Chapter 18 - The Price on Claire Bennett
The first threat arrived the next morning.
No note.
No phone call.
Someone loosened the front brake cable on Claire’s bicycle.
She discovered it before leaving home because the lever felt soft beneath her fingers.
Thomas discovered what happened five minutes later.
“You are not riding that bicycle again.”
Claire stared at him.
“Yes, I am.”
“Claire.”
“Dad.”
“Someone sabotaged the brakes.”
“And if I stop living normally, Victor wins.”
Thomas slammed his palm against the kitchen counter.
“I don’t care about winning!”
Claire fell silent.
Thomas’s voice broke.
“I care about burying my daughter.”
Neither spoke.
Finally Claire walked forward and hugged him.
Thomas held her tightly.
For all his money, security teams, lawyers, and companies, he was still the father who had lost his wife too young.
“I’ll use security,” Claire whispered.
“Thank you.”
“But I’m keeping the bicycle.”
Thomas almost laughed.
“Stubborn.”
“Genetic.”
Security found no usable fingerprints.
No camera footage.
Whoever entered the garage knew the blind spots.
That disturbed Thomas more.
At Apex, Noah began receiving anonymous emails.
YOU PICKED THE WRONG FAMILY.
Marcus received photos of his children leaving school.
Arthur’s office was burglarized.
Nothing valuable was stolen.
Only files involving Victor.
Derek disappeared.
For six hours.
Claire immediately assumed the worst.
Then he walked into Bennett headquarters with a split lip and bruised ribs.
Noah jumped from his chair.
“What happened?”
Derek dropped into a seat.
“Two men offered me money.”
Claire stared.
“For what?”
“To change my testimony.”
Thomas asked, “And when you refused?”
Derek touched his swollen jaw.
“They stopped asking politely.”
Arthur wanted him taken to the hospital.
Derek refused until he finished talking.
“They said Victor knows where Claire rides.”
Thomas’s face hardened.
Claire remained steady.
“What exactly did they say?”
“That accidents happen on empty roads.”
The room went silent.
Thomas turned to security.
“Double everything.”
Claire asked Derek, “Why didn’t you take the money?”
He looked at her.
“Because I already sold pieces of myself for years.”
He gave a painful smile.
“Turns out I’m finally out of inventory.”
Noah unexpectedly laughed.
Then grabbed Derek’s shoulder.
“You’re still an idiot.”
“I know.”
“But you did good.”
Derek looked stunned.
It was probably the closest thing to forgiveness Noah had offered.
Arthur entered with another development.
Federal investigators had traced two shell companies back to Elliot Crane.
But Crane had vanished.
His last phone location placed him near Lake Travis.
Thomas knew Victor owned property there.
They provided the information to authorities.
That evening, Claire attended a Bennett Logistics employee dinner.
Thomas wanted to cancel.
Claire refused.
Hundreds of workers filled the warehouse courtyard.
Drivers.
Dispatchers.
Mechanics.
Office employees.
People her father had known for decades.
Claire stepped onto the small stage.
She had prepared a safe corporate speech.
Then she threw it away.
“My family is being investigated.”
The crowd became silent.
“My father’s reputation is under attack. Some of those attacks are based on lies.”
She paused.
“But Bennett Logistics doesn’t belong to one man’s reputation.”
Thomas watched her.
“It belongs to every person who showed up at four in the morning when deliveries had to move. Every driver who missed dinner to get medicine to a rural hospital. Every mechanic who stayed late because a truck had to leave before sunrise.”
Applause began.
Claire continued.
“If my father broke the law, he should answer for it.”
Thomas nodded.
“If he didn’t, then we’re going to prove that with records, not privilege.”
The applause grew louder.
Outside the courtyard, someone stood beside a parked car.
A camera lens caught Claire under the lights.
The photographer sent the image.
Seconds later Victor Hale received it.
He studied Claire’s face.
Then called a number.
“She won’t scare.”
The voice on the other end answered.
“What do you want me to do?”
Victor looked at the photograph.
“Stop trying to scare her.”
May you like
He paused.
“Take something she can’t ignore.”
