Chương 5
Clara frowned.
"I don't remember."
"You were too young."
"She knew you would not remember the object."
"Only the feeling."
Clara closed her eyes.
Images from her childhood appeared in her mind.
Her mother's old wooden jewelry box.
The small house where they lived.
The nights when her mother would hold her close and tell her everything would be okay.
Then she remembered something else.
A necklace.
A small silver necklace her mother had given her before she disappeared.
Clara touched her throat.
Her eyes widened.
"The necklace."
Daniel looked at her.
"What necklace?"
"My mother gave it to me."
"I have had it since I was five."
Evelyn immediately looked at her.
"Where is it?"
Clara reached into her purse.
Her fingers searched quickly.
Then she froze.
The necklace was not there.
Her face turned pale.
"I had it yesterday."
Daniel noticed the fear spreading across her face.
"Clara?"
"I always carry it."
"I never take it off."
Evelyn looked toward the door.
Victor was still standing outside.
And suddenly everyone understood.
"He took it."
Daniel moved toward the door.
"No."
Evelyn stopped him.
"Wait."
"He was near you before he came here."
Clara remembered the evening.
The crowded event.
The people shaking her hand.
The strangers who had congratulated her.
Victor had approached her.
Only for a moment.
"He touched my shoulder."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"He took it then."
A cold anger appeared in his eyes.
For the first time, Clara saw not just fear in him.
She saw determination.
He turned toward the door.
"I am opening it."
Evelyn grabbed his arm.
"Daniel."
"If he has her mother's necklace, he has something that belongs to Clara."
"He has already taken enough from this family."
Evelyn released him slowly.
She knew she could not stop him.
Daniel unlocked the door.
The cold air from outside rushed into the mansion.
Victor stepped inside without being invited twice.
He removed his gloves calmly.
His eyes immediately went to Clara.
Not Evelyn.
Not Daniel.
Clara.
"Finally."
His voice was quiet.
"The daughter of the woman who caused so much trouble."
Daniel stepped between them.
"Watch your words."
Victor smiled slightly.
"Protective already."
"You are exactly like your father."
Daniel's expression changed.
"Do not compare me to him."
Victor looked around the mansion.
"I see the old house is still standing."
"Some things survive no matter how many secrets are buried beneath them."
Evelyn stared at him.
"You should have stayed away."
Victor looked at her.
"And you should have told the truth thirty years ago."
Clara held the letter tightly.
"Why do you have my necklace?"
Victor reached into his coat pocket.
He slowly pulled out the small silver necklace.
The sight of it made Clara's breath catch.
"Because your mother knew I would come looking for it."
Daniel's voice became sharp.
"Give it back."
Victor ignored him.
"Your mother was smarter than everyone in this room."
"She knew the necklace was not valuable because of the silver."
"It was valuable because of what was hidden inside."
Clara stared at him.
"What did you put in there?"
Victor smiled.
"Not me."
"Your mother."
Evelyn stepped closer.
"What did she hide?"
Victor looked at Clara.
"She hid proof that your father and I built everything on lies."
The room became silent.
Daniel looked shocked.
"Then why do you want it?"
Victor's calm expression finally cracked.
"Because if that evidence is released, everything I built disappears."
Clara looked at him with disbelief.
"So you have spent my entire life chasing a necklace?"
Victor looked at her sadly.
"No."
"I spent your entire life making sure you never discovered why your mother disappeared."
The words struck harder than any confession.
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
"My mother is alive."
Victor said nothing.
But his silence answered the question.
Daniel looked between them.
"Where is she?"
Victor turned toward the dark hallway.
Then he said the one sentence nobody expected.
"She has been inside this mansion before you arrived tonight."
Clara felt the blood drain from her face.
For a moment, nobody moved.
The storm outside continued to rage, but inside the Whitmore mansion, the silence became unbearable.
Daniel looked at Victor with disbelief.
"What do you mean she has been inside this mansion?"
Victor slowly turned toward him.
"I mean your mother was never the only person hiding secrets in this house."
Evelyn's expression hardened.
"Stop playing games."
Victor gave a small smile.
"Games?"
"You spent thirty years pretending you were protecting everyone."
"But you were protecting your own guilt."
Daniel looked between them.
"Someone needs to start explaining."
Victor glanced at Clara.
"Your mother came here three months ago."
Clara's eyes widened.
"Three months?"
"She was here?"
Evelyn looked away.
That reaction told Clara everything.
"You knew."
Evelyn did not deny it.
Daniel stared at his mother.
"You knew she was alive and you never told Clara?"
"I was trying to keep her safe."
"From who?"
Evelyn looked at Victor.
"From him."
Victor laughed quietly.
"You still blame me for everything."
"Because you are responsible."
"No."
Victor's voice became colder.
"Your husband was responsible."
The words landed heavily.
Daniel stepped forward.
"My father is dead."
Victor looked at him.
"That does not mean his choices died with him."
Clara tightened her grip on her mother's letter.
"Where is my mother now?"
Nobody answered immediately.
That frightened her more than anything.
She stepped closer to Victor.
"Where is she?"
Victor looked at her carefully.
For the first time, his expression softened.
Not with kindness.
With recognition.
"You have her eyes."
Clara froze.
"Do not talk about her like you knew her."
Victor looked down.
"I knew her better than anyone."
Evelyn immediately interrupted.
"That is a lie."
Victor looked at her.
"You always hated that she trusted me once."
Daniel turned toward his mother.
"Trusted him?"
Evelyn closed her eyes.
"There are things you still do not know."
Daniel's frustration grew.
May you like
"Apparently there are many things I do not know."
Victor walked farther into the hall.
