Chapter 6 - The Ghost
Clara couldn't breathe.
The walls of the apartment seemed to shrink, pressing the oxygen out of the room.
Lucas stepped fully into the light.
He looked older, his face weathered, a deep scar running through his left eyebrow.
But it was him.
The man she had mourned.
The man she had buried an empty casket for because the police said the fire had left nothing behind.
"You're dead," Clara whispered.
Lucas shoved his hands into his pockets, looking down at the floor.
"I had to be."
"Martin made sure of it."
Clara's head snapped toward Adriano.
"You knew?"
"You brought him here?"
"I found him six months ago working as a mechanic in Chicago," Adriano said evenly.
"He's the one who tipped me off about Martin's shadow accounts."
Clara felt a violent surge of anger replace her shock.
She marched across the kitchen and slapped Lucas across the face.
The crack echoed loudly in the quiet apartment.
Lucas took the hit without flinching.
"I deserved that," he muttered.
"Three years," Clara screamed, tears finally spilling hot down her cheeks.
"I cried every night for a year."
"I took this miserable job at Hale Mercer just to pay off the medical debt your accident left me with!"
Lucas's eyes widened in horror.
"Martin gave you that job?"
"He told me he would take care of you."
"He told me if I faked my death and disappeared, he would pay off the debts and leave you alone."
Clara felt cold dread wash over her.
"Leave me alone?"
"Lucas, what did you do?"
Lucas looked at Adriano, seeking permission.
Adriano nodded once.
"Before I worked at the garage, I was Martin's personal courier," Lucas confessed.
"I transported the stolen cash."
"When I found out he was stealing from the Moretti family, I tried to quit."
"He rigged my car."
"I barely survived."
"He told me if I ever came back, he would kill you."
Clara covered her mouth, stifling a sob.
Her entire life for the past three years had been a carefully constructed cage.
Martin had kept her close, watching her, using her to launder the very money her dead fiancé had once carried.
Adriano checked his watch.
"We don't have time for a reunion."
"The gala is in twenty hours."
"Lucas is going to teach you how to lift that key."
Clara wiped her tears, her sadness hardening into absolute rage.
"Fine."
"Teach me."
"I want to ruin him."
Lucas approached her carefully, holding up a small, heavy silver chain.
"It's all about misdirection, Clara."
"You have to make him focus on something else."
He reached out to loop the chain around her neck to practice.
But as he leaned in close, he whispered so softly that Adriano couldn't hear.
"Don't trust Moretti."
May you like
"He's not trying to expose Martin."
"He's trying to find the ledger so he can kill us all."
