Chapter 7 - The Confession
Claire closed her eyes, the terrifying walls of her secret life completely collapsing around her. She had nowhere left to hide.
"I wasn't your maid back then," Claire whispered, her voice cracking with profound, agonizing grief as she finally spoke the truth she had suppressed for years. "I was a nursing student. We met at a coffee shop downtown. We were together for a year. He kept me a secret to protect me from the life."
Adrian’s breath hitched. He stared at the beautiful, trembling woman, his mind racing back to the months before his brother's death. He remembered James acting secretive, constantly checking his phone with a rare, genuine smile, and sneaking out of the estate at odd hours. Adrian had assumed it was just a casual fling; he never realized his brother had found true love.
"He came to my apartment the night he died," Claire continued, the tears streaming down her pale cheeks. "He was incredibly nervous. He said he had discovered something terrible about the syndicate. He said someone inside the inner circle was planning to sell him out to the rival families."
Adrian’s massive hands clenched into fists. His entire body went rigid with sudden, explosive tension. The traitor. The ghost he had been hunting for three years was suddenly taking form.
"James took off his watch," Claire sobbed, her hands clutching her black-and-white apron. "He put it in my hands and told me to hide it. He said if anything happened to him, I needed to keep the watch safe, because he hid the proof inside it."
Victoria, standing near the staircase, suddenly went completely, ghostly pale. The arrogant, cruel woman actually took a physical step backward, her eyes darting frantically toward the massive security guards blocking the doors.
"She's lying, Adrian!" Victoria shrieked, her voice shrill with absolute, suffocating panic. "She's making up a ridiculous story to cover up her theft! Don't listen to this garbage! Shoot her!"
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Adrian ignored his fiancée entirely. He looked down at the heavy, tarnished silver pocket watch in his hand.
👉 Read Part 8 to see Adrian uncover the ultimate, damning evidence.
