Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Claire had promised herself she wouldn't spend her new life investigating the man she'd left behind.
Then an envelope appeared beneath her townhouse door.
Inside was a photograph of her mother standing beside Anthony Moretti.
Claire recognized the date written on the back.
It was three weeks before her mother's death.
Beneath the photograph lay a note.
Your mother didn't die because she was sick. Ask Vincent what his father did to protect the Moretti fortune.
Claire sat down so abruptly that the chair scraped across the floor.
Her mother had been her safest memory. Even after Elizabeth died, Claire remembered her hands, her laughter, and the bedtime stories she invented when they couldn't afford new books.
The idea that someone had deliberately harmed her was unbearable.
She called the number printed on the envelope.
A woman answered.
"Claire Hayes?"
"Who is this?"
"My name is Margaret Ellis. I worked as your mother's private nurse."
Claire's breath caught.
"You were at the hospital?"
"Yes. And I should have spoken years ago."
"Why now?"
"Because Vincent has filed a request to reopen the Moretti family trust. Someone knows the original documents are missing, and I believe they're coming for you."
Claire looked toward Lily's bedroom.
"Who?"
Margaret hesitated.
"Your father's old business partner. A man everyone believes died in a warehouse fire."
Claire's father had disappeared before she was born. Her mother had always said he was a good man who died before they could build a life together.
"What's his name?"
"Richard Vale."
Claire searched her memory.
Nothing.
Margaret continued.
"Your mother discovered that Richard had been diverting money from the company. Anthony Moretti promised to help her expose him."
"And then she died."
"Yes."
Claire closed her eyes.
"Why would Anthony help Richard afterward?"
"He didn't. Not at first. But someone threatened his family, and he made a terrible choice."
Claire's voice sharpened.
"What choice?"
"Ask Vincent to examine the original shipping records. The truth is hidden in the final shipment Anthony authorized before his death."
Before Claire could ask another question, the line went dead.
She called back.
Disconnected.
At six that evening, Vincent arrived at the townhouse carrying Lily's favorite chocolate cake.
Claire opened the door but didn't invite him inside.
"I need to ask you something."
His gaze moved over her face.
"Anything."
"Did your father have a business partner named Richard Vale?"
Vincent's expression changed.
"Where did you hear that name?"
"Answer me."
He looked toward Lily, who was singing in the kitchen.
Then he whispered, "Richard Vale wasn't my father's partner."
Claire felt the blood drain from her face.
May you like
Vincent continued.
"He was the man who ordered my father killed."
