CHAPTER 2 — THE SECRET BEHIND THE USB
CHAPTER 2 — THE SECRET BEHIND THE USB
The photograph lay faceup on the marble floor.
Claire couldn't take her eyes off it.
Her father.
Julian.
And the baby.
Her baby.
The child she had never remembered giving birth to.
For three years, Claire had believed the worst thing that had happened to her was losing her husband.
Now she wasn't sure she had ever known what her own life had been.
She slowly bent down and picked up the photograph.
Her fingers trembled.
“Where is my child?”
Nobody answered.
She looked at Julian.
“Where is my child?”
Julian's face was pale.
“Claire—”
“Where?”
“Not here.”
Her voice cracked.
“Where?”
Julian looked toward the elderly man.
The man said nothing.
Claire stepped toward Julian.
“You told me I couldn't have children.”
“I know.”
“You told me the surgery had made it impossible.”
“I know.”
“You told me I had miscarried.”
Julian closed his eyes.
Claire slapped him.
The sound echoed across the marble lobby.
Nobody moved.
“You let me mourn a child who was alive.”
Julian touched his cheek.
“I was trying to protect you.”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
The elderly man spoke quietly.
“Because it was true.”
Claire turned toward him.
“You don't get to say that.”
He nodded.
“You're right.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Marcus Vale.”
Claire stared at him.
“Why do you know my father?”
Marcus looked at Julian.
“Because your father hired me.”
“For what?”
“To protect his family.”
Claire's eyes narrowed.
“My father died.”
“No.”
Marcus shook his head.
“He disappeared.”
Claire looked at Julian.
Julian said nothing.
Marcus continued.
“Your father discovered something three years ago.”
“What?”
“A financial operation.”
Claire tightened her grip on the photograph.
“What kind?”
“Insurance fraud.”
“That's it?”
Marcus shook his head.
“Money laundering.”
Claire stared.
“Identity theft.”
Her breathing became slower.
“Corporate espionage.”
Julian looked at him.
“Marcus.”
“And murder.”
The last word seemed to silence the entire lobby.
Claire looked at Julian.
“You knew.”
Julian didn't deny it.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“And you let me believe I was crazy.”
“I never said you were crazy.”
“You told me I was imagining things.”
“I was trying to keep you away from them.”
“Who?”
Julian hesitated.
Marcus answered.
“The people who created the death.”
Claire frowned.
“What death?”
Marcus pointed toward the USB.
“Not Julian's.”
Claire froze.
“Then whose?”
Marcus said:
“Everyone's.”
THE FIRST FILE
Claire followed Julian and Marcus into a private conference room.
Vivian came with them.
Julian tried to stop her.
“You don't belong here.”
Vivian crossed her arms.
“After what I just heard, I think I belong exactly here.”
Claire looked at her.
“Why are you still here?”
Vivian met her eyes.
“Because I think I was chosen for a reason.”
Claire frowned.
“What reason?”
Vivian looked at Julian.
“I think he was using me.”
Julian remained silent.
Claire placed the USB on the table.
The small black device suddenly looked insignificant.
But everyone in the room stared at it as if it contained a bomb.
Marcus pulled out a laptop.
“Before we open it, understand something.”
Claire nodded.
“If the files are what I think they are, once we access them, whoever is monitoring this hotel will know.”
“Monitoring?”
Marcus looked at the ceiling.
“Cameras.”
Claire glanced upward.
“Everywhere?”
“Almost.”
Julian walked toward the door.
“Then don't open it.”
Claire turned.
“You're afraid.”
“Yes.”
It was the first time he had admitted it.
Claire studied him.
“What happened to you?”
Julian looked away.
“I made a deal.”
“With whom?”
“A man named Victor Hale.”
Marcus's expression changed.
Claire noticed.
“Who is Victor Hale?”
Marcus said nothing.
Julian answered:
“The man who owns the company that insured me.”
Claire's eyes widened.
“The insurance company.”
Julian nodded.
“They weren't supposed to insure me.”
“What does that mean?”
“They weren't supposed to exist.”
Marcus inserted the USB.
The screen went black.
Then a folder appeared.
PROJECT ORPHEUS.
Claire frowned.
“What is that?”
Julian whispered:
“Don't.”
Marcus clicked it.
Three folders appeared.
IDENTITIES.
PAYMENTS.
DEATHS.
Claire's stomach tightened.
“Open Deaths.”
Julian grabbed Marcus's wrist.
“No.”
Claire looked at him.
“Let him.”
Julian shook his head.
“Claire, please.”
She stared at him.
“You don't get to say please anymore.”
Marcus opened the folder.
A list appeared.
Names.
Dates.
Locations.
Causes of death.
Claire scanned them.
Then stopped.
One name.
JULIAN CROSS — PARIS — VEHICLE EXPLOSION — 03/17.
Her hands went cold.
“There.”
She pointed.
“That was you.”
Julian nodded.
“Yes.”
“But you didn't die.”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Julian's silence returned.
Marcus clicked the file.
A photograph appeared.
A burned vehicle.
A body inside.
Claire covered her mouth.
“Was that…”
“Yes.”
Julian's voice was barely audible.
“That was someone else.”
“Who?”
“An employee.”
Claire stared at him.
“You put someone in the car.”
Julian looked down.
“Yes.”
Her eyes filled with disgust.
“You killed him.”
“No.”
Marcus interrupted.
“He was already dead.”
Claire turned.
“What?”
Marcus explained.
“The man in the car had been declared dead six months before the crash.”
Claire stared at the screen.
“Then how?”
“His identity was transferred to Julian.”
Claire felt sick.
“They stole a dead man's identity?”
“Exactly.”
Julian sat down.
Claire looked at him.
“So your death was staged.”
“Yes.”
“And the insurance company paid.”
“Yes.”
“And the money went somewhere.”
Julian looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Marcus opened another file.
The destination account appeared.
Claire recognized the name.
Her own family trust.
She froze.
“No.”
Julian looked at her.
“I never took the money.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“The money was transferred into the trust.”
“My trust?”
“Your father's trust.”
Claire shook her head.
“My father never had an account like that.”
Marcus looked at her.
“He did.”
THE WOMAN WHO SIGNED
A second document opened.
A signature appeared at the bottom.
Claire leaned closer.
The name was unmistakable.
Claire Bennett.
Her own signature.
She stepped backward.
“No.”
Julian looked at her.
“You signed it.”
“I did not.”
Marcus opened the metadata.
Date.
Three years ago.
Location.
Paris.
Claire stared.
“I wasn't in Paris.”
“You were.”
“No.”
“You just don't remember.”
Claire's breathing became shallow.
“What happened in Paris?”
Julian looked at Marcus.
Marcus shook his head.
“Tell her.”
Julian remained silent.
Claire screamed:
“Tell me!”
Julian finally spoke.
“You were there when I disappeared.”
Claire shook her head.
“I went to Paris once.”
“When?”
“Five years ago.”
“No.”
Julian looked at her.
“Three years ago.”
Claire stared.
“That isn't possible.”
“You don't remember.”
“Why?”
Julian whispered:
“Because you were drugged.”
Claire's stomach dropped.
“By whom?”
Julian looked at the screen.
“Your father.”
THE MISSING NIGHT
The conference room seemed to shrink around her.
Claire sat down.
“My father drugged me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To make you sign.”
“Sign what?”
Julian pointed toward the screen.
“The trust documents.”
Claire stared at her signature.
“What did I sign?”
Marcus opened the next file.
A legal document appeared.
Claire read the first paragraph.
Her face changed.
She read it again.
Then again.
“No.”
“What is it?” Vivian asked.
Claire couldn't answer.
Marcus did.
“Power of attorney.”
Vivian frowned.
“Power of attorney for what?”
Marcus scrolled.
“Everything.”
Claire stared.
Her property.
Her accounts.
Her inheritance.
Her company shares.
Her voting rights.
All transferred.
To Julian.
Claire felt like she couldn't breathe.
“He took everything.”
Julian whispered:
“I didn't.”
Claire looked at him.
“Your name is on it.”
“Yes.”
“Your signature.”
“Yes.”
“You received the money.”
“Yes.”
“And you still want me to believe you didn't steal from me?”
Julian looked at her.
“I was forced.”
Claire laughed.
“Of course.”
“I was.”
“By whom?”
He didn't answer.
Claire stood.
“Who?”
Julian finally said:
“Your father.”
THE MAN BEHIND THE DEATHS
Marcus closed the laptop.
“We need to leave.”
Claire looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because the system has detected the USB.”
A small red light appeared on the laptop.
REMOTE ACCESS DETECTED.
Julian stood.
“How long?”
“Maybe two minutes.”
Vivian grabbed her purse.
“Where do we go?”
Marcus looked at Claire.
“The basement.”
Claire frowned.
“Why?”
“Because the basement isn't connected to the hotel network.”
They hurried into the service corridor.
Claire kept the USB in her hand.
Julian stayed behind her.
She turned.
“Don't follow me.”
“I need to.”
“You've lied to me for three years.”
“I know.”
“You let me think you were dead.”
“I know.”
“You made me think our child was dead.”
“I know.”
“Then why should I trust you?”
Julian stopped.
“You shouldn't.”
Claire stared.
At least that answer was honest.
They reached the basement.
Marcus opened a steel door.
Inside was a small room filled with old servers.
Claire looked around.
“What is this?”
“The original security system.”
“For the hotel?”
Marcus shook his head.
“For the entire empire.”
Claire froze.
“What empire?”
Marcus looked at her.
“The hotel is only the front.”
THE SECOND DATABASE
Marcus turned on an old monitor.
Hundreds of files appeared.
Hotels.
Banks.
Insurance companies.
Construction firms.
Private security agencies.
Shipping companies.
Everything connected.
Claire stared.
“How much?”
Marcus answered:
“Twenty-seven billion dollars.”
Vivian sat down.
“Oh my God.”
Claire looked at Julian.
“You were part of this.”
Julian shook his head.
“I was trying to get out.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“What changed?”
“I found the list.”
“What list?”
“The people who were going to disappear.”
Claire froze.
“Who was on it?”
Julian looked at her.
“You.”
Claire's blood went cold.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you found the first account.”
Claire remembered.
Three years earlier.
She had discovered unusual transfers from her father's company.
She had confronted Julian.
He had told her it was nothing.
She had believed him.
Then she remembered something else.
A conversation.
Late at night.
Julian arguing with someone.
A man's voice.
“If she remembers, she dies.”
Claire had forgotten that voice.
Or thought she had.
Now she knew.
“Victor Hale.”
Julian nodded.
“Yes.”
Claire looked at Marcus.
“Who is he?”
Marcus hesitated.
Then said:
“The real owner of the empire.”
Claire frowned.
“But the hotel belongs to Vivian's family.”
Marcus shook his head.
“On paper.”
Vivian stared.
“What?”
“The shares were transferred through twelve shell companies.”
Vivian's face went pale.
“My father?”
“Your father doesn't know.”
Claire looked at Julian.
“And you?”
“I found out.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“And you faked your death.”
“Yes.”
“To escape.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you leave me behind?”
Julian looked at her.
“Because they told me if I took you with me, they'd kill you.”
Claire's voice broke.
“So you abandoned me.”
“Yes.”
“Instead of fighting.”
“Yes.”
She stared at him.
Then whispered:
“I would have fought with you.”
Julian closed his eyes.
“I know.”
THE CHILD
A sound came from the hallway.
Everyone froze.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Someone was coming.
Marcus reached for the security panel.
“Stay here.”
Claire grabbed his arm.
“No.”
The footsteps stopped.
Then a child's voice came through the door.
“Mom?”
Claire stopped breathing.
Julian's face went white.
Vivian covered her mouth.
Claire slowly walked toward the door.
Her hand trembled as she touched the handle.
She opened it.
A little girl stood in the hallway.
Maybe six years old.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A silver bracelet around her wrist.
The same bracelet Claire remembered from the photograph.
The girl stared at her.
Then smiled.
“Mommy?”
Claire couldn't move.
The world disappeared.
Three years of grief.
Three years of confusion.
Three years of believing she had never been a mother.
All of it collapsed.
Claire fell to her knees.
The little girl ran into her arms.
Claire held her so tightly the child laughed.
“You're real.”
The girl touched her face.
“Daddy said you forgot me.”
Claire began crying.
“What's your name?”
The girl smiled.
“Lily.”
Claire looked over her shoulder.
Julian was crying.
For the first time, she saw him without the mask.
Not the billionaire.
Not the liar.
Not the man who had destroyed her life.
Just a father.
And Claire finally understood.
He hadn't only been hiding the child from her.
He had been hiding the child from someone else.
The footsteps returned.
Marcus looked toward the corridor.
“We have to go.”
Claire stood with Lily in her arms.
“Who is coming?”
Marcus looked at Julian.
Julian whispered:
“Victor.”
THE CALL
The old monitor suddenly turned on.
A man's face appeared.
Older.
Calm.
Perfectly dressed.
He smiled.
“Hello, Claire.”
She stared.
“You're Victor Hale.”
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“That doesn't matter.”
“You took my family.”
“No.”
Victor smiled.
“Your father did.”
Claire's eyes narrowed.
“What do you want?”
“I want my property returned.”
“What property?”
Victor's expression hardened.
“The USB.”
Claire looked down.
She still held it.
Victor continued.
“And your daughter.”
Claire's arms tightened around Lily.
“No.”
“You misunderstand.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“You have something I need.”
“What?”
Victor smiled.
“Your memory.”
Claire froze.
Victor leaned closer to the camera.
“You still don't remember the most important part of that night.”
“What night?”
“The night you killed your father.”
Claire's blood ran cold.
“What?”
Julian stepped forward.
“Don't listen to him.”
Victor smiled.
“Oh, Julian.”
Then he looked at Claire.
“Ask your husband what happened in Paris at 11:47 p.m.”
Claire turned toward Julian.
His face had gone completely white.
“Julian?”
He said nothing.
“Tell me.”
He closed his eyes.
Claire's voice rose.
“Tell me what happened at 11:47.”
Julian finally looked at her.
“You shot him.”
Claire stopped breathing.
“I did what?”
“You shot your father.”
“No.”
“You don't remember.”
“No.”
Julian's voice broke.
“You killed him.”
Claire shook her head.
“I would never.”
“You did.”
Victor smiled from the screen.
“And that's why your memory was erased.”
Claire stared at him.
Victor continued:
“Because if you remembered the truth, you would remember who pulled the trigger.”
The screen went black.
Claire stood frozen.
Lily was still in her arms.
Julian was crying.
Marcus looked terrified.
And the USB drive suddenly began to vibrate in Claire's hand.
The screen flickered back on.
One final file had appeared.
11:47 PM — CAMERA FOOTAGE
Claire stared at it.
The file had one instruction beneath it.
PLAY ONLY IF YOU ARE READY TO REMEMBER.
Claire reached toward the mouse.
Her finger hovered above the button.
Then she clicked.
The screen turned black.
A timestamp appeared.
11:46:58 PM.
A door opened.
Claire walked into the room.
Her father stood facing her.
May you like
And three seconds later—
the gun went off.
