Chapter 9 - THE WOMAN IN CLAIRE’S COAT
Police searched every airport, hotel, and Sterling property.
Isabella seemed to disappear.
Her passport remained at the mansion.
Her private accounts were frozen.
Dr. Wells survived the injection.
He agreed to cooperate in exchange for protection.
He revealed that Isabella had prepared three false identities.
One belonged to a woman named Isabel Stone.
Another belonged to Claire Sterling.
The third belonged to Emma Torres.
Emma stared at the passport carrying her photograph.
“She planned to use my identity.”
Quinn nodded.
“If the basement was discovered, she would frame you as the person who confined Ethan.”
“The financial records already show purchases made under your name.”
Emma’s hands tightened.
Isabella had opened accounts using documents copied from Emma’s employment file.
She bought the sedatives.
She ordered the restraints.
She rented a vehicle near the Canadian border.
If police had found Ethan after Isabella escaped, the evidence would have pointed toward the housekeeper.
“The poor employee becomes obsessed with the billionaire’s child,” Quinn said.
“She kidnaps him for ransom.”
“She kills the former wife years earlier.”
“She destroys the mansion to hide it.”
William looked sick.
“She built an entire case against Emma.”
“She built several,” Quinn answered.
The second version blamed Dr. Wells.
The third blamed William.
Isabella never depended on one lie.
She prepared whichever truth best protected her.
Security footage from the hospital showed a woman entering the maternity wing wearing Claire’s old green coat.
Her face was hidden beneath a scarf.
She walked toward Ethan’s room.
Emma recognized the coat.
Isabella had taken it from Claire’s closet after the funeral.
William and Quinn ran.
Emma followed.
Ethan’s door stood open.
The nurse lay unconscious near the medication cart.
The bed was empty.
A green button rested on the floor.
The hospital alarm activated.
A camera showed Isabella pushing Ethan in a wheelchair toward the roof elevator.
William ran up the stairs.
Emma took the service lift.
Quinn contacted tactical officers.
The rooftop door opened into freezing rain.
Isabella stood beside a medical helicopter.
The pilot was unconscious inside the cockpit.
Ethan sat in the wheelchair near the edge.
His wrists were tied.
Isabella held a gun behind his head.
William stopped.
“Let him go.”
“You always arrive after the damage,” she said.
Emma emerged behind the ventilation tower.
Isabella did not see her.
“You killed Claire,” William said.
“Claire killed our future.”
“She exposed your father.”
“She would have destroyed the company.”
“She was trying to return stolen homes.”
“To people who had already lost them.”
William stared at her.
“That sentence is why you will never understand her.”
Isabella smiled.
“And you understood her?”
“You ignored every warning.”
“You married me.”
“You placed me in her bedroom.”
William flinched.
She was right.
Guilt moved across his face.
Isabella used it.
“Come with me.”
“We can still control the company.”
“Ethan can recover somewhere private.”
The boy looked at his father.
“Don’t.”
William stepped forward.
Isabella aimed at his chest.
Emma moved behind her.
Ethan saw Emma.
His eyes widened.
Isabella noticed.
She turned.
Emma struck her wrist with the metal fire extinguisher.
The gun fired.
The bullet hit the helicopter door.
Isabella grabbed Emma’s coat.
They fell against the rooftop barrier.
Rain made the surface slick.
The barrier cracked.
Emma slipped halfway over the edge.
Isabella held the front of her coat.
For one second, she could pull Emma back.
Instead, she loosened her grip.
“You should have stayed invisible.”
Ethan screamed.
William lunged.
He caught Emma’s wrist as the coat tore.
Isabella reached for the fallen gun.
Ethan kicked the wheelchair brake free.
The chair rolled into her legs.
She fell.
Quinn entered with officers.
They forced Isabella to the ground.
William pulled Emma over the barrier.
She collapsed beside him.
Across the rooftop, Ethan stared at Isabella in handcuffs.
“You said nobody would find me.”
May you like
Emma crawled toward him.
“Someone heard you.”
