Chapter 10 - Claire Bennett Does Not Exist
Claire stared at the frozen image of Rachel.
Ethan could hear his own heartbeat.
Finally, Claire said, “Rachel hated me.”
Ethan looked at her. “Rachel died before you and I started dating.”
Claire’s mistake hung between them.
Daniel slowly turned. “How did Rachel know you?”
Claire said nothing.
Ethan opened Rachel’s Notes app.
A list of names appeared.
CLAIRE BENNETT — FALSE IDENTITY?
CLAIRE’S REAL NAME: CATHERINE VALE?
VALE CONSULTING LLC.
Ethan scrolled.
Payments from the Cole Foundation had gone to Vale Consulting. Hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time.
Daniel pulled out his phone and searched the name.
His expression changed.
“What?” Ethan asked.
“Catherine Vale. Thirty-three. Former compliance analyst at Cole Meridian. Terminated five years ago after an internal investigation.”
Ethan looked at Claire.
She was no longer pretending to smile.
“You worked for my company?”
“Briefly.”
“Under another name.”
“I changed my name legally.”
“Why?”
Claire looked toward the window. “Because your father ruined mine.”
Ethan went still.
His father, Richard Cole, had founded the company and died six years earlier.
“What are you talking about?”
“My father was Martin Vale.”
Ethan knew the name.
Martin Vale had been Cole Meridian’s chief financial officer. He had been convicted of embezzlement after Richard uncovered missing funds. Vale died in prison two years later.
Claire’s eyes burned now.
“Your father made him the fall guy.”
“That’s not what happened.”
“You were twenty-four. You know what they told you.”
Ethan shook his head. “So this was revenge?”
Claire’s face hardened. “At first.”
“At first?”
She looked at Sophie’s crib.
Then at Ethan.
“You really don’t understand what you inherited, do you?”
Daniel’s phone rang.
He answered, listened, and turned pale.
“What happened?” Ethan asked.
Daniel covered the receiver. “The detective from Rachel’s crash reopened the file two months ago.”
“Why?”
“He found new traffic-camera footage.”
Ethan’s chest tightened.
Daniel continued.
“Rachel wasn’t driving the car when it left the gala district.”
“Who was?”
May you like
Daniel looked directly at Claire.
“The driver appears to be Harold Price.”
