Chapter 16 - Claire's Final Message The final file on Claire's drive opened only after the proxy token authenticated it.
A video appeared.
Claire was sitting in her office.
Alive.
Calm.
Looking directly at me.
“Daniel.”
I couldn't breathe.
“If you're seeing this, something went wrong.”
She smiled sadly.
“I know you.”
Her eyes softened.
“You're probably angry with me.”
I laughed through tears.
“Of course I am.”
Claire continued.
“But you're also angry with yourself.”
She leaned closer.
“Don't.”
I froze.
“Vanessa didn't fool you because she's smarter than you. She fooled you because some of her lies were comfortable.”
I looked down.
“She told you Claire was unstable.”
My chest tightened.
“She told you I abandoned Noah.”
Claire's voice softened.
“And you wanted to believe it because believing it meant you didn't have to choose.”
Tears blurred the screen.
“You kept asking for perfect proof.”
She smiled.
“Perfect proof doesn't exist.”
Then her expression changed.
“If I'm dead, tell Noah something.”
I waited.
“Tell him I didn't leave him.”
Her voice cracked.
“Tell him every stupid thing I did was because I was trying to get back to him.”
I stopped the video.
Noah stood in the doorway.
“Was she mad at you?”
I couldn't speak.
He walked over.
I pulled him into my arms.
“She loved you.”
His shoulders shook.
“I know.”
“Noah…”
“She said she'd come back.”
I held him tighter.
“I know.”
My phone buzzed.
Susan.
Emergency board vote tomorrow.
Elliot's allies were trying to remove me before Claire's shares officially transferred to Noah.
Even after everything, they were still fighting.
For money.
For power.
May you like
For Claire's name.
This time, I wasn't going to let them win.
