Chapter 8 - The Impossible Claim
Ryan turned toward Walter.
Nobody spoke.
The basement seemed suddenly too small for all of them.
Walter stared at the tape recorder as if it were a weapon.
“That’s impossible.”
Thomas looked at him.
“Is it?”
Walter’s face flushed.
“Yes.”
Ryan’s hands curled into fists.
“Were you with my mother?”
“No.”
“Think carefully.”
Walter stepped toward him.
“I don’t need to think.”
Thomas interrupted.
“Katherine met Walter before she met me.”
Walter looked at Thomas.
“So did half the county.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It is the only answer that matters.”
Ryan’s breathing became harder.
Claire watched him closely.
Thirty minutes earlier, Ryan had believed Thomas was his father.
Then Daniel Cross.
Now Walter.
Every identity he had built around his family was collapsing.
Claire hated what Ryan had done to her.
She also understood that confusion could destroy a person if they allowed it.
She stepped between him and Walter.
“Listen to the rest.”
Ryan looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because we’ve spent twelve hours reacting before we know the facts.”
That stopped him.
Claire pressed play.
Katherine’s voice returned.
“Walter does not know.”
Walter closed his eyes.
Claire looked at him.
Katherine continued.
“At least, I don’t believe he does.”
Thomas leaned against the wall.
“Jesus.”
The recording crackled.
“Daniel told me Ryan was his.”
Ryan’s face tightened.
“He wanted me to believe it because he knew Thomas would protect Ryan if he thought Daniel might come after him.”
Walter whispered, “Katherine…”
“I made mistakes.”
Her recorded voice trembled.
“But Ryan was never part of the plan.”
Ryan stared at the machine.
“He was my son.”
The tape clicked.
For several seconds, nothing played.
Then Katherine spoke again.
“I kept a sample.”
Claire looked at Evelyn.
“A sample of what?”
Evelyn understood.
“DNA.”
Ryan stared at the recorder.
Katherine continued.
“Samuel knows where.”
Then the recording ended.
Walter immediately opened drawers.
Nothing.
Thomas searched shelves.
Marcus checked behind loose wall panels.
Claire remained near Ryan.
“You okay?”
He laughed quietly.
“No.”
It was the most normal answer he could have given.
“You don’t have to solve everything tonight.”
Ryan looked at her.
“Coming from you?”
Claire almost smiled.
“Fair point.”
Ryan looked toward Walter.
“If he is my father…”
Claire stopped him.
“We don’t know.”
“You heard her.”
“We heard a woman who had been lied to by multiple people saying what she believed.”
Ryan exhaled slowly.
“Right.”
Walter looked over.
Claire saw gratitude in his face.
She still did not trust him completely.
But she was beginning to understand her mother’s warning.
Walter’s greatest flaw might not be betrayal.
It might be his belief that love gave him the right to control information.
Claire knew too well how dangerous control could become.
Evelyn found a loose floorboard.
“Here.”
Beneath it sat a small metal box.
Thomas opened it.
Inside were several photographs.
A key.
And a newspaper clipping.
The article reported Samuel Reed’s disappearance.
Claire picked up the key.
A small plastic tag read 22B.
“Another locker?”
Marcus looked at it.
“No.”
He pointed at the shape.
“Safe-deposit box.”
Walter frowned.
“Which bank?”
Thomas lifted one of the photographs.
The answer was written on the back.
First County Bank.
Walter laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Claire asked, “What?”
“First County was acquired by Mercer Financial ten years ago.”
Everyone looked at Thomas.
Thomas raised his hands.
“I didn’t know.”
Marcus shook his head.
“That phrase should be carved on your grave.”
Thomas ignored him.
They left the house just after midnight.
Rain had begun falling.
As Claire stepped outside, she noticed something across the street.
A figure.
Tall.
Standing beneath a streetlight.
“Walter.”
Everyone turned.
The man began walking away.
Evelyn ran.
Walter followed.
The stranger disappeared between two buildings.
Claire heard a car engine start.
Then tires screamed against wet pavement.
Evelyn returned several minutes later.
“Gone.”
Walter looked toward the road.
“Did you see his face?”
“No.”
Ryan walked down the steps.
“I did.”
Everyone turned.
Ryan looked stunned.
“You know him?” Thomas asked.
Ryan nodded.
“From where?”
Ryan pointed toward the photographs Claire was holding.
One showed Daniel Cross.
“That was him.”
Walter took the picture.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Marcus looked disturbed.
“If that’s Daniel, who called Claire and claimed he killed him?”
Nobody answered.
Claire checked her phone.
A new message had arrived from an unknown number.
ONE OF THEM IS LYING.
Then another message appeared.
YOU HAVE UNTIL NOON.
Claire showed Walter.
“Noon for what?”
A third message arrived.
TO OPEN BOX 22B.
Walter looked at the time.
12:17 a.m.
Claire felt the pressure immediately.
They had less than twelve hours.
May you like
Then a fourth message appeared.
AND CLAIRE MUST OPEN IT ALONE.
