"Then who is threatening us?"
Daniel pointed to another name.
Ethan Hale.
Victor's son.
Claire stared.
"Where is he?"
Daniel answered:
"Here."
A photograph showed a younger man.
Thirty-five.
Dark hair.
Cold eyes.
A small scar above his eyebrow.
Claire's breath caught.
She recognized him.
She had seen him before.
At the festival.
Standing in the crowd.
Watching them.
"That's him."
Jack stood immediately.
"Where?"
Claire pointed.
"He was there."
Daniel looked at the photograph.
"Ethan knows about the money."
Jack's jaw tightened.
"What does he want?"
"Whatever his father left behind."
Claire shook her head.
"We don't have anything."
Daniel looked at her.
"Yes, you do."
"What?"
"Your mother."
Claire stared.
"My mother is dead."
"I know."
"Then what could she have?"
Daniel pulled out another document.
A bank account.
An account that had never been closed.
It contained more than four hundred thousand dollars.
Claire stared.
"That's impossible."
Daniel shook his head.
"It's real."
"Whose name?"
"Margaret Bennett."
Claire's heart pounded.
"Where is the money?"
"Frozen."
"Why?"
"Because the account was flagged."
"By whom?"
Daniel looked at Jack.
"Victor Hale."
Jack's face became grim.
"That money isn't theirs."
"Then what is it?"
Daniel answered:
"The money Jack thought he paid as a debt."
Claire looked at Jack.
"The twenty thousand?"
"Apparently it grew."
Daniel explained that the account had been used to hold money connected to North Ridge Holdings.
Margaret had eventually taken control of it.
She had been planning to expose Victor.
Then the crash happened.
She disappeared.
And Daniel was sent away.
But one thing remained.
The photograph.
The photograph of Margaret, Michael, and Daniel.
On the back was a handwritten message.
"If anything happens to me, Jack knows where the truth is."
Claire stared.
"Why would she write that?"
Jack whispered:
"Because she knew I would survive."
Claire looked at him.
"She knew you weren't dead."
Jack nodded.
"Yes."
That meant one thing.
Margaret had lied intentionally.
She had known Jack survived.
She had known Claire was alive.
She had kept them apart.
But perhaps not because she hated him.
Perhaps because she was afraid.
Daniel suddenly looked toward the window.
"Someone's outside."
Jack moved immediately.
He went to the door.
Nothing.
Only a parked car.
Black.
Engine running.
Then it drove away.
Jack returned.
"We're leaving."
Claire nodded.
"Where?"
"Somewhere safe."
Noah looked worried.
"Are we in trouble?"
Claire knelt beside him.
"No."
Jack looked at Noah.
"We're just going on an adventure."
Noah smiled.
"With the motorcycle?"
Jack smiled.
"With the motorcycle."
Jack took them to an old cabin in the mountains.
It belonged to a friend from his motorcycle days.
There was no cell service.
No neighbors.
No traffic.
Only trees, mountains, and silence.
For the first time in days, Claire could breathe.
Noah loved the place.
He spent hours outside with Jack.
Jack showed him how to identify animal tracks.
They built a fire.
They repaired a broken bicycle.
And eventually, Noah asked the question Claire had been avoiding.
"Grandpa?"
Jack looked up.
"Yeah?"
"Why did you leave Mom?"
Jack stopped.
Claire was sitting nearby.
She waited.
Jack answered honestly.
"I didn't."
"But Mom thought you did."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Jack looked at Claire.
"Because adults sometimes make mistakes."
Noah frowned.
"Big mistakes?"
"Very big."
"Can you fix them?"
Jack smiled.
"Sometimes."
Noah nodded.
"Then fix it."
Jack laughed quietly.
"I'll try."
Later that night, Claire sat with Jack beside the fire.
"I never imagined this."
"Neither did I."
"I thought I'd hate you."
"I thought you might."
"I don't."
Jack looked at her.
"I'm glad."
Claire stared into the flames.
"Why didn't you give up?"
Jack answered without hesitation.
"Because you're my daughter."
Claire's eyes filled.
"I spent so long thinking I wasn't enough."
"You were always enough."
She cried quietly.
Jack didn't interrupt.
After a while, Claire said:
"I want to know everything."
Jack nodded.
"I'll tell you."
He explained what happened on the night of the crash.
He had discovered Michael's fraud.
He confronted him.
Margaret arrived.
She admitted she had been working with Victor.
But she wanted out.
Jack offered to help.
They planned to take the evidence to the police.
Margaret gave Jack the photograph and documents.
Then someone attacked him.
The truck hit his motorcycle.
Jack survived.
Margaret disappeared.
Michael disappeared.
Daniel was given away.
And Claire was told Jack had died.
The plan had worked.
Everyone had been separated.
Except one thing had gone wrong.
Jack survived.
And he kept searching.
Claire looked at him.
"Why did Mom never contact me?"
Jack looked away.
"Maybe she thought she was protecting you."
"From Ethan?"
"From Victor first."
"And then Ethan."
"Yes."
Claire shook her head.
"She protected me by making me hate my father."
Jack didn't respond.
Because there was no defense for it.
The next morning, they found another letter.
It had been hidden inside the photograph frame.
The handwriting belonged to Margaret.
Claire opened it.
Claire,
If you're reading this, then Jack found you.
I don't know if I'm alive.
I don't know if he is.
But if you have this letter, then the truth is finally free.
I lied to you.
I told you your father abandoned us.
He didn't.
I made you believe it because Victor Hale threatened to kill you.
I thought separating you from Jack would keep you safe.
I was wrong.
Jack was the only person who could have protected you.
I'm sorry.
Claire stopped reading.
Her hands were shaking.
The letter continued.
There is one thing you must understand.
Your father never stopped looking for you.
He loved you.
And if he ever finds you again, don't punish him for the years he lost.
He lost them too.
Claire couldn't continue.
She folded the letter.
Then she walked outside.
Jack followed.
She turned toward him.
"My mother knew."
"Yes."
"She knew you were alive."
"Yes."
"She knew you were looking."
"Yes."
"And she still kept us apart."