Chapter 1 - THE WOMAN WHO CAME BACK
Claire Bennett had been inside Hawthorne Manor for less than twelve minutes when Eleanor tried to kill her.
The annual Hawthorne Foundation gala filled the mansion with politicians, investors, socialites, and reporters.
Crystal chandeliers glittered above hundreds of guests.
A string quartet played near the grand staircase.
Champagne flowed beneath portraits of the powerful Hawthorne family.
Then the ballroom doors opened.
Claire stepped inside wearing a dark blue dress and carrying a small leather handbag.
The music faltered.
Conversations died.
A champagne glass slipped from someone’s hand and shattered across the marble floor.
For eighteen months, everyone had believed Claire was either dead or hiding from her husband.
Ethan Hawthorne had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars searching for her.
Eleanor Hawthorne had repeatedly told the press that Claire had stolen family money and fled the country.
Now Claire stood in the middle of the family’s most important event.
Alive.
Thin.
Pale.
And staring directly at Eleanor.
Ethan froze on the opposite side of the ballroom.
He looked as if the ground had disappeared beneath him.
“Claire?”
His voice barely carried across the room.
Claire’s eyes filled with tears.
She took one step toward him.
Eleanor moved first.
She crossed the ballroom with surprising speed and seized Claire’s arm.
“You should’ve never come back.”
Claire tried to pull away.
“Let me go!”
Eleanor tightened her grip and dragged her toward the open terrace doors.
Guests stumbled aside.
A woman near the staircase screamed.
Eleanor shoved Claire with both hands.
Claire struck the stone railing and fell backward over the edge.
“She shoved her!”
“Somebody help her!”
Ethan sprinted across the terrace.
He threw himself forward and caught Claire’s wrist before she disappeared into the darkness below.
Her body slammed against the side of the balcony.
“Claire!”
“I’m coming!”
Ethan dropped to his knees and locked both hands around her arm.
Several guests rushed forward to help him.
Together, they pulled Claire over the railing.
She collapsed against Ethan’s chest.
“I’ve got you.”
“You’re okay.”
“I’ve got you.”
Claire clutched his jacket.
“I can’t breathe.”
“Stay with me.”
“Look at me.”
“Don’t close your eyes.”
Ethan lifted his head.
“Call the police.”
“Now.”
Eleanor stood near the doors with her face completely calm.
She did not look frightened.
She did not look sorry.
She looked disappointed.
Claire’s handbag had fallen open during the struggle.
A silver key rested on the marble beside it.
Eleanor saw the key.
For the first time that evening, fear entered her eyes.
She turned and hurried toward the ballroom.
Claire grabbed Ethan’s sleeve.
“Don’t let her reach the east wing.”
Ethan stared down at her.
“What’s in the east wing?”
Claire struggled to speak.
“The reason your father died.”
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Then her eyes closed.
As the police sirens approached Hawthorne Manor, Eleanor disappeared behind a locked door no guest had ever been allowed to enter.
