CHAPTER 11 The Last Person Who Saw Claire Alive
CHAPTER 11 The Last Person Who Saw Claire Alive
Adrian Westwood stood completely still.
The phone remained pressed against his ear.
But the call was already over.
The woman’s final words echoed through his mind.
“Claire wasn’t trying to expose Caleb.”
A pause.
“She was trying to expose the person Caleb was protecting.”
Adrian slowly lowered the phone.
For three years, he believed he understood what happened.
Claire discovered something about Caleb.
Caleb panicked.
The situation became dangerous.
But now another possibility appeared.
A darker possibility.
Caleb was only protecting someone else.
Someone more powerful.
Someone closer.
Someone Claire considered dangerous enough to record a final message.
Natalie noticed Adrian’s expression.
“What did she say?”
Adrian looked at her.
“Claire’s assistant.”
Natalie froze.
“She’s alive?”
Adrian nodded.
“She says she was the last person who saw Claire before the crash.”
Margaret stood immediately.
“No.”
Everyone looked at her.
Her reaction was too strong.
Adrian narrowed his eyes.
“Mom.”
Margaret realized her mistake.
“What?”
“You knew about her.”
Margaret looked away.
“You knew Claire’s assistant was alive.”
Silence.
That silence answered everything.
Adrian stepped closer.
“How long have you known?”
Margaret swallowed.
“I didn’t know where she was.”
“But you knew she existed.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Margaret’s eyes filled with regret.
“Because Claire asked me not to.”
Adrian shook his head.
“Everyone keeps using Claire’s name to justify their secrets.”
His voice became painful.
“But Claire is not here to defend herself.”
Nobody spoke.
The mansion felt colder.
Like every room was holding another hidden truth.
Adrian looked at his phone.
“We find her.”
Natalie nodded immediately.
“I’ll help.”
Margaret looked worried.
“Adrian.”
He turned.
“Do not trust everyone who comes forward.”
The warning surprised him.
“Why?”
Margaret looked at the letter from his father.
“Because the person who knows the truth may also be the person who helped hide it.”
Adrian stared at her.
For the first time, he wondered if his mother was warning him…
Or warning herself.
Two hours later, Adrian, Natalie, and Detective Reed arrived at an old apartment building on the north side of Chicago.
The address came from the phone number.
The woman’s name was Emily Carter.
Claire’s former personal assistant.
The person who handled Claire’s schedule.
Her meetings.
Her private documents.
The person who knew Claire better than almost anyone.
Detective Reed knocked.
No answer.
He knocked again.
Still nothing.
Adrian looked concerned.
“She called me.”
“She knew we were coming.”
Detective Reed checked the door.
“It’s unlocked.”
Everyone became alert.
They entered slowly.
The apartment was dark.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
The living room was neat.
Almost untouched.
A cup of coffee sat on the table.
Still warm.
Adrian looked around.
“She was here.”
Natalie noticed something on the floor.
A photograph.
She picked it up.
Her face changed.
“Adrian.”
He took it.
The picture showed Claire.
Standing outside Westwood Technologies.
Beside her was Emily.
And another person.
Someone Adrian recognized.
Caleb.
But that was not the shocking part.
The shocking part was the date.
The photograph was taken one day before Claire died.
Adrian stared.
“Why was Caleb meeting Claire?”
Nobody answered.
Then Detective Reed noticed something.
A bedroom door slightly open.
He walked toward it.
Inside, drawers had been pulled out.
Someone had searched the room.
Adrian looked around.
“Someone came here.”
Detective Reed nodded.
“Recently.”
Natalie found a laptop on the desk.
“It’s still on.”
Adrian walked closer.
The screen showed a document.
A message draft.
Never sent.
Written by Emily.
The title was:
THE TRUTH ADRIAN DESERVES TO KNOW
Adrian clicked.
The document opened.
The first line immediately made his heart stop.
“Adrian, I am sorry I disappeared.”
He continued reading.
“I was afraid because Claire asked me to protect something.”
A pause.
“Not a document.”
“Not money.”
“Not evidence.”
“Her child.”
Adrian froze.
“What?”
Natalie looked at him.
“Her child?”
He kept reading.
“Claire discovered a secret about the Westwood family that changed everything.”
“She told me that if anything happened to her, I had to protect the child.”
Adrian’s hands started shaking.
What child?
Claire never had another child.
At least, that was what he believed.
The next sentence appeared.
“The child is the reason they wanted Claire silent.”
Adrian stopped.
Then another line appeared.
“Adrian, your wife was protecting a little girl.”
Everyone looked at each other.
Detective Reed spoke quietly.
“Mr. Westwood…”
Adrian could barely hear him.
Because suddenly everything changed.
The accident.
The secrets.
The hidden closet.
The missing evidence.
Claire was not only hiding information.
She was protecting someone.
A child.
Someone powerful people wanted erased.
Then a sound came from behind them.
A door closing.
Everyone turned.
Someone was inside the apartment.
Detective Reed immediately moved.
“Show yourself!”
No answer.
They rushed toward the hallway.
A figure ran toward the emergency exit.
Adrian followed.
The person moved quickly.
Too quickly.
But before escaping, they dropped something.
A small silver necklace.
Adrian picked it up.
His entire body froze.
Because he recognized it.
Claire wore that necklace every day.
Except this one was not Claire’s.
It was a child’s necklace.
With a tiny engraving.
A name.
Adrian stared.
His lips moved silently.
“No…”
Natalie looked over his shoulder.
“What does it say?”
Adrian handed it to her.
The engraving was clear.
A single name.
LILY.
At that moment, Adrian’s phone received a new message.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
“Now you know why Claire died.”
Adrian stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
“Because she discovered she was not the only one who needed protection.”
The mystery was no longer about who killed Claire.
It was about the child Claire died trying to save.
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And Adrian Westwood had no idea who Lily was.
TO BE CONTINUED…
