Chapter 5: The Woman Upstairs Wasn’t Aunt Claire
Daniel handed Noah back to Elena and ran toward the stairs.
“Stay behind me!” he shouted.
Adrian followed. Robert moved after them, but Elena blocked his path.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
Robert glared at her. “Get out of my way.”
“You held a weapon before the lights went out. Until I know who attacked Adrian, you stay where I can see you.”
Margaret clutched Elena’s arm. “Claire went upstairs to take a call ten minutes ago.”
“Who was she calling?”
“I don’t know.”
Another scream came from the guest room.
Daniel reached the landing and pushed open the door.
A woman stood near the window with her hands raised. She was younger than Claire, perhaps twenty-five, with wet hair and a torn black coat. Across the room, Aunt Claire held a small pistol.
“Claire!” Daniel shouted. “Put it down.”
Claire’s hand shook. “She broke into the house.”
The stranger looked at Daniel. “I didn’t break in. She told me to come.”
Claire’s face twisted. “She’s lying.”
Adrian entered and stopped cold. “Sophie?”
The woman stared at him. “You weren’t supposed to be here.”
Daniel looked between them. “Who is she?”
Adrian lowered his voice. “My sister.”
Sophie laughed bitterly. “Half sister.”
Claire tightened her grip on the gun. “She came to steal the evidence.”
“I came to stop you from destroying it,” Sophie shot back.
Daniel stepped slowly between them. “Claire, give me the gun.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
Claire’s eyes filled with tears. “Robert called me this afternoon. He said Elena had found Thomas’s family. He said they were coming to take everything.”
Adrian frowned. “Take what?”
“The company. The house. Daniel’s inheritance.”
Daniel stared at her. “My inheritance?”
Claire’s gaze moved toward Robert, who had reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Elena hasn’t told you?” Claire asked.
Elena came into view holding Noah. “I only learned this morning.”
Robert shouted, “Claire, stop talking!”
Claire flinched.
Daniel turned to Elena. “Learned what?”
Elena took a breath. “Thomas wasn’t only a musician. His family owned Cole Medical Technologies.”
Adrian nodded. “My father inherited controlling shares after his brother died.”
Daniel’s confusion deepened. “What does that have to do with me?”
Sophie answered, “Thomas left forty percent of the company to his firstborn biological child.”
Robert pushed past Elena. “That will is invalid.”
Adrian looked at him. “You’ve seen it?”
Robert realized his mistake.
Daniel’s eyes narrowed. “How could you know whether it was valid?”
Claire slowly lowered the pistol. “Because Robert had a copy before Thomas died.”
Margaret appeared on the stairs. “Robert?”
Claire started crying. “He made me help him replace a page in the family trust.”
Robert’s voice became deadly calm. “Give me the gun, Claire.”
“No,” Daniel said.
Robert continued walking upward.
Sophie pulled a folded document from inside her coat. “This is the original page. It proves Daniel owns the shares.”
Robert stopped.
“Give it to me,” he ordered.
Sophie backed toward the window.
May you like
A sharp crack split the air.
The glass shattered behind her, and Sophie dropped to the floor.
