Chapter 7 - The Trap
Adrian wanted Claire out of New York.
Claire refused.
Not because she was reckless.
Because Sebastian expected them to run.
And Claire Bennett was tired of living according to decisions made by frightened men.
“We give him something he wants more than me,” she said.
They were gathered in the townhouse library.
Adrian stared at her.
“No.”
“I haven’t even explained.”
“The answer remains no.”
Claire turned toward Marco.
“Does he know other words?”
“Occasionally.”
“Both of you stop.”
Claire placed a folder on the table.
“I worked at Moretti Capital for four years. Sebastian knows that.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“He also knows I handled compliance reviews.”
Marco understood.
“You want him to believe you found evidence.”
“I want him to believe I have the original ledger Antonio Moretti collected before he died.”
“There is no original ledger,” Adrian said.
“Sebastian doesn’t know that.”
Adrian stood.
“You will not be bait.”
“I won’t be.”
“That is literally the plan you just described.”
“The bait is the ledger.”
“In your hands.”
“With police and federal investigators involved.”
Adrian went silent.
Claire softened.
“You said you were going to stop making choices for me.”
“That was before you proposed deliberately provoking a murderer.”
“I’m not asking permission.”
“I noticed.”
Their eyes locked.
Finally Adrian turned to Marco.
“Contact Detective Morales.”
Claire blinked.
“That’s it?”
“No. That is me respecting your choice while internally having approximately seven heart attacks.”
She almost smiled.
The plan took forty-eight hours.
Claire sent an encrypted message to Sebastian through an old corporate account.
I found Antonio’s ledger. If anything happens to me, copies go to federal investigators.
Sebastian responded fourteen minutes later.
What do you want?
Claire typed:
My family left alone. Forever.
His answer:
Exchange. Tomorrow. 11 p.m. Pier 17. Come alone.
Adrian read the message.
“No.”
Claire sighed.
“We covered this.”
“I am evolving slowly.”
The police wired Claire with a microphone.
Officers surrounded the pier.
Adrian waited in an unmarked van with Detective Morales.
Every instinct screamed at him to drag Claire home.
Instead, he watched her walk beneath the pier lights carrying a fake ledger.
Sebastian emerged from the shadows.
He looked almost unchanged.
Gray suit.
Silver hair.
Calm smile.
“Claire.”
“You tried to burn down my apartment.”
“Nothing personal.”
“You threatened an unborn child.”
“That was strategic.”
Claire’s stomach turned.
“You killed Antonio.”
Sebastian smiled.
“Antonio killed himself the moment he decided morality mattered more than loyalty.”
In the surveillance van, Adrian’s hands clenched.
Morales whispered, “We have the admission.”
But Sebastian continued.
“Adrian was always too sentimental.”
Claire almost laughed.
“You clearly never married him.”
Sebastian’s smile faded.
“Give me the ledger.”
“First tell me why you manipulated our divorce.”
“Because Adrian was predictable. Threaten you, and he would push you away. His father did the same thing.”
Claire’s chest tightened.
“You sent those photographs.”
“Yes.”
“And the warning.”
“Yes.”
“And Adrian believed you when you advised him to divorce me.”
“Adrian believes fear more easily than love.”
Inside the van, Adrian closed his eyes.
Sebastian extended his hand.
“The ledger.”
Claire handed him the folder.
He opened it.
Blank pages.
His face changed.
Claire stepped backward.
“You should have checked whether I still worked in compliance.”
Sebastian reached inside his coat.
Police moved.
“Gun!”
Chaos exploded.
Claire dropped.
A shot cracked across the pier.
Adrian was out of the van before anyone could stop him.
Sebastian ran.
Officers chased him.
Adrian reached Claire.
“Are you hit?”
“No.”
“Claire.”
“I’m fine.”
Then she looked down.
Blood.
Adrian saw it too.
Not from a bullet.
From beneath her coat.
Claire’s face went white.
“Adrian.”
He caught her as her knees buckled.
Something warm ran down her legs.
“No.”
She gripped his coat.
“The baby.”
Within minutes, an ambulance was racing toward the hospital.
Adrian sat beside Claire holding her hand.
Her contractions had started.
Twenty-four weeks.
Far too early.
“No,” Claire whispered repeatedly. “No, no, no.”
Adrian pressed her hand against his mouth.
“Look at me.”
“She’s too small.”
“Look at me, Claire.”
Her terrified eyes met his.
“Our daughter is a Moretti and a Bennett.”
A tear slid down his face.
“She is stubborn from both directions.”
Claire gave a broken laugh.
At the hospital, doctors surrounded her.
Adrian was pushed back.
“Please,” Claire cried.
He reached for her.
“I’m here.”
“Don’t leave.”
Those two words destroyed him.
“I won’t.”
Doctors managed to slow the contractions.
Hours passed.
Then more hours.
At sunrise, the specialist finally entered.
“The labor has stopped.”
Claire burst into tears.
Adrian covered his face.
The baby remained safe.
For now.
Claire would need strict rest and constant monitoring.
Sebastian had escaped the pier, but police recovered his abandoned car.
Inside were forged passports and documents linking him to the attacks.
The hunt had begun.
But Claire no longer cared about Sebastian.
She looked at Adrian asleep in a chair beside her hospital bed, still holding her hand.
When he woke, she was watching him.
“What?”
“You stayed.”
“You asked me to.”
“The old you would have gone after Sebastian.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Adrian looked toward her stomach.
“Because I finally understood which fight mattered.”
Claire’s eyes filled.
Adrian stood.
He kissed her forehead.
Nothing more.
Then he whispered, “I’m sorry it took me this long.”
May you like
Claire closed her eyes.
For the first time since the divorce, she believed him.
