Chapter 15 - Claire
Claire Bennett was twenty-four, a veterinary technician from Raleigh, and had no idea she had been born into a war over money.
Miles Grant had called her before disappearing.
“He said my birth mother might contact me,” Claire told Maya over the phone. “He said not to believe her.”
“Did he say where he was?”
“No. He sounded hurt.”
Maya put the call on speaker for Marcus.
Claire continued. “He mailed me something last week. I thought it was a scam.”
“What?”
“A key and a bank deposit receipt.”
Marcus’s eyes sharpened. “Which bank?”
Claire named a private bank downtown.
In the hangar, Eleanor was still talking.
“I never wanted Claire involved,” she told Leo. “Miles did. He said we could use her bloodline to reopen Adrian’s trust.”
“So this was all about money.”
“It started with money. Then it became about what was stolen from me.”
“You married my father.”
“I cared for Julian.”
“You tried to have him declared incompetent.”
Eleanor’s jaw tightened. “Because he would never see what his family did.”
A siren sounded in the distance.
Eleanor turned toward the hangar doors.
That was the mistake Marcus had been waiting for.
Police surged in.
Leo dropped behind the metal table.
Eleanor fired once into the ceiling and ran.
Maya saw her bolt through a side exit toward a fuel truck.
“Stop!”
Eleanor climbed into the cab.
The engine roared.
Julian jumped from the command van before anyone could stop him.
“Leo!”
The truck lurched forward.
Straight toward the open hangar.
May you like
Leo was still inside.
Julian ran into its path.
