Chapter 10
Ten minutes later, Claire walked down the stairs, carrying two heavy suitcases. Behind her walked Noah, wearing a fresh polo shirt and his favorite sneakers, holding tightly to his mother’s hand. He looked nervously at his father, his uncle, and his half-sister, who were all sitting in the living room in stunned, devastating silence.
“Come on, baby,” Claire said softly, leading Noah toward the front door. “The taxi is waiting outside.”
“Where are we going, Mom?” Noah asked quietly.
“We’re going to a nice hotel for a few days,” Claire promised, pushing the heavy front door open. The bright, morning sunlight flooded the entryway. “And then we are going to find a new house. Just the two of us.”
Grant slowly stood up from the sofa. He looked completely hollowed out, a ghost of the arrogant man he had been just an hour before. He walked slowly toward the foyer, stopping a few feet away from Claire and his son.
“Claire, please,” Grant whispered, a final, desperate plea. “Don't take him away from me. He’s all I have left.”
“You never had him, Grant,” Claire said coldly. She didn't feel an ounce of pity. She placed her hand on the doorknob.
“You think you won, Claire?” Grant suddenly asked, his voice shifting. The pathetic whining vanished, replaced by a dark, chilling calmness that made the hairs on the back of Claire’s neck stand up.
Claire stopped. She looked back at her husband. The fair, rosy skin of his face was drawn tight, a terrifying, empty smile slowly spreading across his lips.
“What did you say?” Claire asked, her grip tightening on Noah’s hand.
“You think because you locked the money, you hold all the cards,” Grant said, taking a slow step forward. “But my father didn't just build this family on money, Claire. He built it on secrets. And there is one secret about Noah’s birth that you don't know.”
Claire’s heart slammed against her ribs. “You’re lying.”
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“Check his backpack, Claire,” Grant whispered, his smile growing wider, his eyes gleaming with a manic, destructive light. “Check the side pocket. I slipped a little parting gift in there while you were yelling at Madison.”
Claire looked down at Noah in terror.
