Chapter 3 - The Conversation in the Kitchen
Claire went downstairs barefoot.
She did not turn on the lights.
Moonlight from the windows stretched across the kitchen floor.
Marcus was waiting near the back door.
I stopped behind the hallway wall.
“You said he wouldn’t be here.”
His voice was low.
“My husband doesn’t usually charter airplanes across the country.”
“You should have called me.”
“I did.”
“You called after I reached the property.”
Claire sounded irritated.
“He didn’t see anything.”
My pulse hammered.
Marcus spoke again.
“What about the nanny?”
“She’s under control.”
“She was supposed to be gone before tomorrow.”
“She will be.”
I nearly stepped forward.
Then Mara’s warning saved me.
Claire opened the refrigerator.
“She’s useful until the transfer.”
“What transfer?”
Marcus asked.
“The boys.”
My body turned cold.
“When?”
“Forty-eight hours.”
Marcus cursed under his breath.
“That soon?”
“Daniel signs the revised trust paperwork tomorrow.”
I almost laughed.
I had no revised trust paperwork scheduled.
Then I remembered Claire had mentioned documents from our estate attorney.
She had claimed they concerned guardianship updates after the twins were born.
Marcus lowered his voice.
“And after he signs?”
Claire answered immediately.
“We trigger the incident.”
The room seemed to tilt.
Marcus said nothing.
Claire continued.
“He becomes unstable.”
“He threatens me.”
“He attacks Mara.”
“The children are removed temporarily.”
“And Daniel?”
A pause.
Then Claire said something I would remember for the rest of my life.
“Daniel won’t be a problem after Friday.”
My hand covered my mouth.
Marcus shifted.
“You said no unnecessary casualties.”
“Nothing about this is unnecessary.”
Claire sounded almost bored.
“He owns controlling shares.”
“He holds the insurance policies.”
“He’s the only obstacle between me and everything.”
Marcus hesitated.
“What about the nanny’s daughter?”
Claire laughed quietly.
“She served her purpose.”
My vision darkened.
Marcus spoke sharply.
“You told me the girl would be transferred back for surgery.”
“I told Mara that.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Claire’s voice hardened.
“Do not develop a conscience this late.”
Silence followed.
Then Marcus left through the back door.
I returned upstairs before Claire.
I lay down exactly as I had been.
Three minutes later, the mattress shifted.
Claire slid beneath the covers.
Her hand moved around my waist.
“Love you.”
I forced myself to breathe evenly.
“Love you too.”
She kissed my shoulder.
Within twenty minutes, she was asleep.
I remained awake.
Friday was two days away.
Whatever Claire had planned, I no longer had the luxury of simply exposing her.
I had to understand the entire trap.
Because if I moved too early, she could destroy Mara.
May you like
She could take my sons.
And according to the woman sleeping beside me, by Friday night I might not be alive to stop her.
