Chapter 7 - The Truth My Father Hid
A stranger stood outside my hospital room and whispered: "Claire, your father never told you the whole story."
When Robert received the call about my father, Jennifer grabbed the old recording device from the table. But underneath it was a hidden note with my name written on it: "Only Claire can open this."
I finally realized my father had been protecting me from more than Daniel.
He had been protecting me from the truth.
The room felt like it had lost all air.
My father's name repeated in my mind.
Attacked.
The word was impossible to accept.
My father was the strongest person I knew.
He was the man who stood beside me when my mother died.
The man who rebuilt our lives when everything fell apart.
The man who taught me never to give up.
And now...
Someone had tried to silence him.
"Where is he?"
My voice shook.
Robert grabbed his phone again.
"The hospital near his office."
"Is he alive?"
A pause.
That pause terrified me.
"He is alive."
I released the breath I didn't realize I was holding.
"But Claire..."
Robert looked serious.
"He was carrying something when they found him."
"What?"
"A folder."
My eyes moved toward Jennifer.
She understood immediately.
"What folder?"
Robert looked at me.
"Your father had evidence."
Daniel suddenly spoke.
"He always thought everyone was against him."
Everyone turned toward him.
I stared.
Even now.
Even after everything.
He still tried to make my father sound paranoid.
"You knew?"
Daniel's face changed.
"What?"
"You knew my father was investigating."
He looked away.
That was enough.
Jennifer stepped closer.
"Daniel knew."
I looked at her.
"How?"
"Because Margaret told him."
My stomach tightened.
"What does that mean?"
Jennifer looked at the floor.
"Your father wasn't investigating Daniel because he suspected him."
She looked at me.
"He was investigating because someone sent him proof."
"Proof of what?"
Jennifer hesitated.
Then she answered.
"Proof that Daniel and Margaret had done this before."
The room became silent.
I thought about everything.
The fake concern.
The money questions.
The medical records.
The house.
The marriage.
It wasn't a new plan.
It was a pattern.
"Who was before me?"
Jennifer looked at me.
"Three women."
My heart stopped.
"Three?"
She nodded.
"Three wealthy women connected to Daniel's family."
Robert opened his folder.
"Different names. Different locations. Same pattern."
He placed several documents on the table.
Women.
Photos.
Dates.
Medical records.
I looked at them.
Every woman looked different.
Different ages.
Different backgrounds.
But there was one thing they all had in common.
They disappeared from their own lives.
"They were declared sick," Robert said.
"Then their assets were transferred."
My hands became cold.
"Did they die?"
Nobody answered.
That answer was worse.
I looked at Daniel.
"How many people did you do this to?"
His face changed.
"I didn't."
"Then why are you silent?"
He didn't respond.
Because there was no explanation.
Jennifer picked up one document.
"This is why I ran."
I looked at her.
"You ran?"
She nodded.
"I discovered Margaret was planning the same thing with another woman."
"Me."
Jennifer looked away.
"Yes."
I remembered the first time I met Margaret.
The way she smiled.
The way she asked about my family.
The way she made me feel welcomed.
It was all an act.
Every single moment.
"Why didn't you go to the police?"
Jennifer's eyes filled with pain.
"Because nobody believed me."
She looked at Daniel.
"He made sure of that."
Daniel finally spoke.
"You were unstable."
Jennifer laughed.
A broken laugh.
"That was your favorite word."
The tension between them was unbearable.
"You told everyone I was obsessed."
Daniel didn't answer.
"You told everyone I was jealous."
Still nothing.
"You told everyone I disappeared because I couldn't accept losing you."
Jennifer stepped closer.
"But you never told them I found the documents."
I looked at her.
"What documents?"
She looked at me.
"The ones showing Margaret had access to every victim's medical information."
My chest tightened.
"Victims?"
Jennifer nodded.
"That's what they were."
Not wives.
Not partners.
Victims.
I looked at the medical report again.
My medical report.
The one that said my condition was artificially accelerated.
"Who was the doctor?"
Robert looked at me.
"We're still finding out."
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
"What?"
Everyone watched him.
He listened.
Then he slowly lowered the phone.
"What happened?"
Robert looked directly at me.
"The doctor who signed your medical report disappeared."
My heart sank.
"Disappeared?"
"Yes."
"Like Jennifer?"
Nobody answered.
Because we all thought the same thing.
Robert continued.
"But before he vanished, he left something behind."
"What?"
"A message."
"To who?"
Robert looked at me.
"To you."
The room became silent.
I felt my phone vibrate.
A new message appeared.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
One sentence.
"I am sorry I helped them."
Then another message appeared.
A video file.
My hands shook.
Robert looked at me.
"Don't open it here."
But I already knew.
Whatever was inside...
was the missing piece.
I pressed play.
The screen showed a dark room.
A man sitting in front of the camera.
The doctor.
He looked terrified.
"If Claire Bennett is watching this..."
He paused.
Then looked directly into the camera.
"I need her to know the truth."
My breathing stopped.
The doctor continued.
"I was not the person who changed her medical records."
A shadow moved behind him.
He looked over his shoulder.
Then whispered:
"They were watching me."
The video shook.
The doctor leaned closer.
"The person who ordered your treatment change..."
The screen froze.
The audio became distorted.
Then one final sentence played.
"The person closest to you is the one who..."
The video suddenly stopped.
Nobody moved.
Then Jennifer looked toward the hospital window.
Her face turned pale.
May you like
Because standing outside the glass...
was Margaret.
