Chapter 5 - The Gala's Ghost
Claire did not scream.
She backed slowly against the concrete wall of the stairwell.
The man with the gun tilted his head, calculating her worth.
“Leave her,” the other man grunted, tightening his grip on a struggling David.
“She is the decoy.”
They dragged David out the back exit, throwing him into a black SUV.
The tires screeched against the pavement as the car sped away.
Claire collapsed onto the bottom step, shaking uncontrollably.
Nathaniel was going to propose to her.
He had hesitated in that hallway not because he doubted her innocence, but because he was entirely blindsided.
She had to see him.
She had to tell him the truth about Evelyn.
Claire hailed a taxi and directed it back to the massive iron gates of the Whitmore estate.
The guard at the gate refused to let her in.
“Mr. Whitmore’s orders,” the guard grunted.
Claire walked around the perimeter wall until she found the old service entrance hidden by ivy.
She had used it a hundred times to sneak out for Maya’s emergency doctor appointments.
She slipped through the rusted gate and navigated the dark gardens.
The mansion was completely silent.
She quietly unlocked the kitchen door using the spare key hidden under a loose brick.
She crept down the main hallway toward Nathaniel’s private office.
A sliver of light spilled from beneath the heavy oak door.
Claire pushed it open.
The room was completely trashed.
Books were ripped from the shelves, paintings were torn from the walls, and the antique desk was shattered.
Nathaniel was nowhere to be found.
But sitting perfectly in the center of the ruined room was a small velvet box.
Claire walked toward it, her heart hammering against her ribs.
She opened the box.
Inside was the custom diamond ring David had told her about.
Tucked under the ring was a handwritten note.
Claire recognized Nathaniel’s elegant handwriting immediately.
"They took her, Claire."
May you like
She frowned, reading the rest of the blood-stained note.
"Evelyn took Maya."
