Chapter 14 - THE NIGHT SHE TRIED TO LEAVE
We found Clara’s car in long-term parking.
Her flight was not until January, but the trunk was already packed.
The spare-tire compartment held a waterproof envelope.
Inside were bank statements, copied signatures, and a handwritten ledger showing every Blue Mesa payment. Beside several entries, Clara had written NICO ONLY.
Beside others: B.H.
Brandon Hale.
The largest withdrawal had not happened yet.
The $850,000 transfer was supposed to be the final one.
The detective photographed everything.
Then my phone rang.
Clara.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“At home.”
I looked across the parking garage at Camila.
“Stay there.”
When we arrived, Clara sat at the kitchen island wearing sweatpants and no makeup. Without the fake belly, she looked smaller than I remembered.
Sofia was still with my parents.
Good.
Clara pushed a folder toward me.
“I was going to turn on Nico.”
“When?”
“After I got away.”
“With my money?”
“With enough to start over.”
“That sounds like my money.”
She winced.
I sat across from her.
“Why didn’t you tell me you lost the pregnancy?”
Her face crumpled.
“Because you were happy.”
“So you lied for seven months?”
“At first I thought I could fix it.”
“How?”
She looked away.
That answer told me everything.
There was no fixing it. Only extending it.
Clara admitted Nico found out after he saw the prosthetic receipt. He told her he could help build a believable story. Then he discovered how much authority the “baby” could unlock in the estate update.
“And Brandon?”
“He knew about the money. Not at first about the pregnancy.”
“Did he forge my signature?”
She nodded.
I closed my eyes.
Then Clara said, “There’s one more thing you don’t know.”
I opened them.
She looked toward the hallway where Sofia’s bedroom was.
“The first person who caught me wasn’t Sofia.”
May you like
“Who was it?”
“Your mother.”
