Chapter 9 - Eleven Months
Claire slapped her father.
The sound cracked through the private hospital lounge.
Arthur did not move.
"Eleven months?"
"Claire—"
"You knew he was stealing from me for eleven months?"
"I knew there were irregularities. I did not know about Sophie."
"You knew enough to investigate him."
Arthur's face hardened in the way it always did when he was ashamed and trying to turn shame into authority.
"The company was preparing a major public offering. An accusation against my son-in-law without proof could have destroyed billions in value and thousands of jobs."
Claire laughed through tears.
"So you protected the stock price."
"I tried to contain it until I had evidence."
"You protected him."
Arthur looked away.
That was the answer.
He had hired investigators. He had frozen one internal account. He had confronted Dominic quietly.
But he never told Claire.
"Did Julian know you were watching him?"
"Eventually."
"Then you made me more dangerous to him."
Arthur looked at her.
The realization finally hit him.
Claire's voice broke. "You gave him a reason to speed up."
Sophie was asleep down the hall, and Claire suddenly wanted every powerful man in her life out of the building.
"Leave."
Arthur blinked. "Claire."
"Leave. I need to think without one of you deciding what's best for me."
He did.
For the first time in Claire's life, Arthur Bellamy obeyed his daughter without argument.
Later, Mara brought Claire a recovered email from Dominic's deleted account.
Subject: PHASE TWO.
Attached was a draft psychiatric declaration stating Claire suffered from delusions and posed a risk to herself and Sophie.
Dr. Halpern had signed it.
Another attachment was a map of Claire's usual driving route from Malibu to downtown Los Angeles.
One section of canyon road was circled in red.
There was a note beside it.
BRAKES / WET ROAD / NO GUARDRAIL.
Claire stared until the letters blurred.
Mara pulled up the date the file had been created.
Six weeks earlier.
Claire's Range Rover had gone in for "routine service" five weeks earlier.
Julian had arranged the appointment.
Mara's phone rang.
She listened, then looked at Claire.
"The police found your Range Rover."
"Where?"
"At the mechanic Julian used."
Claire stood.
"And?"
May you like
Mara's face was grim.
"The brake line had been cut and replaced."
