Chapter 2 - THE NIGHT CLAIRE CHOSE HERSELF
Claire didn't go to a hotel.
Adrian owned too many.
Through holding companies, investment partnerships, and properties bearing other names, Blackwood interests extended across much of Chicago's hospitality industry.
She wanted somewhere that belonged to neither him nor his family.
So she drove to an old brick apartment building in Logan Square and knocked on a blue door.
It was nearly midnight.
Her best friend, Olivia Hayes, opened it wearing fuzzy slippers and a sweatshirt advertising a bookstore that had closed twelve years earlier.
She stared.
"Claire?"
Claire tried to speak.
Nothing came out.
Olivia looked at the suitcase.
Then Claire's face.
Then her bare left hand.
Her expression changed.
"Oh, honey."
Claire broke.
Olivia pulled her into the apartment.
She didn't ask questions immediately.
She made tea.
Found a blanket.
Placed a box of tissues beside the couch.
Then sat down and waited.
Eventually, Claire told her everything.
The dinner.
The missing diamonds.
The security code.
Adrian ordering the search.
Vincent's voice.
The ring.
Olivia listened without interruption.
When Claire finished, her friend looked furious.
"He ordered strangers to search you?"
"Yes."
"In front of forty people?"
Claire nodded.
Olivia stood.
"Give me his number."
"Olivia."
"I just want to discuss a few things."
"No, you want to commit a felony."
"Possibly a small one."
Claire laughed despite herself.
The laughter turned into tears.
Olivia sat beside her.
"Listen to me. You don't have to go back because he's powerful."
Claire looked down.
"I know."
"Do you?"
A long silence followed.
Claire thought about the last four years.
The dinners where Adrian introduced her as his beautiful wife but never mentioned her work.
The family meetings where Vincent interrupted her.
The holidays where Beatrice expected her to serve as hostess while everyone else drank champagne.
And the occasions when Adrian apologized for someone's rudeness but insisted she shouldn't make an issue of it.
Small things.
Each one excusable.
Together, they had slowly taught Claire that keeping peace was her responsibility.
"I thought he trusted me," she whispered.
Olivia squeezed her hand.
"Maybe he thought he did."
Claire looked up.
"But?"
"But trust that disappears the moment someone presents a suspicious computer record isn't much trust."
The words stung.
Because they were true.
Claire had spent four years learning the rules of the Blackwood family.
She knew when Adrian preferred silence.
When his mother wanted company.
When Beatrice needed help with medication.
When Vincent was about to make a cutting remark disguised as a joke.
But nobody had learned what Claire needed.
Not really.
Olivia touched her arm.
"What do you want to do?"
Claire took a breath.
"Find out who used my code."
"Then?"
She looked toward the window.
"Decide whether I want to stay married."
Olivia nodded.
"Good."
Claire wiped her face.
Then reached for her phone.
She read the anonymous messages aloud.
Olivia's expression hardened.
"That's a threat."
"I know."
"We should document it."
Claire nodded.
They preserved screenshots and the original messages.
Then Claire called an attorney she'd known before marrying Adrian.
Her name was Rebecca Lawson.
She specialized in civil litigation and financial disputes.
When Rebecca answered, Claire apologized for calling so late.
"Stop apologizing," Rebecca said after hearing the situation. "You may need legal protection, independent access to relevant records, and advice about the marriage. We'll discuss the details tomorrow."
Claire exhaled.
"Thank you."
After ending the call, she looked at Olivia.
"I feel ridiculous."
"Why?"
"I left a mansion with everything I owned, and now I'm sleeping on your couch."
Olivia smiled.
"Excellent couch."
Claire laughed.
Her friend leaned closer.
"You're not ridiculous. You walked out when someone tried to humiliate you."
Claire looked down at her bare hand.
The skin beneath her ring was slightly paler.
Four years of wearing it had left a mark.
She touched the place.
Then whispered, "I still love him."
Olivia nodded.
"I know."
"I don't know how to stop."
"You don't have to stop tonight."
Claire closed her eyes.
For the first time since leaving the mansion, she felt herself breathing normally.
Then her phone vibrated again.
Another message.
Ask Beatrice why she wanted the medicine at exactly 8:40.
Claire sat upright.
Her heart began pounding.
Because she hadn't told anyone outside the mansion about the medicine.
May you like
And the person sending the messages knew precisely how the trap had been arranged.
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