Chapter 12 - Claire’s Bargain
Claire requested a meeting with prosecutors.
Nathan’s red book contained evidence that could send her to prison for decades.
Her attorneys wanted a plea agreement.
She offered testimony against Nathan, the Vale directors, and the officials listed in the ledger.
In exchange, she wanted reduced charges for Mia’s kidnapping and Elena’s death.
Mia attended the hearing.
Claire entered wearing a plain gray suit.
The glamorous woman from the mansion appeared smaller without the wealth surrounding her.
She looked toward Mia.
“I am sorry.”
Mia remained silent.
Claire continued.
“Nathan threatened me.”
“He said if I released you, he would kill me.”
“You had seventy-one hours,” Mia said.
“You brought water once.”
“You heard my daughter crying above us.”
“You still closed the door.”
Claire’s face tightened.
“I was afraid.”
“So was Harper.”
“She still kept knocking.”
The prosecutor asked Claire to explain Elena’s death.
Claire admitted following Elena onto the mountain road.
Nathan called her throughout the drive.
Victor had cut the brake line.
Elena tried to slow down by using the shoulder.
Nathan ordered Claire to strike the rear side of the car.
“He said it would turn Elena away from the cliff,” Claire claimed.
“Did you believe him?” Serena asked.
Claire looked down.
“No.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“Because Nathan had recordings proving I helped move foundation money.”
“I thought Elena would stop.”
“She did not.”
“She went through the barrier.”
“Did you call for help?”
“No.”
“Did you check whether she was alive?”
Claire’s eyes filled.
“I walked toward the car.”
“I heard her phone.”
“She was speaking to someone.”
“Then Nathan told me to leave.”
Mia’s voice was cold.
“You chose yourself.”
“Yes.”
Claire also admitted entering Harper’s room with Nathan.
She watched him cut open the rabbit.
She knew the child remained alone while Mia was trapped.
She told the staff Mia had left for a family emergency.
“Why did you not kill Mia?” the prosecutor asked.
“Nathan wanted to know where she hid the key.”
“He believed the chapel files would disappear once Dominic died.”
“And after she told you?”
Claire did not answer.
Mia understood.
They had not intended to release her.
Claire’s testimony was valuable.
But it did not erase her choices.
The court accepted a limited cooperation agreement.
She would still serve a long prison sentence.
Before guards led her away, she turned toward Dominic.
“Did you ever love me?”
Dominic looked at her for several seconds.
“I loved the person you studied me well enough to perform.”
Claire flinched.
“And now?”
“Now I know she never existed.”
Claire’s eyes moved toward Mia.
“You took everything from me.”
Mia stood.
“No.”
“I survived you.”
“There is a difference.”
Claire was taken away.
Nathan rejected every plea offer.
He continued claiming the red book was fiction.
Then Arthur Bell returned.
His testimony placed Nathan inside the garage.
Victor Shaw agreed to cooperate.
Company emails connected Nathan to the offshore money.
Harper’s memory connected him to Mia’s imprisonment.
The child would not testify in an open courtroom.
Her recorded forensic interview was enough.
But one piece remained missing.
Nathan claimed Dominic ordered the foundation transfers.
Several documents carried Dominic’s electronic signature.
If a jury believed Nathan, Dominic could face charges too.
Lucas found the source of the signatures.
Nathan had installed a biometric reader beneath Dominic’s desk years earlier.
Every time Dominic rested his thumb on the decorative panel, the device copied his fingerprint.
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Nathan had not only copied Dominic’s authority.
He had harvested his identity inside the office where they spoke as friends.
