Chapter 9 - Claire Bennett's Perfect Lie
Claire Bennett walked into the police station at 11:17 the following morning.
She wore a cream-colored coat, dark sunglasses, and a diamond engagement ring.
Her attorney walked beside her.
She carried herself like a woman arriving for a business meeting rather than a criminal investigation.
Detective Hayes met her in an interview room.
Claire removed her sunglasses.
“I understand Dominic has made some extraordinary accusations.”
Hayes sat opposite her.
“A woman was found restrained in his basement.”
Claire's expression shifted into practiced concern.
“How terrible.”
“You were identified as the last person seen with her before she disappeared.”
Claire shook her head.
“That's a misunderstanding.”
“Explain it.”
“Mia was having personal problems.”
“What kind?”
“Family issues.”
“Did you take her into the wine cellar?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To review a wine order.”
“Did you come back upstairs alone?”
“Yes.”
“Where was Mia?”
Claire sighed.
“She left through the service corridor.”
“Security footage doesn't show that.”
“The cameras weren't functioning properly.”
Hayes watched her.
“Interesting that you knew.”
Claire's smile faltered.
“I was told.”
“By whom?”
“Nathan.”
Hayes made a note.
“Did you order a lock for the cellar?”
“Yes.”
“Was it installed before or after Mia entered?”
Claire hesitated.
“Before, I believe.”
“You don't sound certain.”
“Do you remember the exact day every household repair is completed?”
Hayes opened a folder.
“We recovered the contractor's invoice.”
Claire's face remained still.
“It shows the lock was installed the morning Mia disappeared.”
“Then that must be correct.”
“The invoice also says you requested that only two keys be made.”
“Yes.”
“One for you.”
“Correct.”
“And one for Nathan.”
Claire's eyes moved toward the door.
Hayes leaned forward.
“Where is Nathan Cross?”
“I don't know.”
“Have you spoken to him?”
“No.”
“Not once since he left the estate?”
“No.”
Hayes placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Claire entering a private parking garage the previous afternoon.
Nathan stood beside her.
Claire looked at it.
Then closed her eyes.
“My attorney and I need a moment.”
By evening, Dominic learned Claire had acknowledged meeting Nathan but denied knowing about Mia's captivity.
She claimed Nathan had manipulated her.
Nathan, according to Claire, was obsessed with gaining control of the Vale family businesses.
He had told her Mia was stealing financial records.
He had convinced her that the cellar needed additional security.
And he had allegedly instructed her to stay away from the estate once Mia disappeared.
Dominic listened to the report without speaking.
When Hayes finished, he asked, “Did she explain why she lied?”
“She said she was frightened.”
“Of Nathan?”
“Yes.”
“Do you believe her?”
“I believe she knows more than she's told us.”
Dominic looked toward Elena's portrait.
“Claire knows how to sound innocent.”
Hayes waited.
“She did it for two years.”
“How did you meet her?”
“At a charity event in Manhattan.”
“Who introduced you?”
Dominic hesitated.
“Nathan.”
Hayes said nothing.
“He told me she had helped raise money for a children's hospital.”
“Did you verify that?”
“No.”
“Did you know her father worked with Nathan?”
“No.”
“And you were going to marry her.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
When he opened them, Hayes was watching him carefully.
“Dominic, people like Nathan don't depend only on lies.”
“They depend on what their victims want to believe.”
He looked toward the window.
“What did I want to believe?”
“That you could trust someone again.”
The answer struck a nerve.
After Elena died, Dominic had built his life around routine.
Business.
Security.
Contracts.
Meetings.
He had told himself he wasn't lonely.
Then Claire appeared.
She never demanded that he stop grieving.
She never asked him to remove Elena's photographs.
She laughed at his rare jokes and remembered the dates that mattered to him.
She seemed patient.
Understanding.
Safe.
Now he wondered how much of that had been studied in advance.
A knock sounded at the office door.
Daniel entered.
“Claire's attorney just delivered something.”
He held an envelope.
Inside was a handwritten note.
I know where Rebecca is.
Come alone.
If you bring the police, Nathan will move her.
The address belonged to an abandoned lakeside restaurant forty miles north of the estate.
Dominic read the note twice.
Then he called Detective Hayes.
She answered immediately.
“Please tell me you're not going there alone.”
Dominic looked at the address.
“Claire wants to talk.”
“Then we'll arrange it.”
“She says Nathan will move Rebecca if police come.”
“That's exactly what someone planning a trap would say.”
Dominic sighed.
“I know.”
“Then cooperate with us.”
He glanced at the ring box sitting unopened in his desk.
He had planned to give Claire an engraved wedding band after their ceremony.
Now it looked like an artifact from another man's life.
“Detective,” he said, “I think Claire has finally realized Nathan is going to sacrifice her.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Because frightened accomplices sometimes tell the truth.”
Dominic folded the letter.
“And sometimes they become more dangerous.”
That night, under police observation, Dominic met Claire at the abandoned restaurant.
The building stood beside a black lake.
Rain struck its broken windows.
Claire waited inside, her coat buttoned tightly.
When Dominic entered, she stood.
“You came.”
“You wanted me here.”
She looked at the engagement ring on her hand.
“I loved you.”
Dominic studied her.
“Is that what you're going to tell me?”
“I did.”
“Then why did you lock Mia in my cellar?”
Claire's composure cracked.
“She wasn't supposed to stay there.”
Dominic felt his pulse quicken.
“What was supposed to happen?”
“She was supposed to give us the necklace.”
“And then?”
Claire looked away.
“And then Nathan was supposed to take her somewhere safe.”
Dominic almost laughed.
“Safe?”
“I didn't know what he intended.”
“You knew enough to keep her daughter upstairs.”
Claire flinched.
“I told the housekeeper Harper was being looked after.”
“Harper spent three days asking where her mother was.”
Claire covered her face.
“I know.”
“No, you don't.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“You heard that little girl crying, and you still went to bed.”
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
“I couldn't let Nathan know I was having doubts.”
“Why?”
“Because he would have killed me.”
Dominic watched her.
“Tell me where Rebecca is.”
Claire wiped her cheeks.
“There's a place called Briarwood.”
“Briarwood what?”
“A private rehabilitation facility.”
“Where?”
“Near the Catskills.”
“Is Rebecca there?”
“I think so.”
Dominic remained still.
Claire lowered her voice.
“Nathan has been using it for years.”
“For what?”
“To keep people who know too much out of sight.”
Dominic felt sick.
“Who owns it?”
Claire hesitated.
Then whispered, “My father.”
Before he could answer, Claire reached into her coat.
Dominic tensed.
She withdrew a small digital recorder.
“Take this.”
“What is it?”
“Proof.”
“Of what?”
Claire looked at him with genuine terror.
“Proof that Elena Vale's death wasn't an accident.”
Dominic reached for the recorder.
May you like
Then Claire said something that stopped him.
“And proof that your wife knew she was going to die.”
