Chapter 6 - The Truth That Could Ruin a Dynasty
Claire turned off the apartment lights.
Margaret pressed a hand over her mouth.
From the hallway came the sound of hurried footsteps.
Then Daniel's voice.
"Claire, stay inside."
A heavy impact shook the door.
Claire backed away.
Another thud followed.
Then silence.
Her heart pounded so hard she could barely hear.
She grabbed her phone and dialed 911.
Before she could speak, Daniel called through the door.
"It's me. The hallway is clear. I've called the police."
Claire didn't open immediately.
"How do I know it's really you?"
"You met me outside Kingman. I showed you a photograph of your father's accident. I told you I owed him a favor."
She looked through the peephole.
Daniel stood alone, breathing hard, with blood on his knuckles.
A man lay motionless near the stairwell.
"Who is that?" Claire whispered.
"Someone who wasn't supposed to know where you were."
The police arrived minutes later.
Daniel explained that a stranger had followed him into the building and attacked him when he tried to leave.
Security cameras confirmed the confrontation.
The injured man was taken to a hospital under police supervision.
Claire gave a statement, carefully avoiding details that might reveal her father's evidence.
When the officers finally left, Daniel turned to Margaret.
"Why are you here?"
Margaret lifted her chin.
"Because Robert's daughter deserves the truth."
"Not like this."
"She's already in danger."
Daniel looked at Claire.
"She's right about that."
Claire crossed her arms.
"Then stop deciding what I can handle."
Neither spoke.
Claire held up her father's letter.
"Who was Vincent's real father?"
Daniel sat down.
"Robert Bennett."
The words seemed to remove the air from the room.
Claire stumbled backward.
"No."
Margaret reached for her.
"Claire—"
"No. That's impossible."
Daniel spoke carefully.
"Your father and Elena were involved before she married Lorenzo. The hospital records suggest Robert was Vincent's biological father."
Claire shook her head.
"Vincent is my husband. My father couldn't possibly be his father."
Margaret's eyes filled with sympathy.
"The letters make clear that Robert believed he was Vincent's father. But there is more you need to know before drawing conclusions."
Claire stared at her.
"Tell me."
"Your mother met Robert almost two years after Vincent was born. Claire, Robert Bennett was your father in every way that mattered, but we have reason to believe he was not your biological father."
Claire sank into a chair.
"What?"
Margaret continued gently.
"Your mother was already pregnant when they met. Robert raised you as his own. He never wanted you to feel any different."
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
"My mother told me he was my father."
"He was. He loved you from the day he met you."
Daniel placed another photograph on the table.
It showed Claire's mother as a young woman, standing beside Robert outside a courthouse.
Claire recognized her mother's handwriting on the back.
The day he promised to love us both.
Claire pressed the photograph to her chest.
The shock was almost unbearable.
But one question mattered more than everything else.
"Are Vincent and I related?"
Daniel shook his head.
"Not according to what we've found. But the records are incomplete, and I won't pretend they're proof. We need independent verification."
Claire stared at him.
"You should have led with that."
"You're right."
She stood and walked to the window.
Her reflection stared back at her.
For three years, she'd been Claire Moretti.
Before that, Claire Bennett.
Now even the history of her family felt uncertain.
She looked at Margaret.
"Did Vincent know?"
"No. Robert intended to tell him. That's why he arranged a meeting at the casino six years ago."
"The day before his accident?"
Margaret nodded.
Claire closed her eyes.
Somewhere in Las Vegas, Vincent was searching for a wife he had already lost.
But perhaps he was also searching for a father he never knew existed.
Then Daniel's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression darkened.
"What?" he answered.
Claire watched him listen.
"Are you certain?"
Another pause.
"Send me the footage."
He ended the call.
"What happened?" Claire asked.
Daniel looked directly at her.
"The man who followed us wasn't working for Lorenzo."
Claire's stomach dropped.
"Then who?"
Daniel turned the phone around.
On the screen was a photograph of the suspect meeting a woman outside a casino.
A beautiful woman with dark hair.
An expensive handbag.
And a familiar white dress.
Isabella.
Claire stared at the photograph.
May you like
Her former best friend wasn't simply trying to steal her husband.
She was hunting her father's secrets.
