Chapter 12 - THE LIE DESIGNED TO BREAK THEM
Clara was not pregnant.
The hospital confirmed it within an hour.
Edward had lied.
Of course he had.
But the damage revealed something else.
Nathaniel had reacted instantly.
Not suspicion.
Not anger.
Fear for Clara.
Clara noticed.
“So.”
Nathaniel looked at her.
“So.”
“You thought…”
“I thought someone had done something to you.”
She understood.
Because nothing had happened between them.
Not romantically.
Not physically.
Edward’s lie had been designed to create distrust.
Instead, it clarified something.
Nathaniel cared deeply.
Too deeply to pretend otherwise.
But timing mattered.
Clara’s mother was recovering.
Sarah’s murder investigation was expanding.
Camille was cooperating.
Victoria was receiving treatment for years of forced drug exposure.
This was not a moment for a billionaire to decide a vulnerable employee should become his new romantic project.
Nathaniel knew that.
So he did something no one expected.
He fired Clara.
She stared at him.
“What?”
“Effective immediately.”
Her face hardened.
“Why?”
“Because you cannot freely choose anything about me while I pay your salary and provide your housing.”
Silence.
She looked at him carefully.
“That’s surprisingly self-aware.”
“I’m learning.”
“You’re still firing me.”
“Yes.”
“I need the job.”
“I know.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“If you offer me money—”
“I won’t.”
“Tuition?”
“No.”
“Medical bills?”
“No.”
She looked almost disappointed.
Then he handed her a letter.
Recommendation.
Full salary through the contracted notice period.
No conditions.
No nondisclosure.
No debt.
No obligation.
He had also arranged for Northshore Domestic to release her immediately from any restrictive employment clause.
“You’re giving me a clean exit.”
“Yes.”
Clara looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because if someday you decide you like me, I need to know it isn’t because I control your paycheck.”
Her eyes filled slightly.
“That’s very inconvenient.”
“For me too.”
She smiled.
Then left.
Not forever.
Just out of his employment.
Three months passed.
Edward Porter was indicted.
Alan Royce accepted a plea agreement.
David Royce cooperated and faced financial-crime charges.
Camille’s engagement to Nathaniel ended formally.
She entered therapy.
Clara never became her friend.
But when Camille sent a written apology, Clara read it.
Then put it away.
Victoria’s recovery came slowly.
Some memories returned.
Some did not.
She testified against Edward.
Nathaniel visited Sarah’s grave for the first time in two years.
He brought no flowers.
Just the truth.
“I’m sorry I didn’t know.”
The wind moved through the trees.
“I’m sorry you thought I chose them over you.”
He sat there for an hour.
Then his phone buzzed.
A text from Clara.
They had exchanged exactly four messages in three months.
This was the fifth.
My mother’s follow-up scans are clear.
Nathaniel smiled.
Replied:
That’s excellent news.
Three dots appeared.
Then:
Also, I passed my education practicum.
He typed:
Congratulations.
Another pause.
Then:
Coffee?
Nathaniel stared at the word.
No contract.
No salary.
No cameras.
No crisis.
Coffee.
He smiled.
Yes.
Their first date lasted four hours.
Their second happened a week later.
On the third, Clara said:
“I need you to stop paying for everything.”
“I’m paying for dinner.”
“You bought the restaurant yesterday.”
Nathaniel paused.
“That is unrelated.”
She stared.
He sighed.
“I’ll sell it.”
She laughed.
“No.”
Then she reached across the table.
Took his hand.
Nathaniel went still.
“You can relax.”
“I am relaxed.”
“You look like someone defusing a bomb.”
“I haven’t dated in eight years.”
“Then you’re doing fine.”
His thumb moved over her fingers.
“Clara.”
“Yes?”
“May I kiss you?”
She smiled.
“Yes.”
And this time, there was no camera watching.
At least they thought there wasn’t.
Because the next morning, Marcus called.
“Nathaniel.”
“What?”
“We found one more hidden server.”
His stomach tightened.
“Where?”
“Inside the Greenwich house.”
“What’s on it?”
Marcus paused.
“Footage.”
“Of what?”
“Sarah.”
May you like
Nathaniel stopped breathing.
“From the night before she died.”
