Chapter 19 - THE LAST SECRET OF ELEANOR BENNETT
Chicago was burning with rumors.
News channels accused Claire of stealing billions.
Politicians demanded her arrest.
Banks froze Bennett Global.
Investors panicked.
And Daniel Vale disappeared.
Claire knew it was deliberate.
He wanted her isolated.
He wanted the world to believe she was the criminal.
Eleanor sat inside a secure room beneath the Bennett estate.
Claire entered.
“You knew.”
Eleanor looked at her.
“About Eden?”
“About everything.”
Eleanor sighed.
“Not everything.”
“Then tell me.”
Claire placed the Palermo file on the table.
Eleanor saw it.
Her face changed.
“Where did you get that?”
“Sloane.”
Eleanor closed her eyes.
“Then she knows.”
“Everyone knows.”
Silence.
Claire sat.
“Why did you choose me?”
Eleanor looked confused.
“What?”
“Why did you protect me?”
“Because you're my daughter.”
“And Eva?”
Eleanor's eyes filled.
“Because I believed I could save both of you.”
“But you couldn't.”
“No.”
Claire waited.
Eleanor finally spoke.
“Your grandfather didn't create Eden to control America.”
Claire frowned.
“Then why?”
“To stop a war.”
“What war?”
“The Cold War.”
Claire stared.
Eleanor explained.
Decades earlier, Bennett companies had discovered a secret network manipulating global markets.
Governments were using private corporations to influence elections and economies.
Jonathan's father created Eden as a counter-network.
At first, it protected America.
Then the organization evolved.
Its members began believing governments were inefficient.
They believed private networks should rule.
Eden became what it had originally been designed to destroy.
Claire whispered:
“And my family kept it alive.”
“Yes.”
“Until you.”
“I tried to destroy it.”
“What happened?”
Eleanor looked toward the window.
“I failed.”
Claire stood.
“Then why are they afraid of Lily?”
Eleanor's expression changed.
“Because Lily was born after the system changed.”
Claire frowned.
“What changed?”
“Your pregnancy.”
“What about it?”
“Your father didn't tell you.”
Claire's heart tightened.
“Tell me.”
Eleanor whispered:
“During your pregnancy, Vincent's company performed genetic research.”
Claire froze.
“What?”
“Not on Lily.”
“Then what?”
“On you.”
Claire remembered the strange medical appointments.
The blood tests Vincent had arranged.
The private doctors.
The canceled appointments.
She suddenly understood.
“Vincent.”
Eleanor nodded.
“He was trying to determine whether you carried the Eden marker.”
Claire's voice shook.
“Did I?”
“Yes.”
Silence.
“And Lily?”
Eleanor looked at her.
“She inherited it.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“So Lily really is the key.”
“No.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“Lily is something else.”
“What?”
“The first person born with the complete marker.”
Claire felt cold.
“Complete?”
“Your grandfather never achieved it.”
“Then what does it do?”
Eleanor whispered:
“It gives her access to every financial system Eden has ever controlled.”
Claire stared.
“That is impossible.”
“It is already happening.”
Claire's phone vibrated.
A banking alert.
Multiple accounts had been accessed.
Using Lily's identity.
Claire's blood ran cold.
“They found her.”
Eleanor stood.
“No.”
“What?”
“They didn't find Lily.”
Eleanor looked terrified.
“Lily found them.”
Claire stared.
Another alert appeared.
Bennett Global accounts were unlocking.
Frozen assets were returning.
Millions moved.
Then billions.
The system was responding to Lily.
Claire whispered:
“She doesn't even know how to walk.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“That's why Eden is afraid.”
Suddenly, the entire room went dark.
A voice came through the speakers.
Daniel Vale.
“Thank you, Eleanor.”
Claire turned.
“You're here?”
Vale laughed.
“No.”
The screen activated.
A live image appeared.
Vincent.
He was standing inside the nursery.
Holding Lily.
Claire's blood froze.
Vale's voice continued.
“You should never have brought the child home.”
Claire screamed:
“Vincent!”
Vincent looked toward the camera.
His face was pale.
Then he whispered:
“Claire…”
The screen went black.
Eleanor grabbed Claire's arm.
“They took him.”
Claire shook her head.
“No.”
She looked at Nicholas.
“Find him.”
Nicholas was already moving.
Claire followed.
Then her phone received one final message.
Come alone.
Bring Eva.
Or Vincent dies.
Claire stared.
Then another message arrived.
A location.
An abandoned railway station.
And beneath it:
This is where your mother chose between her daughters.
Claire looked at Eleanor.
Her mother began crying.
“I know that place.”
“Where?”
May you like
Eleanor whispered:
“That's where Eden began.”
