Chapter 9 - The Web UnravelsElizabeth Thorne walked past the handcuffed Dr. Vance without even glancing at him. She stopped in front of Claire, her eyes narrowing.
"You played a dangerous game, Claire," Elizabeth said, her voice dropping to a low, menacing register. "Faking your own death, bribing a mortician to supply a corpse double for the initial autopsy records, all just to lure out the board members who wanted your patent."
Daniel felt the ground drop out from under him. He looked at Claire, his voice hollow. "You... you faked your own death? The toxicology report... the flatline... it was all planned?"
Claire turned her gaze to Daniel, her expression softening just a fraction, though the cold determination in her eyes remained. "It was the only way to expose them, Daniel. If I had gone public with the board's corruption, I would have 'accidentally' died of a heart attack within a week—just like my father did. I needed them to think they had won. I needed them to trigger the asset transfer so we could catch them red-handed."
"And you used me as your unwitting pawn?" Daniel's voice shook with a mixture of betrayal and heartbreak. "You let me sign your death certificate? You let me live with the guilt of thinking I killed the woman I loved?"
"I needed someone whose medical integrity was beyond reproach," Claire whispered, stepping closer to him. "If a corrupt doctor signed the papers, the board would have noticed. But you? Everyone trusts Dr. Daniel Sterling. Your signature made their crime official—and it gave us the legal leverage to tear their entire operation apart."
Before Daniel could answer, Elizabeth Thorne laughed—a sharp, brittle sound that echoed through the damp tunnel.
"A touching little drama," Elizabeth mocked, snapping her fingers.
May you like
From the shadows behind Elizabeth, two armed men in plainclothes stepped forward, raising their weapons not at Vance, but directly at Detective Miller, Noah, and Daniel.
"Unfortunately for you all," Elizabeth continued, her smile turning predatory, "accidents happen in old historical catacombs all the time. Gas leaks. Structural collapses. A tragic end for a grieving family and a disgraced doctor."
