My Wife Told Everyone I Was ‘Just a Driver’ — Then I Found Out Her Secret Too.
Chapter 4
Claire didn’t move.
Daniel stared at her.
“You know that voice.”
She swallowed.
“Yes.”
“Who is it?”
She didn’t answer.
The voice came again.
“Open the door.”
Daniel walked toward it.
Claire grabbed his arm.
“Don’t.”
He looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because if he finds out you’re involved—”
She stopped.
Daniel stared.
“Involved in what?”
Claire’s face crumbled.
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
“Tomorrow?”
She looked away.
“Maybe.”
Daniel stepped back.
“So you were going to keep lying.”
“No.”
“You’ve been lying for years.”
“I was protecting you.”
“Everyone says that.”
“What?”
“That’s always the excuse.”
The knocking stopped.
Silence.
Daniel opened the door.
Nobody was there.
Only another envelope on the porch.
He picked it up.
Inside was a document.
A contract.
Signed by Claire.
And Richard Hale.
The date was six years earlier.
The day before Daniel proposed to Claire.
Daniel read the heading.
CONFIDENTIAL PROTECTION AGREEMENT
He looked at Claire.
“What is this?”
She closed her eyes.
“It’s complicated.”
“Then explain it.”
She finally spoke.
“Your father didn’t die because of a heart condition.”
Daniel froze.
“What?”
“He was murdered.”
The room became silent.
Sophie was upstairs.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your father discovered financial fraud at Hale & Mercer.”
“My father worked in manufacturing.”
“He did both.”
Claire swallowed.
“He had evidence.”
“Against Richard?”
“Against someone above him.”
Daniel stared.
“Who?”
“I never found out.”
“But you knew my father.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He asked me to help protect you.”
Daniel felt dizzy.
“Before we met?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you marry me?”
Claire’s eyes filled.
“Because I loved you.”
“That isn’t the whole answer.”
“No.”
She sat down.
“There was a trust.”
“The Blackwood Account?”
She looked up sharply.
“You know about that?”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“So it’s real.”
Claire covered her face.
“Daniel…”
“How much?”
She didn’t answer.
“How much money?”
“Twelve million.”
He stared.
“Where did it come from?”
“Your father.”
Daniel’s chest tightened.
“What?”
“He created it before he died.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
“From whom?”
“From the people who killed him.”
Daniel paced.
“So you knew all this when you married me.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
“I thought if you stayed away from the company, you’d be safe.”
“But now I’m not.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“Now they know you’ve started asking questions.”
Daniel stared.
“Who are they?”
Claire whispered,
“People who believe your father left something more valuable than money.”
“What?”
She looked toward the staircase.
“Evidence.”
Before Daniel could ask another question, the power went out.
The house fell dark.
Sophie screamed upstairs.
Daniel ran.
He heard footsteps in the hallway.
Someone had entered the house.
Claire followed.
They reached Sophie’s room.
The window was open.
The curtains moved in the wind.
Sophie was gone.
Daniel’s heart stopped.
“Where is my daughter?”
Claire looked horrified.
Then a phone on the bed began to ring.
Daniel answered.
A man’s voice said,
“You wanted the truth.”
Daniel froze.
“Where is my daughter?”
“Find the Blackwood Account.”
“And Sophie?”
A pause.
“Find it before midnight.”
The line went dead.
