Chapter 6 - The Mistress Who Was Never an Accident
Claire’s voice filled the locked archive.
“Daniel, don’t touch the door.”
A photograph slid from the printer beside him.
It showed Claire as a child standing beside a woman Daniel recognized.
On the back was a date from twenty-four years earlier.
Beside it were two words.
Vivian’s sister.
Daniel looked at his mother.
“You have a sister?”
Vivian’s face had gone gray.
William closed his eyes.
Richard muttered something under his breath.
Daniel held up the photograph.
“Who is she?”
Vivian sat.
For the first time that night, she seemed incapable of standing.
“My younger sister was named Caroline.”
“Was?”
“She died eighteen years ago.”
“And Claire?”
Vivian looked at him.
“Claire is her daughter.”
Daniel felt the air leave the room.
“My mistress is your niece?”
“My niece by blood.”
Daniel stepped backward.
Nausea rose in him.
William spoke quickly.
“There is no biological relationship between you and Claire that we can confirm.”
“That is supposed to help?”
“No.”
Daniel slammed his palm against the locked door.
“Claire!”
The intercom crackled.
“I’m here.”
“Open the door.”
“Not yet.”
“Open it.”
“You spent months telling me you wanted truth, Daniel. Tonight you’re finally getting it.”
He stared at the speaker.
“Were you sleeping with me because my mother told you to?”
Silence.
That silence answered first.
Then Claire whispered, “At the beginning.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Vivian said, “Claire.”
“Don’t,” Claire snapped through the speaker. “You don’t get to control this anymore.”
Daniel looked at Vivian.
“What did you promise her?”
Vivian said nothing.
Claire answered.
“Shares.”
William’s head snapped toward Vivian.
“What shares?”
“Mercer Development.”
Daniel almost laughed.
Every terrible thread returned to money.
Always money.
Claire continued.
“My mother spent her whole life being told Vivian was the successful sister. Vivian married William Mercer. Vivian got the house. Vivian got the name. Vivian got everything.”
“That has nothing to do with me.”
“It did to my mother.”
“What did she want?”
“Recognition.”
Daniel looked at Vivian.
“What happened between you?”
Vivian’s eyes filled.
“She became involved with Northbridge.”
William said, “Caroline worked there?”
Vivian nodded.
“She was a lab administrator.”
Richard went pale.
Daniel understood before anyone said it.
“The altered samples.”
Vivian nodded.
“Caroline discovered them first.”
William stepped closer.
“She told you?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Before Daniel was born.”
The room froze.
Daniel’s heartbeat became deafening.
“What are you saying?”
Vivian looked at him.
“I became pregnant after our fertility treatment.”
“I know.”
“But the clinic warned me there had been a chain-of-custody error.”
William gripped the table.
“You never told me.”
“I was terrified.”
“Whose sample was used?”
“I don’t know.”
“Vivian.”
“I don’t know!”
Daniel stared at both parents.
His entire identity had become an argument in a locked room.
Vivian continued.
“Caroline promised to find out. Then she discovered multiple samples had been intentionally substituted for research.”
“By who?” Marcus asked.
“We never knew.”
William said, “That was what I discovered decades later.”
Vivian nodded.
“Caroline kept records.”
Daniel looked at the photograph.
“And Claire inherited them.”
“Yes.”
Claire’s voice returned.
“My mother died before she could expose anything. Vivian took me in financially but kept me outside the family.”
Vivian whispered, “I protected you.”
“You paid for schools and apartments because you were afraid of what Mom left me.”
Daniel said, “So you seduced me for revenge?”
Claire took several seconds to answer.
“At first, I wanted access.”
“To what?”
“Your house.”
Daniel remembered Claire asking about William’s office.
Laughing while exploring rooms during parties.
He had thought she was curious.
“You used me.”
“Yes.”
At least she did not pretend.
“Did you ever care about me?”
A longer silence.
“Yes.”
Daniel almost wished she had said no.
“And Elena?”
Claire’s voice changed.
“Elena figured me out.”
Daniel froze.
“When?”
“Nine months ago.”
The same time she formed the foundation.
The same time she came to Northbridge.
“What happened?”
“She followed me after seeing us together.”
Daniel’s stomach turned.
Elena had known about the affair for nine months.
He had believed he was hiding it.
She had known.
Every dinner.
Every lie.
Every late meeting.
She knew.
Claire continued.
“She confronted me outside Northbridge. I expected her to scream.”
Daniel whispered, “She didn’t.”
“No.”
Of course not.
Elena rarely screamed.
“She asked why.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Claire’s voice trembled.
“I told her enough that she started investigating.”
“So Elena knew you were Vivian’s niece?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t she expose you?”
“Because she realized I wasn’t the biggest problem.”
Daniel looked at his mother.
“What was?”
The printer activated again.
Another sheet emerged.
Daniel grabbed it.
A laboratory ledger.
Names.
Dates.
Sample numbers.
One row was highlighted.
William Mercer.
Another.
Daniel Mercer.
A third.
Elena Mercer.
Beside Elena’s name:
Pregnancy specimen received.
Daniel stared.
“When did Northbridge receive Elena’s pregnancy specimen?”
William checked the date.
“Yesterday.”
Daniel nearly dropped the page.
“Before the fall.”
Marcus leaned closer.
“Who submitted it?”
There was an authorization code.
William entered it into a terminal.
A name appeared.
V. Ashford.
Everyone turned toward Vivian.
“I did not do that.”
Daniel’s voice was barely audible.
“That’s your authorization.”
“It was copied.”
“Why would anyone test Elena’s pregnancy before she told me?”
Claire answered through the speaker.
“Because someone already knew.”
Daniel turned toward the intercom.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Claire.”
“I swear.”
“Where is Elena?”
Silence.
“Claire, where is she?”
“She left before I arrived.”
“Then why lock us inside?”
“Because someone else is in the building.”
Marcus immediately checked the ceiling.
“What do you mean?”
Claire’s breathing became audible through the speaker.
“I came here because Elena sent me a message.”
Daniel’s pulse spiked.
“When?”
“One hour ago.”
“What did it say?”
“Get Daniel out.”
The lights flickered.
Then went dark.
Emergency lighting turned the room red.
William whispered, “Power failure.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Not accidental.”
A sound came from outside.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Approaching.
Daniel moved toward the door.
Marcus stopped him.
“Wait.”
The handle turned once.
Locked.
Then again.
A phone began vibrating on the desk.
Not Daniel’s.
Not Vivian’s.
A disposable phone hidden beneath a folder.
Daniel answered.
“Elena?”
No response.
Only breathing.
Then Elena whispered:
“Daniel, if you can hear me, don’t trust the man standing next to your father.”
May you like
Daniel slowly raised his eyes.
Richard Bell was holding a gun.
