“I don’t know if I can trust her again.”
“That’s different from deciding you don’t love her.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
That was the problem.
He still loved her.
He wished he didn’t.
It would have been easier.
Meanwhile, Victoria had begun calling Claire repeatedly.
Claire ignored the first six calls.
On the seventh, she answered.
“What?”
Victoria spoke immediately.
“We need to meet.”
“No.”
“Claire, people are talking.”
“Let them.”
“You don’t understand.”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“That phrase doesn’t work on me anymore.”
Victoria went silent.
Claire stood beside the apartment window.
“Why are you calling?”
“Because Daniel’s mother told someone that I encouraged you.”
“You did.”
“I helped you through a crisis.”
“You helped me lie.”
Victoria’s voice sharpened.
“I was the only person there when you were falling apart.”
“And I’ll always be grateful for that.”
Claire paused.
“But you weren’t helping by the end.”
“That’s unfair.”
“You kept telling me to continue.”
“I told you not to confess in the middle of wedding season when Daniel’s company was negotiating a major merger and both families were under pressure.”
Claire’s eyes narrowed.
Something about the wording bothered her.
“Why did you care so much about Daniel’s company?”
Victoria hesitated.
Claire noticed.
“Victoria.”
“I didn’t.”
“Then why mention it?”
“No reason.”
Claire remembered something.
A conversation months earlier.
Victoria asking when Daniel planned to sign a new shareholder agreement.
Another conversation about Daniel’s upcoming promotion.
Claire had assumed Victoria was interested because she and Daniel had known one another since college.
Now it felt different.
“Victoria,” Claire said slowly. “Why did you care whether Daniel and I stayed together?”
Silence.
“Answer me.”
Victoria exhaled.
“You’re exhausted.”
“Answer me.”
“I cared because you’re my friend.”
Claire almost accepted it.
Almost.
Then she remembered Sophie.
A seven-year-old child saying something obvious that all the adults were afraid to say.
Claire tried the same approach.
“Were you afraid Daniel would leave me?”
“Yes.”
“Or were you afraid he’d leave before the trust arrangement was finalized?”
Victoria said nothing.
Claire felt cold.
Daniel’s late grandmother had placed a portion of Carter Holdings shares into a family trust.
Under the agreement, Daniel would gain controlling authority after marriage and the birth of his first child.
Claire had barely understood the structure.
She had never cared.
Victoria, however, was a corporate attorney.
She understood everything.
Claire whispered, “Oh my God.”
“Claire—”
“You knew.”
“It isn’t what you think.”
“You knew the trust would transfer after the baby was born.”
“Of course I knew. Daniel told me years ago.”
Claire felt sick.
“Did you convince me to lie because of the trust?”
“No.”
“Tell me the truth.”
“I am.”
“Then say it clearly.”
Victoria became silent.
Claire’s heart pounded.
“Victoria.”
Finally Victoria said, “Daniel’s board situation was unstable.”
Claire closed her eyes.
There it was.
“You used me.”
“No.”
“You saw me grieving and you saw an opportunity.”
“That is not what happened.”
“You told me Daniel would leave if he knew.”
“I believed he might.”
“You gave me the fake belly.”
“You asked me how you were supposed to continue appearing pregnant.”
“After you terrified me.”
Victoria’s voice hardened.
“I protected both of you.”
Claire almost laughed.
“From what?”
“From consequences you weren’t emotionally prepared to understand.”
Claire stared through the window.
The city below looked distant.
“How much did you know about the trust?”
“Claire.”
“How much?”
“I knew the board was waiting for Daniel’s controlling rights to activate.”
“And if people believed I was pregnant?”
Victoria said nothing.
Claire’s voice dropped.
“His position looked secure.”
Silence.
Claire realized she was holding the phone too tightly.
“This wasn’t just about me.”
“I never said it was.”
Claire closed her eyes.
That sentence was enough.
She disconnected.
Then she called Daniel.
For the first time in two days, he answered.
“Claire.”
She almost cried hearing his voice.
“I found something out.”
Daniel was quiet.
“What?”
“It’s about Victoria.”
“What about her?”
Claire took a breath.
“She didn’t only help me hide the miscarriage because she thought you’d leave.”
Daniel’s tone changed.
“What do you mean?”
“She knew about your family trust.”
Daniel said nothing.
“She knew your board was waiting for the controlling shares.”
“Claire.”
“She wanted everyone to believe I was still pregnant because it made your position look secure.”
Daniel’s silence lasted several seconds.
Then he asked one question.
“Can you prove that?”
Claire looked toward the front door.
“No.”
A knock came.
Claire frowned.
“Someone’s here.”
She opened the door.
A courier stood outside holding a large envelope.
“Claire Bennett?”
“Yes.”