Chapter 12: Chloe's Real Name
They escaped through the old wine cellar.
Nathan met them outside with two security vehicles.
Claire barely noticed.
Her mind was somewhere else.
Chloe was Clara.
Her twin sister.
The woman who had entered her home.
Her marriage.
Her life.
And Ethan had known.
Claire climbed into the vehicle.
“Find Ethan.”
Nathan nodded.
“Already working on it.”
“And Marcus.”
“We're tracking him.”
“Don't track him.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Then what?”
“Find Chloe.”
Three hours later, Daniel located her.
A private medical facility outside Austin.
Claire walked through the doors alone.
Chloe was sitting beside a window.
No makeup.
No expensive clothes.
No carefully constructed confidence.
She looked exhausted.
When she saw Claire, she stood.
“Claire.”
Claire stopped several feet away.
“Don't call me that.”
Chloe's eyes filled.
“What should I call you?”
“You tell me.”
Chloe looked down.
“My name is Clara.”
Claire's jaw tightened.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“All my life.”
Claire took a breath.
“Did Ethan know?”
“Yes.”
“From the beginning?”
“No.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Chloe looked at her.
“I didn't come into your life because I wanted your husband.”
Claire's eyes hardened.
“You slept with him.”
“Yes.”
“You moved into my house.”
“Yes.”
“You helped him steal from my company.”
Chloe's voice broke.
“I did.”
“Then don't tell me you didn't want something.”
“I wanted to know who you were.”
Claire stared.
“You could have asked.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because Marcus would have killed me.”
Claire went still.
Chloe continued.
“He told me you were responsible for what happened to our family.”
Claire frowned.
“Our family?”
“He said your father destroyed mine.”
“He lied.”
“I know that now.”
Claire stepped closer.
“Then why did you keep working for him?”
“Because he had proof that my father was alive.”
Claire froze.
“What?”
Chloe nodded.
“Ethan told me three years ago that your father was alive.”
Claire stared.
“So Ethan knew where my father was?”
“No.”
“Then how?”
“Marcus showed him a video.”
Claire's hands curled into fists.
“What video?”
Chloe looked away.
“Your father being held somewhere.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“Chloe.”
“I swear.”
Claire studied her sister's face.
For the first time, she saw something beneath the manipulation.
Fear.
Real fear.
“Why did you come after me?”
Chloe swallowed.
“Because Marcus wanted the Sterling Crest security key.”
Claire touched the watch.
“He knew about it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your father designed it with him.”
Claire froze.
“My father worked with Marcus?”
“Before they became enemies.”
Chloe looked at her.
“Project Harbor wasn't created to steal Sterling Crest.”
Claire waited.
“It was created to expose the people stealing Sterling Crest.”
Claire frowned.
“Then why did it turn into this?”
“Because someone betrayed your father.”
“Who?”
Chloe whispered:
“Ethan's father.”
The room went silent.
Claire remembered the photograph.
The young man beside Marcus.
Ethan's father.
Chloe continued.
“He stole the original Harbor ledger.”
“And used it to blackmail my parents.”
“Yes.”
“Then what happened?”
“He disappeared.”
“Why?”
“Because Marcus killed him.”
Claire stared.
“Marcus killed Ethan's father?”
Chloe nodded.
“But before he died, he hid the ledger.”
“Where?”
Chloe looked directly at Claire.
“Inside Sterling Crest.”
Claire's pulse quickened.
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I never saw it.”
Chloe reached into her bag.
She pulled out a small envelope.
“I stole this from Marcus.”
Claire took it.
Inside was a single photograph.
A boardroom.
Nineteen years earlier.
John.
Caroline.
Marcus.
Ethan's father.
And one more person.
Margaret Bennett.
Claire's eyes narrowed.
“Margaret.”
Chloe nodded.
“She wasn't just your mother-in-law.”
Claire looked at her.
“She was there when the original Harbor agreement was signed.”
The door suddenly opened.
Nathan entered.
“Claire.”
She turned.
“What?”
“We found Ethan.”
Claire stood.
“Where?”
Nathan's expression was grim.
“At Sterling Crest headquarters.”
“Why would he go there?”
Nathan hesitated.
“He wasn't alone.”
“Who was with him?”
Nathan looked at Chloe.
“Margaret.”
Claire's eyes hardened.
“And Marcus?”
“No.”
Nathan handed her a phone.
“We intercepted one message.”
Claire read it.
THE LEDGER IS UNDER THE BOARDROOM FLOOR.
Then another message appeared.
GET IT BEFORE CLAIRE DOES.
Claire looked at Chloe.
“Then we know where we're going.”
Chloe shook her head.
“You don't understand.”
“What?”
“Marcus doesn't want the ledger anymore.”
Claire frowned.
“Then what does he want?”
May you like
Chloe's voice dropped.
“You.”
