Chapter 7 - The Masterpiece
Claire dropped the phone on the diner table as if it burned her.
Nathaniel was the secret buyer.
He was not trying to protect her at the charity party.
He was playing Evelyn, and Evelyn was playing him.
Claire was just a disposable pawn caught in a game of billionaires.
She picked the phone back up.
“It is not Evelyn,” Claire said coldly.
There was a long, heavy silence on the other end of the line.
“Claire?” Nathaniel’s voice shifted, dropping its ruthless edge.
“Meet me at the old shipyard in one hour.”
“Claire, it is not what you think.”
“Come alone, or I take the police straight to Evelyn.”
She hung up before he could argue.
She left Mia sleeping securely in the diner booth under the watchful eye of a kind waitress.
The shipyard was shrouded in thick, freezing coastal fog.
Nathaniel was already there, leaning against his sports car.
He looked absolutely exhausted.
“You sent men to break into my apartment,” Claire said, stepping out of the mist.
“I sent Marcus to find the real bracelet before the police did.”
Nathaniel pulled a small velvet pouch from his coat pocket.
He tossed it through the damp air to her.
Claire caught it and looked inside.
The real, glowing sapphire was resting perfectly in her palm.
“Evelyn tried to sell it to me an hour ago,” Nathaniel said.
“I bought it back to clear your name.”
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Headlights suddenly blinded them from all directions.
Police sirens wailed as five squad cars surrounded them in the fog.
