The Trap at the Hotel
Chapter 13 - The Trap at the Hotel
Charles contacted Claire the next morning.
He claimed he wanted to surrender.
Nathan called the police.
Charles refused to speak anywhere except the unfinished east wing of the old Hale Grand Hotel.
The same project Robert had died trying to expose.
Claire agreed to go.
But not alone.
Investigators surrounded the property.
Nathan remained nearby.
Charles arrived carrying no weapon.
Only a folder.
“I never killed your father,” he told Claire.
“Then who did?”
“No one.”
Charles produced an old mechanical inspection.
Robert’s car had suffered brake failure.
Charles knew about it.
He had arranged for Robert to be followed.
He had planned to steal the evidence.
But he insisted he never ordered the crash.
“You let everyone believe you did.”
Charles smiled bitterly.
“Fear was useful.”
Claire hated him more for that.
Then Charles revealed the final piece.
Robert’s car had been serviced two days before the crash.
The repair shop belonged to a company controlled by someone else.
Victoria Hale.
Nathan stared at the document.
“No.”
Victoria had already admitted many terrible things.
But had she hidden the worst one?
Claire looked at Nathan.
May you like
He looked destroyed.
Once again, they had reached the place where love and truth could not coexist comfortably.
