Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO DISAPPEARED
Lorraine had always told people that Gregory Pike had abandoned her.
That story was apparently backwards.
Rachel explained that Gregory had been married to her mother, Susan, for nearly twenty-seven years.
But before Susan, there had been Lorraine.
Years after Lorraine and Gregory divorced, they began secretly seeing each other again.
Susan discovered it.
She threatened to expose them.
Then Lorraine offered her money.
“Your mother accepted?” Claire asked.
“Eventually.”
“How much?”
“Enough to leave Arizona and start over.”
Claire walked slowly through her hotel room.
“So Lorraine has been buying silence for decades.”
“Yes.”
“And your father?”
“He let her.”
That was the part Claire understood least.
“Why?”
Rachel’s voice became bitter.
“Because Lorraine owns something on him.”
“What?”
“I’ve spent years trying to learn that.”
Claire forwarded everything to Priya.
The legal strategy remained simple: document, preserve, verify.
No wild accusations.
No revenge.
Facts were enough.
Meanwhile, Hawaii had apparently become miserable.
Dana sent a picture of Mark sitting alone near the hotel lobby.
Lorraine had been arguing with lenders for hours.
Their cards were still active for legitimate personal funds, but several business accounts connected to the disputed transactions had been restricted pending review.
Dana wrote:
Mom keeps saying this is all your fault.
Claire replied:
Did I sign the documents?
No.
Did I transfer the money?
No.
Then it isn’t my fault.
Dana did not argue.
The next morning Claire boarded a train to Lyon.
As the countryside blurred past, Elena called.
“We found another LLC.”
Claire sighed.
“Of course we did.”
“This one matters.”
“Why?”
“It received money from the same credit facility.”
“How much?”
“One hundred ninety thousand.”
“Who owns it?”
“That’s the strange part.”
Elena sent the registration.
Claire opened it.
The registered manager was Natalie Greene.
The pregnant woman from the photograph.
But beneath Natalie’s name was another authorized representative.
Mark Bennett.
Claire’s stomach twisted.
“Is this proof of an affair?”
“No,” Elena said carefully. “It proves a business relationship.”
Claire appreciated the precision.
Then Elena added, “But there’s another document.”
A corporate resolution.
Signed electronically by Mark.
It authorized the company to purchase a condominium in San Diego.
Claire examined the attached property records.
Then she saw the date.
The condo had been purchased three weeks after Natalie gave birth.
Claire swallowed.
“Who lives there?”
“We’re verifying.”
Twenty minutes later, Elena called again.
“Claire.”
“What?”
“The condominium isn’t occupied by Natalie.”
Claire waited.
May you like
“It’s occupied by Lorraine.”
And the utility bills had been paid for eighteen months from Claire and Mark’s joint account.
