Chapter 6 - The Unlikely Alliance
Claire could not breathe.
The note slipped from her trembling fingers and fluttered to the floor.
Evelyn took Maya.
Claire pulled out her phone and called her neighbor, Mrs. Higgins.
The call went straight to voicemail.
Panic clawed at her throat as she dialed Nathaniel’s private number.
It rang twice before he answered.
“Claire.”
His voice was breathless, panicked.
“Where is my daughter, Nathaniel.”
“I am tracking Evelyn’s car right now.”
“How did she get Maya.”
“Evelyn went to your apartment looking for you.”
Nathaniel’s voice cracked slightly.
“When she realized you weren't there, she took Maya as leverage.”
“Leverage for what.”
“For the real bracelet.”
Claire stopped moving.
“The real bracelet.”
“The one they found in your bag was a replica,” Nathaniel confessed.
“Evelyn swapped it during the reception, but she didn't know I had replaced the real sapphire with a fake months ago.”
Claire gripped the edge of the broken desk to steady herself.
“Why would you do that.”
“Because I knew the Rothwells were broke.”
Nathaniel sounded bitter.
“I knew Arthur was planning to rob me to pay off his syndicate debts.”
“You knew, and you still let me take the fall.”
“I hesitated because I saw the replica in your bag.”
He sighed heavily into the phone.
“For one second, I thought you were working with them.”
Claire closed her eyes, fighting back angry tears.
“Where are you.”
“I am pulling up to the shipping docks on Pier 4.”
“Do not do anything until I get there.”
Claire sprinted out of the ruined office and grabbed the keys to a staff truck.
She drove like a madwoman through the empty streets of Boston.
When she reached Pier 4, she saw Nathaniel’s sleek Mercedes parked near an abandoned warehouse.
She jumped out of the truck and ran toward him.
He caught her in his arms, holding her tightly.
For a moment, she let herself lean into his strength.
“We will get her back,” Nathaniel whispered.
He handed her a heavy steel briefcase.
“The real sapphire is in here.”
“Are we really giving it to Evelyn.”
“We have to.”
They walked cautiously toward the rusted doors of the warehouse.
Nathaniel pushed them open.
Inside, Evelyn was standing under a single flickering lightbulb.
She held a terrified Maya by the arm.
“Let her go,” Claire screamed.
Evelyn smiled thinly and pointed a gun straight at Nathaniel.
“Drop the briefcase, Nathaniel.”
He placed the case on the ground and kicked it toward her.
Evelyn opened it and laughed out loud.
“You always were predictable.”
She pulled the sapphire out and tossed it into the murky water of the harbor.
Claire screamed in confusion.
Evelyn aimed the gun directly at Claire’s chest.
“I don't need the bracelet, Claire.”
May you like
Evelyn’s eyes were completely dead.
“I just needed Nathaniel to bring you here.”
