She Slapped the Disabled Mafia Boss in His Own Mansion—Then the Nurse Pulled Two Pills From Her Pocket

Claire asked to speak to Nicholas without detectives in the room.

They refused.

Nicholas almost refused too.

Then Hannah said, "You need to hear what part was hers."

Claire sat across from him without makeup, jewelry, or her practiced smile.

"I did not know about Rebecca when we got engaged," she said.

Nicholas waited.

"Carlo contacted me four months after your accident. He said my father's debt belonged to him now. He showed me the trust. He told me if I married you, my family would be free."

"And the medication?"

Claire looked down.

"At first he told me they were supplements. Then I realized they weren't."

"When?"

"Six weeks ago."

Nicholas's jaw tightened.

"You kept giving them to me."

"Yes."

She offered no excuse.

"And when Hannah started asking questions, I paid her to leave."

Hannah stood near the wall.

"Ten thousand dollars."

Claire nodded.

"I thought if you quit, nobody would get hurt."

"My father was already dead," Hannah said.

Claire flinched.

Nicholas asked about the slap.

Claire's eyes filled.

"You told me that morning you wanted to postpone the wedding. Carlo said if it didn't happen, my sister would disappear. I panicked. You said I was acting like a stranger. I hated you for noticing."

"So you hit me."

"Yes."

Nicholas stared at her for a long time.

"Fear explains you. It does not absolve you."

Claire nodded.

"I know."

Then she pushed a folded note across the table.

"There is one more person."

The note contained a bank account and initials: L.P.

Leonard Price.

The retired judge.

Claire said Carlo had transferred money to him after every major step in the plan.