PART 6: THE FRIEND WHO WAS NEVER A FRIEND
PART 6: THE FRIEND WHO WAS NEVER A FRIEND
The world stopped.
I stared at him.
A man I had known since childhood.
A man who attended my birthday parties.
A man who stood beside my father at my mother’s funeral.
A man who called me “little Claire” when I was a child.
Thomas Hale.
My father’s closest friend.
The person my family trusted.
The person who just walked into the house after someone tried to kill me.
Evelyn stepped in front of me.
“Thomas.”
Her voice was full of disbelief.
“What are you doing?”
Thomas looked at her.
Almost sadly.
“You always were too emotional, Evelyn.”
My stomach tightened.
Because those words sounded familiar.
The same way Daniel talked.
The same way people talked when they believed they were above everyone.
My father’s friend smiled.
“Claire, you’ve grown.”
I couldn’t move.
“You shot at us.”
He tilted his head.
“Did I?”
The calmness in his voice terrified me.
“You tried to kill me.”
He sighed.
“No.”
“I tried to stop you from finding something you were never supposed to know.”
Evelyn laughed bitterly.
“Still lying after all these years?”
Thomas looked at her.
“You should have stayed quiet.”
My eyes moved between them.
“What is happening?”
Neither answered.
Then Thomas looked at me.
“Your mother was good at hiding things.”
He stepped inside.
“But she wasn’t as clever as she thought.”
My anger grew.
“You knew my mother?”
He smiled.
“I knew her better than anyone.”
That sentence made me uncomfortable.
Because my father always said my mother trusted Thomas.
Too much.
I looked at Evelyn.
She looked scared.
Not angry.
Scared.
“What did you do to my mother?”
Thomas’s face changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
“You ask the wrong question.”
“Then what should I ask?”
He looked at me.
“You should ask why she died.”
The room became silent.
My mother’s death.
The one thing I never questioned.
She died in an accident.
That was what everyone told me.
My father.
The doctors.
The police.
Everyone.
But now…
Everything was changing.
“She didn’t die by accident.”
Thomas said it quietly.
And somehow that was worse.
My knees felt weak.
“No.”
Evelyn looked down.
Because she knew.
“You knew.”
I looked at her.
“You knew?”
She closed her eyes.
“I suspected.”
My heart broke.
“Everyone knew something except me?”
Nobody answered.
Because they did.
They all protected me with secrets.
And those secrets created the life I was living.
Thomas walked toward the table.
He placed a folder down.
“You want the truth?”
He asked.
I didn’t answer.
But my silence was enough.
He opened it.
Inside were photographs.
Old documents.
And one picture.
My mother.
Young.
Standing beside Thomas.
Too close.
My breath stopped.
“What is this?”
Thomas looked at the picture.
“Your mother and I were partners.”
My face hardened.
“Business partners?”
He smiled.
“Among other things.”
I felt sick.
My entire image of my mother shifted.
“She was married to my father.”
“Yes.”
“And you…”
He nodded.
“She loved me.”
The words hurt.
Not because I cared about my mother’s past.
Because I realized how many lies surrounded me.
Thomas continued:
“Your father took everything from us.”
I shook my head.
“My father loved her.”
Thomas laughed.
“Your father loved what she built.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“He only cared about the company.”
I remembered my father’s tears.
His fear when he saw me hurt.
That didn’t look like a man who only cared about money.
But doubt had entered.
And doubt was dangerous.
Thomas leaned closer.
“Your mother was going to leave.”
I froze.
“What?”
“She planned to take you and disappear.”
My hand moved over my stomach.
Trying to calm myself.
“Why?”
Thomas’s eyes darkened.
“Because she discovered what your father had done.”
My father.
Again.
The same name.
The same person.
I shook my head.
“You’re lying.”
Thomas smiled.
“That’s what everyone says when the truth hurts.”
My phone rang.
My father.
I answered immediately.
“Dad.”
His voice came fast.
“Claire, where are you?”
I looked at Thomas.
“Evelyn’s house.”
Silence.
Then my father said:
“Leave.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“Leave now.”
“Why?”
A pause.
Then:
“Because Thomas is not who you think.”
Thomas smiled.
He knew.
He knew my father was warning me.
My father continued:
“Claire, listen to me.”
“Do not trust him.”
The call suddenly cut.
Thomas looked at me.
“Your father always did like controlling the story.”
I stared at him.
“What did you do?”
Before he could answer…
The front door opened.
My father rushed inside.
With security behind him.
The moment he saw Thomas…
Everything exploded.
My father’s face turned white.
“You.”
Thomas smiled.
“Hello, Samuel.”
My father stepped forward.
“Stay away from my daughter.”
Thomas laughed.
“Your daughter?”
The words were filled with hatred.
“After everything you did?”
My father stopped.
I looked at him.
“Dad?”
Thomas pulled out a document.
And threw it onto the table.
“Ask him.”
My father didn’t move.
“What is that?”
Thomas smiled.
“The truth about Claire’s birth.”
My blood ran cold.
My father looked at the paper.
May you like
And for the first time in my life…
I saw fear in his eyes.
