Chapter 6 - Her Sister’s Confession
Claire poured Paige a glass of water.
Not wine.
Wine would have made the conversation feel normal.
Nothing about this was normal.
Paige sat on the sofa.
Her hands trembled beautifully.
Claire wondered how much of the trembling was rehearsed.
“How long?”
Claire asked.
Paige looked down.
“Eight months.”
Claire knew it was a lie.
The financial records on Julian’s laptop included transfers to Paige’s consulting company dating back almost three years.
“Why?”
“I didn’t plan it.”
“Neither of you planned kissing in parking garages?”
Paige looked up sharply.
Claire watched the realization.
“You saw us.”
“Yes.”
Paige’s crying stopped.
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
Paige swallowed.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I wanted to hear what you would say when you thought you controlled the story.”
The room became still.
Paige stood.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
“I love him.”
“You already said that.”
“He loves me too.”
Claire nodded.
“Then you should both be very happy.”
Paige stared.
“That’s it?”
“What would you prefer?”
“I thought you’d scream.”
“I’m sure Julian did too.”
Claire watched a flicker of fear cross Paige’s face.
“Did he send you here?”
“No.”
“Did Diane?”
Paige stepped backward.
Claire had her answer.
“Interesting.”
“Mom has nothing to do with this.”
Claire smiled coldly.
“Which mom?”
Paige went completely still.
Claire let the silence stretch.
Then she said, “You knew.”
Paige’s eyes filled.
“Claire.”
“You knew Diane wasn’t my mother.”
“I found out when I was twenty-three.”
“And you never told me.”
“Mom said Evelyn was dangerous.”
“Evelyn is recovering from a brain injury.”
Paige’s face lost all color.
“You found her?”
Claire said nothing.
Paige grabbed her arm.
“You cannot go back there.”
Claire looked at Paige’s hand until she released it.
“Why?”
“Because you don’t know what happened.”
“Tell me.”
Paige shook her head.
“Talk to Mom.”
“I’m talking to you.”
Paige paced toward the fireplace.
“Evelyn and Mom hated each other.”
“That doesn’t explain stealing someone’s child.”
“It wasn’t stealing.”
“What would you call it?”
“Protecting you.”
Claire laughed once.
Paige flinched.
“Julian knows about the trust.”
Claire said.
Paige stopped moving.
“Trust?”
“You’re not good enough at this.”
Paige’s shoulders fell.
Claire continued.
“How long have you and Julian been planning to take control of it?”
Paige stared at her.
Then something in her expression hardened.
The frightened younger sister disappeared.
A stranger replaced her.
“You always had everything.”
Claire almost could not believe what she had heard.
“What?”
“You got the beautiful house.”
“You lived there too.”
“You got Dad’s attention.”
“He isn’t my father.”
“You got Julian.”
Claire stepped closer.
“You were sleeping with my husband while helping him steal from me.”
Paige’s eyes flashed.
“You were never supposed to know.”
There it was.
The truth.
Claire’s voice became quiet.
“What happens after I sign?”
Paige realized too late what she had admitted.
“Nothing.”
“What happens after I sign?”
Paige grabbed her bag.
“I’m leaving.”
Claire moved away from the door.
She did not stop her.
At the threshold, Paige turned.
“You think finding Evelyn fixes everything.”
Claire waited.
Paige’s face twisted with something almost like pity.
“You still don’t know why Thomas agreed to raise you.”
The door closed.
Ten minutes later, Claire received an anonymous email.
There was no message.
Only an old photograph.
Thomas Bennett stood beside Evelyn’s wrecked car.
May you like
The photograph had been taken before emergency crews arrived.
And in Thomas’s right hand was a wrench.
