Chapter 15 - The Father Who Lied
Nathan dragged Claire behind a stone planter.
Thomas rolled under the patio table and pulled a pistol from an ankle holster.
Claire stared at him.
Her father had never even admitted owning a gun.
Two attackers moved through the garden.
Thomas fired once.
One dropped behind a hedge.
Nathan looked at him. “You shoot well for a retired investor.”
Thomas reloaded.
“I was Army intelligence before Claire was born.”
Claire laughed in disbelief. “Of course you were.”
They retreated into the house.
Thomas activated steel shutters over the windows.
Nathan said, “You have a safe room.”
“I have enemies.”
“You have secrets.”
“That too.”
Inside the safe room, Thomas finally spoke.
“I helped create the Circle.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“But I did not build it for organized crime,” he continued. “It began as a group of businessmen and public officials sharing intelligence on corruption at the ports. Vincent saw opportunity. Raymond saw money.”
Nathan said, “And you saw what?”
“A system I thought I could control.”
Claire’s voice shook. “How many people died because of that system?”
Thomas looked older than she had ever seen him.
“Too many.”
“Did you order Nicholas killed?”
“No.”
“Did you know about the crash?”
“Not until afterward.”
“Did you know Marcus hid him?”
“Yes.”
Claire slapped him.
Thomas accepted it.
“You let me bury a stranger.”
“I thought Nicholas’s survival needed to remain secret.”
“For who?”
“For you.”
“Stop saying that!”
Thomas opened a hidden cabinet.
Inside were paper files, old ledgers, and one red folder.
He handed it to Claire.
On the cover was her name.
CLAIRE BENNETT MORETTI - SUCCESSION.
Claire looked up.
“What is this?”
Thomas’s eyes filled with something close to shame.
“The Circle was never meant to pass to Marcus or Nicholas.”
Nathan stared.
Thomas said, “Vincent and I agreed twenty years ago.”
May you like
Claire’s fingers went cold.
“You were the successor.”
