Chapter 2 - The Severance Offer
Claire read the text message three times before her vision blurred.
Nathaniel.
The man who had spent the last six months slowly breaking down her walls.
The man who had kissed her in the greenhouse just three nights ago.
She threw the phone onto the passenger seat and slammed her foot on the gas.
She drove through the winding roads of the Whitmore estate, desperate to get back to her daughter.
Little Maya was sleeping peacefully when Claire finally walked into their tiny apartment.
The babysitter left, leaving Claire alone with the crushing weight of the night.
She made a cup of cheap tea and sat at her cramped kitchen table.
Why would Nathaniel frame her for stealing his mother’s heirloom.
It made absolutely no sense.
Unless he needed a scapegoat for an insurance claim.
The Whitmore empire was supposedly invincible, but rumors of bad investments had been circulating.
At 7:00 AM, a sharp knock rattled her apartment door.
She opened it to find Arthur Rothwell, Evelyn’s billionaire father, standing in her hallway.
He looked entirely out of place next to peeling paint and flickering fluorescent lights.
“May I come in, Claire.”
“You can say what you need to say right there.”
Arthur smiled tightly and pulled a sleek leather folder from his briefcase.
He opened it to reveal a cashier’s check made out to Claire.
The number had six zeros.
“One million dollars,” Arthur said softly.
“For what.”
“A severance package, of sorts.”
Arthur stepped closer, lowering his voice.
“You sign a confession stating you took the bracelet in a moment of desperation.”
Claire felt her blood run cold.
“You want me to plead guilty.”
“No charges will be filed.”
Arthur tapped the check.
“Nathaniel’s insurance covers the loss, you take the money, and you leave Boston forever.”
“I am not a thief.”
“You are a single mother with medical debt.”
Arthur shoved the folder into her hands.
“Take the money and run, Claire.”
She looked down at the documents attached to the check.
Something caught her eye at the bottom of the non-disclosure agreement.
It was the name of the holding company funding the payout.
It wasn't a Rothwell company.
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It was registered to a shell corporation Claire recognized from sorting Nathaniel’s mail.
Arthur was paying her off using Nathaniel’s money.
