Chapter 12 - THE TRADE
Margaret called twenty minutes later.
Claire answered before the first ring ended.
“Let me hear her.”
“Claire—”
“LET ME HEAR MY DAUGHTER.”
Silence.
Then Lily's voice.
“Mom?”
Claire nearly collapsed.
“Baby.”
“I'm okay.”
“Did she hurt you?”
Margaret took the phone.
“Bring the original files.”
“I'll bring anything.”
“No police.”
“Fine.”
Torres shook her head.
Claire ignored her.
“Where?”
Margaret gave an address.
An abandoned section of Hawthorne's old campus.
Then she said, “Come alone.”
The line went dead.
Torres immediately began planning.
Claire wore a wire.
Police would stay outside the perimeter.
The original evidence remained secured.
Claire carried copies.
She entered the building alone.
The hallway smelled like dust and antiseptic.
“Lily?”
No answer.
“Margaret!”
A door opened.
Margaret appeared.
She held Lily by the shoulder.
Claire's heart broke.
Lily looked terrified.
But alive.
“Mom.”
“I'm here.”
Margaret smiled.
“The files.”
Claire held up the bag.
“Let her go.”
“First the files.”
“No.”
Margaret's smile disappeared.
“You're in no position to negotiate.”
Claire looked at Lily.
Her daughter was staring at something behind Margaret.
A fire alarm.
Lily's eyes moved back to Claire.
Claire understood.
She needed time.
“Why Michael?”
Margaret sighed.
“Still obsessed with your dead husband.”
“You killed him.”
“He interfered.”
Claire's stomach turned.
“So you admit it?”
Margaret laughed.
“He thought laws protected people.”
She stepped closer.
“Laws protect whoever controls the paperwork.”
“And Robert?”
For the first time, Margaret's face changed.
“My husband was weak.”
“You killed him too.”
“He was leaving.”
Margaret's voice hardened.
“He planned to take Daniel.”
Claire stared.
“So you poisoned him.”
Margaret said nothing.
That silence was enough.
“Rebecca?”
Margaret smiled faintly.
“Rebecca was careless.”
“You murdered her.”
“She took what I gave her.”
Lily suddenly moved.
She slammed her hand into the fire alarm.
Sirens exploded through the building.
Margaret screamed.
“You little brat!”
Lily ducked.
Claire charged forward.
Margaret grabbed Lily's dress.
The fabric tore.
Claire hit Margaret with everything she had.
They crashed into the wall.
Lily ran.
“GO!”
Claire screamed.
Margaret grabbed Claire's hair.
“You destroyed everything!”
“No.”
Claire twisted free.
“My daughter did.”
Police stormed the building.
Margaret reached into her coat.
Torres shouted.
“Hands!”
Margaret pulled something out.
Claire froze.
A syringe.
Margaret lunged.
Claire stepped aside.
Torres tackled her.
The syringe skidded across the floor.
Lily ran into Claire's arms.
Claire held her so tightly the child could barely breathe.
“Mom.”
“I've got you.”
Margaret screamed as officers handcuffed her.
“You think this is over?”
Claire looked at her.
“Yes.”
Margaret laughed.
“You have no idea what your husband did.”
Claire froze.
“What?”
Margaret smiled.
Then officers dragged her away.
But the words remained.
May you like
Because Michael's files contained one final secret.
And this one was about Claire.
