my job.
The man who had placed me in Russell’s path.
The man now holding a gun in a basement full of lies.
“Why?” I asked.
Hayes looked at me.
“Because Russell took everything from me.”
M
argaret’s expression sharpened.
“No. You destroyed yourself.”
He spun toward her.
“Don’t.”
“You sold client files.”
“I was protecting us.”
“You were selling blackmail material to criminal groups.”
“I was building leverage!”
“You were building a graveyard.”
Russell spoke weakly.
“Margaret found out.”
She nodded.
“Eleanor found out too.”
Claire’s mother.
Claire stared at her.
“You knew my mom?”
“She helped me escape.”
The room fell silent.
“That night in 2009,” Margaret continued, “Eleanor and I were driving here to retrieve evidence I had hidden beneath the farmhouse.”
Claire’s face tightened.
“She crashed the car.”
Margaret’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“On purpose?”
“Not the way your father’s recording suggested.”
Claire swallowed.
“Then why?”
“Because
