it immediately.
“You know.”
Nicholas looked away.
“Claire…”
“You know.”
He said nothing.
Claire's voice hardened.
“Tell me.”
Jonathan whispered the answer.
“Your mother had twins.”
Claire couldn't breathe.
“Twins?”
“One survived.”
“Me?”
Jonathan nodded.
Claire looked at the photograph again.
Her mother.
The unknown man.
The strange date written on the back.
Twenty-five years earlier.
Before Claire's birth.
“Where is the other child?”
Jonathan didn't answer.
That was enough.
Claire's eyes filled with disbelief.
“You don't know?”
“I thought the baby died.”
“You thought?”
Jonathan looked devastated.
“We were told the child was dead.”
“By whom?”
Jonathan swallowed.
“Daniel Vale.”
Claire stepped backward.
“Then maybe he wasn't.”
Nobody spoke.
The phone vibrated again.
A photograph appeared.
Claire opened it.
Her breath stopped.
It showed a little girl.
Maybe four years old.
Dark hair.
Bright eyes.
And around her neck was a small silver pendant.
Claire recognized it.
Her mother had worn the matching pendant in every family photograph.
The message beneath the image contained only five words.
Your sister is still alive.
Claire stared at the photograph.
Then another message appeared.
And she knows everything.
The lights suddenly went out.
Lily began crying upstairs.
Vincent shouted her name.
Security alarms exploded through the house.
Nicholas drew his weapon.
Jonathan whispered one sentence.
“Eden has found us.”
Claire looked at the photograph one last time.
For thirteen years, she had believed Vincent's betrayal was the greatest secret of her life.
Then she discovered her father's survival.
Then Black Harbor.
Now this.
A sister.
Alive.
Somewhere.
Watching her.
Claire handed the phone to Nicholas.
“Find her.”
Nicholas looked at the image.
“I will.”
“No.”
Claire's expression hardened.
“We will.”
And for the first time, Nicholas understood that Claire Bennett was no longer waiting for powerful people to explain her life.
May you like
She was going to uncover the truth herself.
Even if the truth destroyed everything.
