Chapter 4 - THE LETTER CLAIRE HID
Ethan stared at the woman he had married less than an hour ago.
“You met her?”
Claire wiped at her face.
“I didn’t know if she was telling the truth.”
“So you asked my father.”
Claire said nothing.
Ethan’s laugh had no humor in it.
“Of course you did.”
Richard stepped closer.
“She did the responsible thing.”
“Stay out of this.”
“Ethan—”
“I said stay out of it.”
Claire removed something from the small bridal purse sitting on the table.
Another envelope.
“I should’ve given you this.”
Ethan took it.
“When?”
“The day she approached me.”
“You mean before I stood in a church and promised there would never be secrets between us?”
Claire flinched.
“Yes.”
He opened the letter.
The handwriting matched the note from the church steps.
Ethan,
My name is Nora Mercer. I am your mother.
I know what you were told.
I also know you have no reason to believe me.
I am not asking for money.
I am not asking you to love me.
Before you marry into another family built on the Hale name, I only want you to know how that name became yours.
Ask Richard about January 14, 2002.
Ask him who was driving.
Ask him about Dr. Pierce.
And most of all, ask why a dead woman supposedly signed a legal document two days after her death.
Ethan stopped.
He read the final sentence again.
“What does that mean?”
Claire pointed to the court filing.
Ethan looked at the date.
January 18, 2002.
Then the old death certificate.
January 16, 2002.
His blood went cold.
The documents said Nora Mercer had died two days before she had supposedly signed away her son.
Ethan slowly raised his eyes to his father.
Richard looked furious.
But not surprised.
“You knew this was in here,” Ethan said.
“That proves nothing.”
“It proves somebody forged her signature.”
“No. It proves copies can be altered.”
Claire shook her head.
“I checked.”
Both men turned toward her.
She swallowed.
“The court record is real.”
Richard’s face tightened.
“You had no right.”
“I thought she might be trying to blackmail us.”
“So I called a lawyer I trust. Quietly.”
“And?”
Claire looked at Ethan.
“The original filing exists.”
Ethan felt the room tilt.
Richard moved toward the door.
“This conversation is over.”
Ethan blocked him.
“No.”
“Move.”
“Who is Dr. Pierce?”
Richard’s expression changed.
Again.
That tiny reaction.
Ethan caught it.
Claire caught it too.
“Who is he?” she repeated.
Richard looked at both of them.
“A doctor who made a mistake a long time ago.”
Ethan grabbed his jacket.
“Where are you going?”
“To find Nora.”
Richard’s voice rose.
“Ethan, do not do this.”
“My mother just got shoved into one of your security vehicles.”
Marcus’s vehicle.
Ethan suddenly stopped.
He pulled out his phone and called.
Marcus didn’t answer.
He called again.
Nothing.
Claire grabbed her phone.
“I can track the wedding security cars.”
“How?”
“The coordinator gave me access to the transportation app.”
She opened it.
Her face went pale.
“What?”
“The SUV carrying Nora stopped moving twelve minutes ago.”
“Where?”
Claire turned the screen toward him.
An industrial road near the river.
Ethan was already at the door.
Then Claire whispered:
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
May you like
“The GPS was disabled after it stopped.”
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