Chapter 4 - The Dead Man's Daughter
Claire discovered her father's voice on a recording that had been hidden for twenty-three years.
She was sitting in Margaret's office when Daniel returned with an old digital storage case.
"Your grandmother asked me to give you this if the Northstar transfer was ever challenged."
Inside were twelve encrypted drives.
The first contained financial records.
The second contained photographs.
The third contained an audio file labeled:
THOMAS — OCTOBER 19, 2003.
Claire clicked play.
Static crackled.
Then a man's voice filled the room.
"Margaret, if you're hearing this, I couldn't come home."
Claire covered her mouth.
She remembered that voice.
Not clearly.
Not completely.
But enough.
Her father had sung old jazz songs while making pancakes.
He had called her Cricket because she never stopped asking questions.
And he had promised to teach her how to sail.
Now he was speaking from the past.
"The Moretti operation is bigger than we thought. The money isn't just moving through the docks. Someone is using our shipping insurance network to conceal payments."
A pause.
Then another voice spoke.
A younger man's voice.
"Tom, we have to leave."
Claire leaned forward.
The speaker continued.
"If my father finds out you're alive, he won't give us another chance."
Claire froze.
Vincent.
She knew his voice.
Even twenty-three years younger, she recognized the rhythm.
The recording continued.
Thomas sounded exhausted.
"Margaret, don't trust anyone who comes bearing the falcon crest. Not until you know who sent them."
A loud metallic noise interrupted him.
Then Vincent spoke again.
"Someone's coming."
The recording ended.
Claire sat perfectly still.
Vincent had known her father.
Vincent had helped him.
And Vincent had never mentioned either fact.
She thought of their wedding.
Vincent standing beneath white roses, promising that he would never deliberately hurt her.
She thought of their anniversary dinners.
Their late-night conversations.
The quiet mornings when she believed they knew everything important about each other.
Now she understood how little she knew.
Daniel placed a glass of water beside her.
"There's more."
Claire looked up.
"How much more?"
"Your grandmother suspected Thomas was moved out of the country under another identity."
"Where?"
"She never confirmed it."
"Did Vincent help him?"
"The recording suggests he tried."
"Then why would he keep it from me?"
Daniel looked troubled.
"Because helping Thomas may have put Vincent against his own father."
Claire stood.
"Call the attorney."
Northstar's outside counsel, Rebecca Sloan, arrived forty minutes later.
Rebecca was sixty-two, sharp-eyed and dressed in a navy suit that looked older than some of the associates who worked for her.
She had represented Margaret for thirty years.
When Claire showed her the forged document, Rebecca's face hardened.
"This is a serious crime."
"Can we stop the transfer?"
"We already have grounds to seek an emergency injunction."
"Do it."
Rebecca nodded.
"But Claire, the transfer attempt is only part of the problem."
She opened her laptop.
"Northstar's accounts have been used as collateral for loans totaling nearly four hundred million dollars."
Claire stared at her.
"Without my permission?"
"Without valid authorization from the trust, as far as I can establish."
"Who received the money?"
Rebecca turned the screen.
Three corporate entities appeared.
All were connected to Elena Ward.
One was registered in Delaware.
Another in the Cayman Islands.
The third was a private investment vehicle called Meridian Capital Strategies.
Claire recognized the name.
Meridian had recently become a major investor in Harbor Point.
"Elena wasn't just stealing from me."
Rebecca shook her head.
"She was positioning herself to control both Northstar and the Moretti development companies."
"How?"
"By creating a debt crisis, then acquiring the distressed assets through companies she controlled."
Claire sat down.
"She wanted Vincent's empire."
"And yours."
The realization was almost absurd.
Claire had spent the morning believing another woman wanted her husband.
Now she understood that Elena wanted something much larger.
Everything.
Her phone rang.
Vincent.
She watched the screen until the call ended.
Then another call arrived.
This time from an unknown number.
Claire answered.
"Hello?"
A man spoke.
"Mrs. Moretti?"
"Who's calling?"
"My name is Samuel Keene. I worked with your father."
Claire stopped breathing.
"Where is he?"
Silence.
Then Keene said, "Before I tell you anything, you need to understand that your grandmother was protecting you from someone very dangerous."
"Who?"
"Someone who knew your father survived."
Claire looked at Daniel.
Keene continued.
"Your husband isn't the person you should fear most."
"Then who is?"
A faint noise sounded behind him.
A door opening.
Keene's breathing changed.
"Listen carefully. Don't trust the woman wearing the crest."
"I already know about Elena."
"No," Keene whispered. "Not Elena."
Claire went cold.
"What woman?"
"Your grandmother had a daughter no one knew about."
The line crackled.
Claire gripped the phone.
"My grandmother had one child. My father."
"That's what she wanted you to believe."
A sharp sound interrupted him.
Then someone shouted.
The call disconnected.
Claire stared at the phone.
Rebecca's expression had changed.
"Claire, what did he say?"
Claire repeated the words.
Rebecca slowly closed her laptop.
"There's something Margaret never told you."
Claire looked at her.
"What?"
Rebecca hesitated.
"Before your father was born, Margaret had another baby."
Claire's heart pounded.
"A daughter?"
Rebecca nodded.
"She was adopted privately. The records were sealed."
"Why?"
"Margaret was seventeen. Her family forced the adoption."
Claire swallowed.
"Who was the child?"
Rebecca looked away.
"I don't know her current identity."
A notification appeared on Claire's laptop.
The emergency injunction had been filed.
Seconds later, another message arrived.
It contained a photograph.
An older man stood beside a window overlooking the ocean.
His hair was silver.
His face was thinner.
But his eyes were unmistakable.
Thomas Bennett.
Alive.
May you like
Beneath the photograph were six words.
Stop investigating, or he dies tonight.
