Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO PLANTED THE DIAMONDS
Evelyn Shaw had helped frame Clare.
Now she wanted protection.
Detective Laura Mitchell arranged to meet her at a secure location the following morning.
Clare insisted on being present with her attorney.
Evelyn arrived wearing jeans and a plain gray sweater.
Without Victoria's expensive jewelry and perfect makeup, she looked frightened and exhausted.
When she saw Clare, she began crying.
"I'm sorry."
Clare remained seated.
"Tell me what happened."
Evelyn swallowed.
"Mrs. Duca instructed me to enter the vault after you left."
"How did you get inside?"
"She gave me an access card."
"Where did it come from?"
"Her private office."
Clare's jaw tightened.
Evelyn continued.
"I removed the diamonds and put the empty case back. Then I took the stones to Victoria's car."
"Why?"
"She told me you were stealing from the family and that we needed evidence."
Clare stared.
"And you believed her?"
Evelyn lowered her head.
"At first."
"What changed?"
"She asked me to alter the security recordings."
Silence filled the room.
Detective Mitchell leaned forward.
"How?"
Evelyn explained that Victoria had arranged for a technician to remove footage showing her entering the vault.
The edited recording made Clare appear to be the last person near the jewelry cabinet.
Clare felt sick.
Everything had been planned.
The missing calendar invitation.
The reassigned guards.
The empty jewelry case.
Her husband's suspicion.
Victoria had constructed the accusation piece by piece.
"Why are you telling the truth now?" Clare asked.
Evelyn began trembling.
"Because Victoria told me to arrange an accident."
Clare went still.
"What kind of accident?"
"A car accident."
Detective Mitchell immediately took notes.
Evelyn continued.
"She said once you signed the separation agreement, someone would make sure you never reached court."
Clare's blood ran cold.
"And Adrienne?"
Evelyn shook her head.
"He didn't know."
Clare looked away.
That didn't erase what he'd done.
But it meant Victoria had been manipulating him too.
Detective Mitchell asked Evelyn to provide her messages, documents, and any information about the alleged plan.
She agreed.
Before leaving, Evelyn turned toward Clare.
"There's something else."
Clare looked up.
"What?"
"Victoria has been meeting someone from your father's company."
Clare's stomach tightened.
"Who?"
Evelyn hesitated.
"A former accountant named Martin Keller."
Clare recognized the name.
Martin had worked for Bennett Financial Group until the year her father died.
He had disappeared after the company's collapse.
"Where is he now?"
Evelyn shook her head.
"I don't know."
Then she reached into her handbag.
"I found this in Victoria's office."
She handed Clare a small photograph.
It showed Martin Keller standing beside Victoria.
Between them stood Adrienne's father, Vincent Duca.
The photograph was dated fifteen years earlier.
Clare stared.
Vincent Duca had died ten years ago.
But on the back of the photograph, someone had written a sentence.
The Bennett investigation must end before Clare turns thirty.
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Clare's thirtieth birthday was in four days.
And for the first time, she realized Victoria had been preparing to destroy her long before the diamonds disappeared.
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