Chapter 6 - THE SECRET CLARA DIED PROTECTING
The photograph was taken six years earlier.
Clara was sitting in a hospital bed.
She looked thin.
Exhausted.
But she was smiling.
Beside her stood a young boy.
Gabriel stared.
“Who is that?”
Marcus looked at the picture.
“I don't know.”
Lucas stepped closer.
“I do.”
Everyone turned.
“That’s me.”
Gabriel froze.
Lucas shook his head.
“No. Not me.”
He pointed to the boy.
“That's Wyatt.”
Gabriel stared at the photograph.
Wyatt had been eight years old at the time.
The image had been taken before Gabriel met Candice.
Before Wyatt came to live with them.
Before anyone knew the boy existed.
“Why was Wyatt with Clara?”
No one knew.
They contacted the hospital.
The records were incomplete.
But one nurse remembered.
She told Marcus that Clara had asked to speak privately with a social worker.
She had been concerned about a child.
A child whose mother had died.
A child connected to Richard Vincent.
That child was Wyatt.
Gabriel felt the pieces come together.
Candice had not simply entered his life.
She had chosen him.
Because of Clara.
Because of Lucas.
Because of money.
But why Wyatt?
The answer came from an unexpected source.
Wyatt himself.
Marcus located him at a friend's house.
The teenager was terrified.
At first, he refused to speak.
Then Gabriel showed him the photograph.
Wyatt's face changed.
“Where did you get that?”
“Your aunt had it.”
Wyatt looked down.
“Candice told me never to talk about it.”
“About what?”
The boy's hands trembled.
“Your wife.”
“Clara?”
Wyatt nodded.
“She tried to help my mother.”
Gabriel sat down.
“What happened to your mother?”
Wyatt swallowed.
“She worked for Richard.”
“As what?”
“Accountant.”
Wyatt explained that his mother had discovered Richard was stealing money from elderly clients.
She had planned to expose him.
Then she died.
The official cause was an overdose.
But Wyatt didn't believe it.
Neither did Clara.
Clara had found evidence.
She had tried to protect Wyatt.
She had contacted a lawyer.
Then Marissa found out.
Gabriel's voice was barely audible.
“Marissa killed Clara?”
Wyatt shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“But she was there.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Wyatt looked toward the window.
“Clara had evidence.”
“What evidence?”
“Names. Accounts. Payments.”
“Where is it?”
Wyatt hesitated.
Then he said:
“Your son has it.”
Gabriel froze.
“What?”
Wyatt looked at Lucas.
“Your mom gave it to you.”
Lucas stared at him.
“I don't remember.”
“You were little.”
Wyatt shook his head.
“She hid it inside something you always carried.”
Gabriel thought.
Clara had given Lucas a silver cup.
The cup he found in Candice's drawer.
He immediately returned home with police officers.
They opened the cup.
At the bottom, beneath a thin metal insert, was a hidden compartment.
Inside was a tiny memory card.
Marcus took it.
The files were encrypted.
But one folder had a name.
IF GABRIEL EVER FINDS THIS.
Gabriel stared at the screen.
Then the files opened.
The first recording was Clara's voice.
Weak.
But unmistakable.
“Gabriel, if you're hearing this, I am probably gone.”
Gabriel closed his eyes.
Clara continued.
“I need you to understand something. Candice is not the woman she says she is.”
The recording continued.
“She is working with Richard Vincent.”
Gabriel looked at Marcus.
Clara's voice trembled.
“They are targeting widows. They take their money, their property, and sometimes their identities.”
The room went silent.
Then Clara said:
“Richard believes I have evidence.”
A pause.
“He is right.”
The recording ended.
A second file opened.
It contained bank transfers.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
And one shocking document.
A transfer of $2.4 million.
The recipient was:
Gabriel Lawson.
Gabriel stared.
“I never received this.”
Marcus looked at the date.
It was two days before Clara died.
Then the phone rang.
The caller ID showed Candice.
Gabriel answered.
Her voice was calm.
“Did you enjoy looking through my things?”
Gabriel said nothing.
Candice laughed softly.
“Then you know.”
“Know what?”
“That Clara was never as innocent as you thought.”
Gabriel gripped the phone.
“What did you do to her?”
Candice paused.
Then whispered:
“Ask your son what his mother was really protecting.”
The call ended.
Lucas looked terrified.
Gabriel turned toward him.
“What does she mean?”
Lucas stared at the floor.
May you like
Then he whispered:
“Dad… I remember something.”
