Chapter 16 - Claire’s Final Minutes
Leaving an injured person without help was not the same as causing the crash.
But Claire might have survived.
That possibility became unbearable.
Medical experts reviewed the autopsy.
The original report had been manipulated.
Claire suffered internal bleeding.
Immediate treatment could have saved her.
Twenty-eight minutes mattered.
Rachel had taken those minutes away.
The police finally reconstructed the timeline.
11:41 p.m.
Claire called Grace before confronting Ethan.
11:46 p.m.
Ethan entered Claire’s car.
11:52 p.m.
Ethan damaged the brake line after an argument.
11:58 p.m.
Claire lost control and crashed.
12:07 a.m.
A passerby called emergency services.
12:09 a.m.
Detective Warren canceled the ambulance after Malcolm contacted him.
12:12 a.m.
Malcolm arrived.
12:16 a.m.
Rachel arrived.
12:18 a.m.
Malcolm left.
12:24 a.m.
Rachel left.
12:26 a.m.
An ambulance was finally dispatched again.
Claire was pronounced dead before reaching the hospital.
I sat alone after hearing the timeline.
Grace eventually entered the room.
“I’m sorry.”
I looked at her.
“For what?”
“For not telling you everything sooner.”
“You were trying to protect Noah.”
“And you.”
I shook my head.
“You couldn’t protect everyone.”
“No.”
She sat beside me.
“Neither could Claire.”
For the first time, I allowed myself to cry without hiding it.
Not because Claire was gone.
I had cried for that countless times.
I cried because I now knew she had been alone.
She had survived the crash.
She had asked for me.
And the people surrounding her had chosen money over her life.
Later that evening, Noah called.
“Dad?”
“Hey, buddy.”
“Are you coming?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Soon.”
He hesitated.
“Is Miss Grace coming?”
I looked at Grace.
“Yes.”
Noah became quiet.
Then he whispered.
“I think Mom would like her.”
Grace turned away quickly.
That night I slept beside Noah’s bed.
At three in the morning, my phone vibrated.
An encrypted email had arrived.
From Rachel.
There was no message.
Only an attachment.
A video.
I opened it.
Rachel appeared on screen.
“If you’re watching this, Daniel, then Malcolm has probably blamed everything on me.”
She smiled calmly.
“He isn’t entirely wrong.”
My skin crawled.
“But before you decide Claire was an innocent victim surrounded by monsters, you should know what she was planning.”
Rachel lifted a document.
“She intended to dissolve Mercer Holdings.”
I stared at the screen.
“She planned to expose everything publicly.”
“She knew thousands of employees might lose their jobs.”
“She knew your father’s legacy would collapse.”
“And she chose truth anyway.”
Rachel leaned toward the camera.
“That is why everyone around her eventually agreed she had to be stopped.”
May you like
Then she smiled.
“Even someone you still trust.”
