I Donated My Kidney to My Wife—Then I Heard Her Secret Through the Hospital Curtain
Chapter 7
Claire’s father hadn’t died because he was guilty.
He had died because Thomas Vale had framed him.
My father had known.
He had helped cover it up.
But he hadn’t ordered the fraud.
Thomas had.
When Marcus discovered the scheme, Thomas used my father’s company as a shield.
By the time anyone realized what had happened, Marcus’s reputation was destroyed.
He died believing his daughter would spend the rest of her life thinking he was a criminal.
Claire had spent years trying to clear his name.
Then she met me.
“I knew who you were before you knew me,” she said.
I sat across from her.
“So our first date was a lie.”
“Yes.”
“Our wedding was a lie.”
“At first.”
“At first?”
Her voice broke.
“Daniel, I didn’t know how to stop.”
“You could have told me.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That you’d choose your father over me.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You never gave me the chance.”
She wiped her tears.
“Then I fell in love with you.”
I looked away.
“That’s convenient.”
“I know.”
“What happened to the evidence?”
“Your father hid it.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then why marry me?”
“Because he left clues in the trust.”
I thought of the metal box.
The letter.
“Did you know he wrote to me?”
Claire stared.
“No.”
I told her about the letter.
Her face changed.
“There’s something else,” she whispered.
“What?”
“Your father didn’t hide the evidence alone.”
She reached into her bag.
Then placed a photograph on the table.
It showed my father and Thomas Vale standing beside a safe.
On the back was a date.
The same date as my wedding.
“Why would this be taken six years ago?”
Claire shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
I looked closer.
The safe had a number painted on it.
I suddenly remembered something.
Our honeymoon hotel had room 417.
But that couldn’t be coincidence.
Claire saw my expression.
“What?”
“I know where we have to go.”
She stared at me.
“Daniel…”
“I’m not doing this for your father.”
“I know.”
“I’m doing it because I need to know whether the life I built was real.”
Her eyes filled again.
“And if it wasn’t?”
I looked at her.
“Then I’ll walk away.”
For the first time, Claire didn’t try to stop me.
She simply nodded.
“Then I’ll help you find the truth.”
