Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Walked Away
Clara read the sentence twice.
The ballroom disappeared around her.
Music continued.
Glasses touched.
People laughed.
But all Clara could hear was the blood pounding behind her ears.
Liam reached for the envelope.
“What is that?”
She folded it instantly.
“Nothing.”
“Clara.”
“Not here.”
Across the ballroom, Dominic was still watching her.
Victoria touched his arm.
He did not respond.
Liam lowered his voice.
“You just turned white.”
“I need air.”
“You need to tell me what was in that envelope.”
Clara walked.
Liam followed.
She passed through the service corridor, pushed open a side door, and stepped into a quiet conservatory.
Only then did she hand him the note.
Liam read it.
His face hardened.
“Who knows?”
“No one.”
“I know.”
“I mean about the baby.”
“Did you tell anyone?”
“No.”
“Doctor?”
Clara nodded.
“Dr. Elaine Porter.”
“Anyone at the clinic?”
“I don't know.”
Liam pulled out his phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling Dominic.”
Clara grabbed his wrist.
“No.”
“This changes everything.”
“Exactly.”
“Someone threatened your unborn child.”
“And the threat specifically says what happens if Dominic knows.”
“You believe them?”
“I believe someone knew before I told the father.”
That stopped him.
Clara took the note back.
“I’m leaving.”
“You're not going anywhere alone.”
“My suitcase is already packed.”
Liam stared.
“You planned this before the note?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere Dominic doesn't own.”
“That eliminates half the valley.”
“Then I'll leave the valley.”
Liam looked toward the ballroom doors.
“We need security.”
“No Russo security.”
“Clara—”
“My parents had Russo security.”
The words landed hard.
Liam’s expression shifted.
“What did you mean earlier?” Clara asked. “About their accident?”
He hesitated.
“Tell me.”
“I found a discrepancy in an old security report.”
“What discrepancy?”
“The vehicle your parents were driving had been inspected the morning before the crash.”
“So?”
“The report said the brakes were replaced.”
Clara stared.
“The police said the brakes failed.”
“I know.”
“Who signed the inspection?”
Liam did not answer.
“Who?”
Before he could speak, the conservatory doors opened.
Dominic entered.
His gaze moved from Liam to Clara.
“What is happening?”
“Nothing,” Clara said.
“Liam?”
Clara gave him a warning look.
Liam tucked his phone away.
“Nothing I can't handle.”
Dominic’s attention returned to Clara.
“You were crying.”
“No.”
“You're a terrible liar.”
“And you're apparently an expert.”
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Dominic's expression hardened.
“Leave us,” he told Liam.
“No.”
Both Clara and Dominic looked at him.
Liam rarely challenged Dominic publicly.
Dominic’s voice dropped.
“Excuse me?”
“She shouldn't be alone right now.”
Dominic became very still.
“Why?”
Clara stepped between them.
“I resigned.”
Dominic looked at her.
“What?”
“My letter is on your desk.”
“No.”
For the first time all evening, Clara almost smiled.
“No?”
“I don't accept it.”
“It isn't a request.”
“You don't quit without discussing it with me.”
“Watch me.”
She walked toward the opposite door.
Dominic followed.
“Clara.”
She stopped.
“Don't.”
His voice softened.
“Whatever you think you heard—”
She turned.
There it was.
Confirmation.
“You knew.”
Dominic said nothing.
“You knew I was outside the study?”
“No.”
“But you know what I heard.”
His eyes moved briefly toward Liam.
Clara saw it.
“So he told you.”
“I told him you were upset,” Liam said.
Dominic ignored him.
“Clara, what happened at Blackwood—”
“Meant nothing.”
His jaw flexed.
“I didn't say that to you.”
“You didn't have to.”
“You heard part of a conversation.”
“I heard enough.”
“No, you didn't.”
“Then enlighten me.”
He looked toward Liam.
Something unspoken passed between them.
Clara laughed softly.
“Of course.”
“What?”
“You can't.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“There are things happening you don't understand.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
“For good reason.”
“And does Victoria understand?”
His silence answered badly.
Clara nodded.
“Congratulations on your engagement.”
“We are not engaged.”
“You were about to announce it.”
“No.”
She blinked.
Behind them, Liam looked equally surprised.
Dominic continued.
“The announcement was a business alliance between Russo Holdings and Mercer Capital.”
Clara stared at him.
“Victoria let me believe—”
“Victoria enjoys letting people believe things.”
“Then why did you say I meant nothing?”
His face changed.
There it was.
The question he could not escape.
Dominic looked at her for a long moment.
“Because Victoria needed to believe it.”
“Why?”
“I can't tell you.”
Clara's laugh broke.
“You really don't hear yourself, do you?”
She turned away.
Dominic caught her hand.
She jerked free.
His expression changed immediately.
Not anger.
Pain.
“Don't touch me.”
He lowered his hand.
Clara hated that part of her wanted him to reach again.
“I'm leaving tonight.”
“No.”
“That word doesn't work on me.”
“It does when someone may be trying to kill you.”
Clara froze.
Liam swore under his breath.
Dominic looked at him.
“What did you tell her?”
“Enough.”
Clara stared at Dominic.
“You knew about my parents?”
“I knew their deaths were suspicious.”
“For how long?”
“Six months.”
Her face went numb.
“Six months?”
“I reopened the investigation privately.”
“And you never told me?”
“I needed proof.”
“They were my parents.”
“I know.”
“No, you don't.”
“Clara—”
“You let me work in your house every day while you investigated their murder behind my back?”
“We don't know it was murder.”
“Then what do you know?”
Dominic glanced toward the doors.
“Not here.”
Clara stepped back.
“No more secret rooms. No more half-truths.”
She reached into her pocket.
The threatening note trembled between her fingers.
Dominic saw it.
“What is that?”
Clara hesitated.
Then folded it tighter.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
His eyes narrowed.
She finally understood why he had hated hearing those words from her.
Good.
“Goodbye, Dominic.”
She left.
This time, he did not stop her.
Twenty minutes later, Clara drove through the estate gates.
She did not see the black SUV pull out behind her.
She drove south.
Past Pine Valley.
Past the road leading to Blackwood Lodge.
She intended to reach a small motel two towns away, sleep for several hours, and decide where to go in the morning.
Her phone rang.
Dominic.
She declined it.
Again.
Declined.
A third time.
She turned the phone off.
Rain had begun replacing the evening snow.
The mountain road became slick.
Clara checked her mirror.
Headlights remained behind her.
Too close.
She changed lanes.
The SUV changed lanes.
Her pulse accelerated.
She took the next exit.
The SUV followed.
Clara grabbed her phone and switched it on.
Before she could call anyone, another message appeared.
UNKNOWN NUMBER.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED.
Her breath caught.
The SUV accelerated.
Clara pressed the gas.
The road narrowed ahead.
Her hands tightened around the steering wheel.
Then another pair of headlights appeared from a side road.
A dark sedan pulled directly across her lane.
Clara slammed the brakes.
Her car stopped inches away.
The SUV behind her stopped too.
She locked the doors.
A man stepped from the sedan.
Clara reached for her phone.
Then she recognized him.
Liam.
He raised both hands.
“Clara! Stay inside!”
The SUV reversed.
Liam ran toward it.
It accelerated backward, turned violently, and disappeared.
Clara unlocked the door.
“What are you doing here?”
“Dominic sent me.”
“I told him—”
“He didn't care.”
Liam looked toward the vanished SUV.
“Neither do I.”
He opened her passenger door.
“Move over.”
“No.”
“Someone followed you from the estate.”
“I noticed.”
“They knew which car was yours.”
Clara stared at him.
Liam's expression was grim.
“That means whoever threatened you was probably inside the gala.”
Her stomach tightened.
Three hundred guests.
Dozens of employees.
Security.
Family.
“Where do we go?”
“Somewhere nobody knows about.”
“Dominic?”
“Especially not Dominic.”
That surprised her.
Liam got into the passenger seat.
Clara drove.
For nearly an hour, he directed her through mountain roads until they reached a modest cabin hidden behind dense pines.
Inside, Liam locked every door.
“Whose place is this?”
“My father's.”
“I thought he died.”
“He did.”
Clara lowered her suitcase.
Liam went to an old cabinet and removed a metal lockbox.
“What are you doing?”
“Showing you why I told Dominic your parents' deaths weren't accidental.”
He entered a combination.
Inside were photographs.
Reports.
A damaged security badge.
Clara recognized the badge immediately.
Her father's.
She picked it up.
There was dried brown discoloration across one edge.
“Where did you get this?”
“At the crash site.”
“Why did your father have it?”
“He was there before Russo security arrived.”
Clara looked up sharply.
“What?”
“My father investigated your parents' deaths privately.”
“Why?”
Liam removed a folded sheet.
“Because your father called him two hours before the crash.”
Clara unfolded it.
A handwritten note covered half the page.
Daniel Higgins believes someone inside Russo organization is moving money through Mercer accounts. Says he has proof. Wants meeting tonight.
Clara's eyes stopped on the final line.
If Daniel doesn't arrive, check Archive 17.
Clara looked at Liam.
“There is no Archive 17.”
“Not anymore.”
“What does that mean?”
“It was removed from the estate records after your parents died.”
“By whom?”
Liam opened his mouth.
Three knocks sounded at the cabin door.
They froze.
Nobody knew they were there.
Liam drew a pistol from beneath his jacket.
Another knock.
Then a woman's voice came through the door.
“Clara?”
Clara stopped breathing.
She knew that voice.
May you like
It belonged to Dr. Elaine Porter.
The only other person who knew she was pregnant.
