Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
The voice came from behind me.
"Claire Bennett."
I froze.
Not because someone knew my name.
But because the voice sounded like it had been waiting for me.
The emergency lights flickered on, painting the private jet cabin in a dim red glow.
I turned slowly.
Nobody was there.
The two bodyguards moved instantly, hands reaching inside their jackets.
Adrian Voss didn't move.
That scared me more than anything.
A man like him should have reacted.
Should have shouted.
Should have ordered everyone to search.
Instead, he stood perfectly still, staring into the darkness like he already knew who was there.
"Show yourself," one of the guards demanded.
No answer.
The baby in my arms started crying again.
A small, frightened sound.
I looked down and held her closer.
"It's okay," I whispered.
But I wasn't sure if I was talking to her.
Or myself.
Adrian stepped forward.
"Claire."
I looked up.
His eyes were fixed on me.
"Give me the baby."
Something in his voice had changed.
Before, he sounded like a powerful man giving an order.
Now, he sounded like a father who was afraid.
I hesitated.
Not because I wanted to keep his daughter.
Because I didn't know if giving her to him would put her in danger.
"You said someone tried to kill her."
His jaw tightened.
"I said she was targeted."
"That's the same thing."
"No."
His answer came immediately.
"Because if someone wanted her dead, she would already be dead."
The words made my stomach drop.
I looked at the baby.
At her tiny fingers wrapped around mine.
I couldn't understand how something so fragile could be connected to people like this.
Adrian noticed the way I was looking at her.
For a moment, the cold mask disappeared.
"Her name is Lily."
I looked at him.
"You never told me."
"You never asked."
I almost laughed.
Almost.
Because nothing about this situation made sense.
A mafia boss was standing in front of me inside a private jet, telling me his daughter's name while someone hidden in the darkness knew mine.
This was not my life.
This was someone else's nightmare.
And somehow I was trapped inside it.
A loud sound came from the cockpit.
Everyone turned.
One of the bodyguards moved toward the front.
Then stopped.
The cockpit door slowly opened.
The pilot stepped out.
But something was wrong.
He wasn't holding the controls.
He wasn't speaking.
He was holding a gun.
The bodyguards reacted instantly.
The pilot dropped the weapon before anyone fired.
"He wasn't supposed to be here," Adrian said quietly.
The pilot looked terrified.
"I didn't have a choice."
Adrian walked toward him.
Every step was controlled.
"Who contacted you?"
The pilot looked at me.
Not Adrian.
Me.
And that scared me.
"She knows."
Adrian stopped.
"Knows what?"
The pilot swallowed.
"She knows what happened to Daniel Bennett."
My entire body went cold.
I forgot how to breathe.
For a second, I didn't hear the engines.
I didn't hear the men.
I didn't hear the baby crying.
I only heard one name.
Daniel.
My husband.
Dead for six months.
A person who was supposed to belong only to my memories.
"What did you say?"
My voice barely came out.
The pilot looked away.
"I was told not to mention him."
I stepped forward.
"Who told you?"
Nobody answered.
Adrian looked at me.
And I saw something I hated.
Recognition.
He knew something.
"You knew my husband?"
The question hung in the air.
Adrian didn't respond.
That was my answer.
"You knew him."
"Claire."
"No."
My voice became louder.
"You knew him."
The baby started crying harder.
I immediately lowered my voice.
Because even in that moment, even with my entire world collapsing again, I couldn't scare her.
Adrian watched me.
And something changed in his expression.
"You really don't know."
I stared at him.
"Know what?"
He looked toward the pilot.
Then toward the two guards.
"Leave us."
The guards didn't move.
"Sir—"
"Now."
They obeyed.
The pilot was escorted away.
The cabin door closed.
Suddenly, it was only me, Adrian, and Lily.
The silence felt heavier than before.
Adrian sat across from me.
Not like a king.
Not like a criminal.
Like a man who was about to tell someone the truth they weren't ready to hear.
"Daniel Bennett wasn't killed in a random accident."
I felt my fingers tighten around Lily's blanket.
"Don't."
My voice shook.
"Don't say that."
"But it's true."
"No."
"I investigated it."
I looked at him.
"You investigated my husband's death?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Adrian looked down.
Because for the first time, he looked guilty.
"Because Daniel was working for me."
The world stopped.
I stared at him.
My husband.
My Daniel.
The man who told me he worked in financial consulting.
The man who came home every night.
The man who held me when I cried after losing my parents.
He had been hiding something.
"No."
Adrian didn't argue.
He just watched me.
"You didn't know."
I laughed softly.
A broken sound.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I expect you to understand that Daniel tried to protect you."
"By lying to me?"
"By staying alive long enough to keep you safe."
The anger came suddenly.
"You don't get to talk about keeping me safe."
I stood up.
"You people destroyed my life."
Adrian didn't move.
"You think I don't know that?"
His voice was quiet.
Almost tired.
"You think I don't wake up every day knowing every person near me becomes a target?"
I looked at him.
For one second, I saw something behind the reputation.
Not kindness.
Not innocence.
Pain.
But then it disappeared.
Because men like Adrian Voss didn't survive by showing pain.
He reached into the black folder again.
This time, he pulled out a document.
He placed it on the table.
I didn't want to look.
But I did.
It was Daniel's handwriting.
I knew it instantly.
A note.
Written on a page covered with numbers and names.
My hands started shaking.
"What is this?"
Adrian looked at the paper.
"The reason someone tried to get Lily."
I read the first line.
Then the second.
Then I saw my name.
My blood turned cold.
Because Daniel hadn't written the note to Adrian.
He hadn't written it to his organization.
He had written it to me.
The message was short.
Only one sentence.
"If Claire ever finds this, it means I failed."
I covered my mouth.
Adrian looked away.
Giving me the moment.
That almost made it worse.
Because I didn't want sympathy.
I wanted answers.
"What was Daniel involved in?"
Adrian was silent.
Too silent.
Then he said:
"The people who killed him are the same people who are coming for Lily."
A noise came from the hallway outside.
Both of us looked toward the door.
Someone knocked.
Three times.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Adrian immediately stood.
The fear returned to his face.
Not for himself.
For Lily.
He moved toward the door.
"Stay behind me."
I held the baby tighter.
"Who is it?"
He didn't answer.
His hand reached for the handle.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
Adrian looked at the screen.
And all the color disappeared from his face.
Because the message contained only five words.
May you like
"She is on the plane."
The door handle began to turn from the outside...
