Chapter 7 - The Betrayal Inside the Mansion
Vincent's arrival changed everything.
The federal agents immediately moved toward him.
But Vincent raised the remote.
"One more step, and the security system activates."
Adrian's expression turned murderous.
"Put it down."
Vincent laughed.
"Still giving orders. You really haven't changed."
"What do you want?"
"Everything you took from me."
Adrian stared at him.
"Your inheritance?"
"My company. My position. My life."
"You stole from the family for years."
Vincent's smile vanished.
"I built the business you inherited."
"You built a criminal operation and hid behind our name."
Vincent pointed toward the staircase.
"And you brought strangers into our home. A nanny. A woman who knows nothing about this family."
His eyes settled on Claire.
"Tell me, Claire. How much did he pay you to become his daughter's favorite person?"
Claire didn't move.
"Not enough to tolerate you."
One of the agents almost smiled.
Vincent's expression darkened.
He pressed the remote.
Nothing happened.
Adrian looked toward the security chief.
"That system was disconnected last night."
Vincent's face changed.
For the first time, his confidence cracked.
Then he lunged toward the nearest agent.
The struggle lasted seconds.
The remote fell.
Vincent was forced to the floor and handcuffed.
As the agents dragged him away, he turned toward Adrian.
"You think you've won?"
Adrian said nothing.
Vincent laughed.
"Ask Rebecca what happened to the first child."
Then he was gone.
The words haunted Claire.
The first child.
She couldn't stop thinking about the little girl in the photograph.
If Rebecca had another child, why had she never told Adrian?
And what had Vincent meant by the first child?
Later that evening, Claire sat beside Lily.
The little girl was drawing again.
This time, she had drawn four people.
A man.
A woman.
A little girl.
And another little girl.
"Who's that?" Claire asked.
Lily pointed at the second child.
"My sister."
Claire's breath caught.
"Have you seen her?"
Lily nodded.
"In my dream."
"What does she look like?"
"She has Mommy's eyes."
Claire gently touched the drawing.
"What's her name?"
Lily looked down.
"Grace."
At midnight, Adrian received a call from Daniel.
"Vincent is in federal custody."
"Good."
"There's something else. The agents found a second set of financial records in his apartment."
"What's in them?"
"Payments to a private medical facility outside Boston."
Adrian sat up.
"What facility?"
"Blackwood Recovery Center."
He recognized the name.
It was where Rebecca had spent her final weeks before her supposed death.
"Send me the records."
Daniel hesitated.
"There's an admission record for a child named Grace Mercer."
Adrian closed his eyes.
"How old?"
"Five."
"Mother?"
"Rebecca Mercer."
Silence filled the room.
"Is she alive?"
"The record says she was discharged six months ago."
"Where?"
"That's the problem. Her destination was deliberately removed."
The following morning, Claire found an envelope beneath her apartment door.
She had gone home briefly to collect some clothes.
The envelope had no return address.
Inside was a photograph.
Claire recognized herself.
It had been taken outside a grocery store two weeks before she started working for Adrian.
On the back, someone had written:
You were chosen for a reason.
Her stomach turned.
There was another sheet.
A copy of her employment application.
Her old address.
Her previous employer's name.
And a handwritten note.
Ask yourself why a woman with your qualifications was offered a position inside the Mercer mansion.
Claire called Adrian immediately.
He answered on the first ring.
"What's wrong?"
"Someone sent me something."
"Where are you?"
"My apartment."
"Don't leave."
Ten minutes later, Adrian arrived with two security men.
He examined the envelope.
Then he looked at Claire's application.
His expression grew darker with every line.
"Who hired you?"
"The agency."
"Who contacted the agency?"
Claire swallowed.
"Vincent."
Adrian looked at her.
"Did you know that?"
"No."
"Did you ever meet him before coming here?"
"No."
He turned toward his security chief.
"Find out everything about her recruitment."
Claire felt a wave of humiliation.
"Are you seriously questioning me?"
Adrian looked back.
"I'm questioning everyone."
"I didn't ask to become part of your family's nightmare."
"I know."
"Then stop treating me like I caused it."
Adrian's expression softened.
He stepped closer.
"Claire, look at me."
She did.
"If Vincent arranged your employment, it wasn't because he wanted someone to care for Lily."
"Then why?"
Adrian looked at the photograph again.
"Because Rebecca knew you."
Claire went completely still.
"What?"
He turned the photograph over.
Beneath the earlier message was a second line, written in different handwriting.
The nanny has her mother's eyes.
Claire felt the floor disappear beneath her.
"My mother?"
Adrian studied her face.
"What's your mother's name?"
Claire swallowed.
"Margaret Bennett."
He looked at her for several seconds.
Then he opened the letter Rebecca had left behind.
There, near the bottom, was a name.
Margaret Bennett.
May you like
And beneath it, a sentence that made Adrian's blood run cold.
If Claire ever comes into your life, don't let her discover what we did to her.
