Chapter 11 - The Child Nobody Mentioned
Daniel’s daughter was named Sophie.
She would be six now.
Margaret had known about her for five years.
Ethan felt betrayed all over again.
“You let me think he died without a family.”
“Daniel begged me to protect them,” Margaret said. “His fiancée, Elena, was terrified of your grandfather’s business enemies.”
“Our grandfather has been dead eight years.”
“His enemies didn’t disappear with him.”
Jenna asked the obvious question. “Where is Sophie?”
Margaret looked down. “I don’t know.”
Elena had vanished with the child two weeks after Daniel’s funeral.
Then monthly withdrawals began from a private trust Daniel had created. The payments continued for three years and suddenly stopped.
“Victor administered the trust,” Noah said.
Margaret nodded.
Ethan laughed without humor. “Of course he did.”
They returned to Boston to meet Detective Lena Ortiz, who had taken over the case connecting the recorder, Daniel’s crash, and the fake bank access.
Ortiz was direct.
“The almond extract on the cake came from a bottle found in a catering trash bin,” she said. “We have a partial print.”
“Claire’s?” Ethan asked.
“No.”
She placed a photo on the table.
Richard Donovan.
Claire’s father.
Jenna closed her eyes.
“Why would he contaminate a cake at his daughter’s wedding?”
“We don’t know whether he intended anyone to eat it,” Ortiz said. “But we found something else.”
Security footage showed Richard entering the cake prep room at 1:09 P.M. He remained inside for three minutes.
At 1:15, Claire entered.
She saw the bottle.
She picked it up.
Then she looked directly at the security camera.
And instead of reporting it, she placed the bottle back exactly where it had been.
Ethan felt sick.
“She knew.”
Ortiz nodded. “At minimum, she knew something had been added.”
Jenna stood abruptly. “My daughter ate that frosting.”
“I know.”
“No. You don’t.” Jenna’s voice shook. “Claire watched a man tamper with food, knew Lily had an allergy, and said nothing.”
Ethan looked at Ortiz. “Did she know about the allergy?”
The detective slid over a printed message.
It was from Claire to Diane, sent two weeks earlier.
Make sure the Morgan kid gets the nut-free meal. She reacts badly.
May you like
Ethan stared at the sentence.
Claire had known exactly what could happen.
