CHAPTER 2 — CLAIRE'S PERFECT ALIBI
CHAPTER 2 — CLAIRE'S PERFECT ALIBI
By seven o'clock that morning, Claire Bennett had already prepared her story.
It was simple.
Elegant.
Believable.
That was what made it dangerous.
She stood in front of the bathroom mirror wearing a pale blue dress, her hair tied loosely behind her neck. Her face looked tired enough to appear innocent, but not so tired that anyone would suspect she had spent most of the night deleting messages.
On the counter beside her sat a glass of untouched water.
Underneath it was a second phone.
A phone Dominic didn't know existed.
Claire picked it up.
One message remained on the screen.
NATHAN: DID YOU HANDLE THE CAMERA?
She typed:
YES.
Then deleted the conversation.
She stared at herself.
For several seconds, she didn't move.
"Just one more day," she whispered.
One more day until the wedding.
One more day until Dominic signed the documents.
One more day until everything she had been ordered to do was finished.
But deep inside, a voice kept asking the same question.
What if she couldn't do it?
What if Dominic discovered the truth before she could protect him?
What if Nathan discovered that she had started protecting Dominic from him?
Claire closed her eyes.
Then she heard a knock.
"Claire?"
Dominic.
She quickly slipped the second phone into a drawer.
"Come in."
The door opened.
Dominic stood there.
His expression was unreadable.
He didn't kiss her.
He didn't smile.
He simply looked at her.
"Good morning."
"Good morning."
"Did you sleep?"
"A little."
Dominic nodded.
Then:
"Where were you between eleven forty and twelve twenty-three three nights ago?"
Claire's heart skipped.
But only once.
She had prepared for this.
"I was here."
"Here?"
"Yes."
"Doing what?"
"Planning the wedding."
Dominic studied her.
"What part?"
Claire smiled faintly.
"The seating arrangement."
"Who were you speaking to?"
"The wedding coordinator."
"What was her name?"
Claire answered immediately.
"Rebecca."
Dominic waited.
"Rebecca what?"
"Rebecca Hall."
Perfect.
She had checked the coordinator's full name the night before.
Dominic nodded.
"And she can confirm you were here?"
"Of course."
"Good."
Claire's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
"Because I'm going to ask her."
A tiny silence.
Then Claire smiled.
"Go ahead."
Dominic turned toward the door.
Before leaving, he stopped.
"Claire."
"Yes?"
"When did you first meet Nathan?"
She looked at him.
"After I met you."
Dominic said nothing.
Then he walked out.
Claire's smile disappeared.
Downstairs, Dominic found Nathan in the kitchen.
He was drinking coffee.
Exactly as he had every morning for seventeen years.
Dominic stood across from him.
"Nathan."
"Morning."
"Where were you three nights ago?"
Nathan looked up.
"At the house."
"All night?"
"Yes."
"Doing what?"
"Security."
Dominic poured himself coffee.
"Who saw you?"
Nathan shrugged.
"Marcus."
Dominic looked at him.
"Marcus says you left the estate at eleven twenty."
Nathan's hand stopped.
Only for a fraction of a second.
Then he continued drinking.
"Did he?"
"Yes."
"Then I guess I did."
"Where did you go?"
"To check the northern property."
"Why?"
"We had an alarm."
"What alarm?"
Nathan stared at him.
"You know how this works, Dom."
"I know exactly how it works."
Dominic put the cup down.
"That's why I'm asking."
Nathan smiled.
"There was a motion alert. Nothing serious."
"Who authorized it?"
"I did."
"Convenient."
Nathan's smile faded.
"You don't trust me."
Dominic looked directly into his eyes.
"Should I?"
Neither man spoke.
Then Nathan's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
Dominic noticed.
The caller ID said:
CLAIRE.
Nathan answered.
"Yes?"
Dominic heard only one side.
Nathan listened.
Then said:
"I'll handle it."
He hung up.
Dominic's expression didn't change.
"What did she need?"
"Wedding arrangements."
"At seven in the morning?"
Nathan smiled.
"She's nervous."
Dominic nodded.
"She should be."
At nine o'clock, Dominic called Rebecca Hall.
She answered from her office.
"Mr. Vale?"
"Rebecca, I need to ask you about Claire."
A pause.
"Is something wrong?"
"Where was she three nights ago?"
Rebecca hesitated.
"She was at the estate."
"All night?"
"Yes."
"You're certain?"
"Absolutely."
"What time did you leave?"
Another pause.
"I didn't."
Dominic frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I stayed there until nearly midnight."
"Why?"
"We were finalizing the seating chart."
Dominic's fingers tightened around the phone.
"Who else was there?"
"Claire."
"Anyone else?"
"Mr. Cross stopped by."
Dominic went still.
"Nathan?"
"Yes."
"What time?"
"About eleven forty."
"How long did he stay?"
"Maybe twenty minutes."
Dominic looked through the window.
"Rebecca."
"Yes?"
"Did you see Claire after Nathan left?"
"Yes."
"What was she doing?"
"She was in the dining room."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
Dominic ended the call.
His mind was already calculating.
Rebecca had just confirmed Claire's alibi.
But there was a problem.
The security system showed Claire's device entering the cellar at eleven forty-eight.
Eight minutes after Nathan supposedly left.
Dominic opened the security records again.
He enlarged the image.
The camera was blurry.
But the person entering the cellar had Claire's height.
Claire's coat.
Claire's shoes.
Dominic stared.
Then he noticed something else.
The figure was wearing gloves.
And Claire had never worn gloves that night.
At ten fifteen, Dominic went to see Mia.
She was awake.
Harper sat beside her, coloring in a notebook.
When Dominic entered, Harper looked up.
"Mr. Dominic."
"How are you?"
"Mommy says she's getting better."
Mia smiled weakly.
"She keeps telling everyone I'm fine."
"Because you are."
"Not yet."
Dominic pulled a chair closer.
"I need to ask you something."
Mia nodded.
"Did Claire come into the cellar the night you disappeared?"
Mia's face changed.
"No."
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
"Then who did?"
Mia looked at Harper.
Dominic noticed.
"Tell me."
Mia lowered her voice.
"Someone wearing Claire's coat."
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"But it wasn't Claire."
"How do you know?"
"Because I heard her voice."
"Whose?"
Mia whispered:
"Nathan."
Dominic leaned back.
Nathan had dressed someone in Claire's clothes.
He had created an image.
A perfect alibi.
A perfect frame.
But why?
Mia continued.
"He wanted me to believe Claire had ordered it."
"Did he say why?"
"He said..."
She stopped.
"What?"
Mia swallowed.
"He said Dominic must hate her before the wedding."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"So the plan wasn't just to kidnap you."
"No."
Mia looked at him.
"The plan was to make you destroy Claire."
That afternoon, Dominic confronted Claire again.
She was in the garden.
The wedding planner's books were spread across a table.
Flowers.
Guest lists.
Menus.
Everything looked normal.
Too normal.
Dominic sat across from her.
"I spoke to Rebecca."
Claire smiled.
"Good."
"She confirmed your alibi."
"See?"
"You were with her until midnight."
"Yes."
"Then why did your phone enter the cellar at eleven forty-eight?"
Claire's smile disappeared.
"What?"
Dominic placed the security photograph on the table.
Claire stared.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then:
"That's not me."
"I know."
She looked up.
"What?"
"I know."
Claire's heart began pounding.
"Then why are you showing me?"
"Because someone wants me to believe it was you."
Claire slowly sat down.
"Nathan."
Dominic didn't answer.
She looked at him.
"You don't trust him."
"Not anymore."
Claire swallowed.
"Then you need to leave."
"Why?"
"Because if Nathan knows you suspect him, he'll kill you."
Dominic studied her.
"You're worried about me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Claire looked away.
"Because I love you."
Dominic's face softened for the first time.
Then he asked:
"Did you know Mia was in the cellar?"
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
"No."
"Did you ever go there with Nathan?"
"No."
"Did you ever use another name?"
Silence.
Claire looked at him.
That was the question she had feared.
She whispered:
"Yes."
Dominic's face became cold again.
"What name?"
Claire didn't answer.
"Claire."
She stood.
"Please."
"What name?"
She looked at him.
"Evelyn."
Dominic's stomach tightened.
"Evelyn what?"
Before she could answer, glass shattered behind them.
A bullet tore through the garden window.
Dominic grabbed Claire and pulled her to the ground.
Another shot.
Then another.
Guards rushed into the garden.
"DOWN!"
Dominic covered Claire with his body.
The shooter disappeared.
When the shooting stopped, Claire was shaking.
Dominic looked at her.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Good."
He stood.
Then looked toward the shattered window.
A single envelope had been pinned to the wooden frame by a bullet.
Dominic removed it.
There was no name.
Only one sentence.
ASK HER WHO SHE WAS BEFORE SHE BECAME YOUR FIANCÉE.
Dominic looked at Claire.
She closed her eyes.
The secret was no longer hiding.
It was standing between them.
That evening, Nathan entered his private office.
He locked the door.
Then opened a drawer.
Inside were passports.
Three of them belonged to Claire.
All carried different names.
He picked up the oldest.
EVELYN MARLOWE.
Then another.
ISABELLA VALE.
Nathan stared at the second passport.
He whispered:
"You should never have survived."
His phone rang.
Claire.
He answered.
"What?"
Her voice was cold.
"You shot at us."
"I had to."
"You could have killed Dominic."
"I didn't."
"You don't understand."
"I understand perfectly."
Nathan's voice hardened.
"If Dominic discovers who you really are, everything collapses."
Claire whispered:
"Maybe everything should."
Nathan went silent.
"You've changed."
"Yes."
"Because of him?"
"Yes."
Nathan laughed bitterly.
"You're going to destroy everything for Dominic Vale?"
Claire closed her eyes.
"No."
She looked toward the window.
"I'm going to destroy everything that was built on lies."
Nathan's voice became dangerous.
"Then you're my enemy now."
Claire hung up.
At midnight, Dominic stood alone in his study.
He had three photographs on his desk.
Claire.
Evelyn Marlowe.
Isabella Vale.
Three women.
One face.
One mystery.
He opened the final file.
Inside was a birth certificate.
The name of the father had been blacked out.
The mother's name read:
ELENA MARLOWE.
Dominic stopped breathing.
Elena.
His dead wife.
He read the date.
Then looked at Claire's photograph.
The date matched.
Claire had been born three years before Dominic met Elena.
His hands began to shake.
If the document was real, Claire wasn't simply connected to Elena.
She was family.
And if that was true—
then the woman Dominic intended to marry had been carrying a secret connected to his dead wife from the very beginning.
A soft knock came at the door.
Dominic looked up.
Claire stood there.
She wasn't crying anymore.
She looked strangely calm.
"I think it's time," she said.
"For what?"
"For me to tell you who I really am."
Dominic stood.
"Then start with the truth."
Claire closed the door behind her.
And whispered:
"My name isn't Claire Bennett."
The clock struck midnight.
And somewhere beneath the mansion, behind the cellar wall, a hidden mechanism clicked open.
Neither of them heard it.
May you like
Neither knew that another secret had just been exposed.
And this one had been waiting beneath Dominic's house for seventeen years.
