Chương 6
His phone rang.
He answered, listened, and turned toward the window.
“When?”
Another pause.
“Do not let him leave.”
Mercier ended the call.
“Marc Vanel tried to leave the estate.”
Claire frowned.
“He was free to leave before?”
“He was being interviewed voluntarily.”
“And now?”
“An officer saw blood on the cuff of his coat.”
Elias sat very still.
Mercier continued.
“Vanel says it came from a nosebleed.”
Claire touched the split in her lip.
Nobody commented on the coincidence.
Mercier’s second officer stepped outside to make a call.
The lieutenant looked at Claire.
“Did Vanel touch you tonight?”
“No.”
“Was he present when your mother and sister assaulted you?”
“I didn’t see him.”
“Did you hear a man’s voice?”
Claire’s eyes shifted toward the bedrail.
“I don’t know.”
“Think about the room.”
She closed her eyes.
“They took my phone first.”
“Who?”
“Pauline.”
“What happened after that?”
“Mom put the tablet on the desk.”
Her breathing became shallower.
“She kept saying I was making everything difficult.”
Mercier waited.
Claire swallowed.
“Pauline grabbed my wrist.”
“And then?”
“I pulled away.”
Her left hand began trembling.
Elias moved but stopped himself before touching her.
Claire saw the unfinished motion.
She looked back at Mercier.
“I knocked over a glass.”
“What kind?”
“Water.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
“You mentioned a candlestick earlier.”
“That was after.”
“Where?”
“In my father’s study.”
Mercier’s expression changed.
“The room where Vanel was found.”
Claire opened her eyes.
“Yes.”
Elias felt the shape of the night shift again.
“Was Vanel hiding there?”
Mercier said, “We don’t know.”
Claire stared at the wall.
“He could have been behind the inner office door.”
“What inner office?”
“My father had a small records room attached to the study.”
Mercier wrote quickly.
“Can someone enter it without passing through the main study?”
“There’s another door from the library corridor.”
Elias looked at Claire.
“You never mentioned that.”
“You never asked for architectural intelligence on my childhood home.”
Despite himself, Mercier smiled.
It disappeared quickly.
“Could Vanel have heard what happened without Claire seeing him?”
“Yes,” Claire said.
“Could he have entered after she was taken outside?”
“Yes.”
Mercier closed the notebook.
“I need to call the officers.”
When he left, Claire sagged against the pillow.
Elias stood and poured fresh water into a cup.
She accepted it without thanking him.
That hurt less than it should have.
“You should call your lawyers,” she said.
“I already will have.”
She looked at him.
“Already will have?”
“Matteo will have notified them.”
“Matteo.”
“Yes.”
“The man on the phone?”
“Yes.”
“Is he dangerous?”
Elias considered the safest honest answer.
“He used to be.”
Claire looked at him for several seconds.
“And now?”
“He owns a vineyard, complains about his knees, and supervises corporate security.”
“That was not an answer either.”
“He can still be dangerous.”
Claire drank some water.
“So can you.”
“Yes.”
She set the cup down.
“What happens if my mother appears at the hospital?”
“She won’t reach this room.”
Claire’s eyebrows rose.
“Because of police?”
Elias did not answer quickly enough.
She closed her eyes.
“Of course.”
“There are two security contractors in the lobby.”
“You brought armed men into a clinic?”
“They’re licensed and unarmed inside.”
“That distinction is doing heroic work.”
“I can send them away.”
Claire looked at him.
“Would that be smart?”
“No.”
“Then don’t.”
It was the first permission she had given him since learning the truth.
He treated it carefully.
At 5:48, Matteo called again.
Elias stepped into the corridor but Claire said, “Speaker.”
He stopped.
“You’re sure?”
“No.”
She adjusted the blanket.
“Do it anyway.”
Elias answered and activated the speaker.
Matteo’s voice filled the room.
“We have counsel on the Northbridge file.”
“Claire is listening.”
A brief pause.
“Good morning, Claire.”
She stared at the phone.
“Apparently.”
Matteo continued.
“Northbridge’s legal department has frozen discretionary action on the Arden facility pending review.”
Claire leaned forward.
“Does that stop enforcement at eight?”
“No.”
Elias said, “Explain.”
“The maturity trigger is contractual.”
“Can Northbridge waive it?”
“Yes, but doing so now could be interpreted as interference if fraud is suspected.”
“Then what are they doing?”
“Preserving the status quo where possible.”
Claire frowned.
“What does that mean in human language?”
“It means no one is going to seize your house at eight-oh-one.”
She let out a breath.
“But?”
Matteo hesitated.
“The debt still exists on paper until someone determines whether it was validly created.”
“And my company shares?”
“Potentially exposed.”
Claire looked at Elias.
“How exposed?”
Matteo answered before he could.
“If the pledges are enforceable, significantly.”
“Wonderful.”
“There is more.”
Elias rubbed his temple.
“Of course there is.”
“The beneficial ownership behind Arden is not Viviane.”
Claire’s head lifted.
“Who is it?”
“We found a nominee chain.”
“Matteo.”
“I’m getting there.”
Claire said, “He does that too?”
“Constantly,” Elias replied.
Matteo ignored both of them.
“The final trust beneficiary appears to be Pauline Delcourt.”
Claire stopped moving.
Elias stared at the phone.
“Pauline?”
“Yes.”
“Verified?”
“Not fully.”
“How strong?”
“Strong enough that counsel approved telling you.”
Claire’s face had gone pale again.
“My sister owns Arden?”
“Appears to benefit from it.”
“No.”
Her answer came immediately.
“No, Pauline doesn’t understand finance.”
Matteo said, “She wouldn’t need to.”
Claire shook her head.
“She can barely organize her taxes.”
“That may be relevant.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means someone could have created the structure for her.”
Elias said, “Vanel.”
“Possibly.”
“Bernier?”
“Possibly.”
Claire looked angry now.
“My mother?”
“Possibly.”
“Everyone is possibly involved.”
Matteo’s voice remained calm.
“That is usually how investigations feel before they stop feeling that way.”
Claire pushed the blanket away from her legs.
Elias stood.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting out of bed.”
“No.”
She glared at him.
“I have been beaten, frozen, lied to, and informed before breakfast that my sister may secretly control the shell company holding debt against my inheritance.”
She swung her legs over the side.
May you like
“I am done lying down.”
The moment her bare feet touched the floor, pain flashed across her face.
