Chapter 14 - The Visitor in Cell Block CTwo days later, the sterile, fluorescent-lit corridors of the maximum-security federal penitentiary echoed with the heavy clanking of iron gates.
Claire walked down the central aisle, flanked by two armed prison guards. She wore a heavy black wool coat, her face expressionless, hiding the absolute psychological storm raging inside her mind.
She stopped in front of Cell Block C, Cell 402.
Sitting on a narrow steel cot behind thick plexiglass was Ethan. He looked thinner, wearing an orange jumpsuit, but the dark, calculating smirk on his face hadn't changed one bit.
Ethan stood up and walked slowly to the glass, pressing his palms against it. He picked up the heavy plastic telephone receiver. Claire picked up hers on the other side, the thick barrier separating them like a wall of ice.
"I knew you'd come, sister," Ethan’s voice rasped through the static-filled speaker, a sickeningly sweet smile spreading across his face.
Claire’s eyes narrowed into daggers. She didn't flinch. She didn't cry.
"You called me sister," Claire said, her voice frighteningly calm. "So you’ve known all along."
"Ever since my father found out about Eleanor’s little secret," Ethan chuckled darkly. "Eleanor thought she was so smart, using you as a pawn, manipulating us both. But blood runs deeper than manipulation, Claire. Or should I call you Claire Sterling?"
"Don't ever call me that," Claire whispered, leaning closer to the glass. "You think you won by dropping that bomb in my lap? You think knowing I share blood with a monster like Eleanor will break me?"
Ethan’s smirk faltered slightly, replaced by a flicker of confusion as he stared into her cold, unblinking eyes. "What... what are you talking about?"
May you like
Claire raised her hand, sliding a crisp, legal document up against the plexiglass for him to read.
It was an official corporate asset forfeiture and name-change decree, signed by a federal judge that very morning.
