Chapter 7 - The Ghost from Nathan's PastI unlocked the heavy wooden door and pulled it open just enough to eye the stranger through the security chain.
"Can I help you?" I asked, my voice guarded.
The woman looked exhausted, her dark hair plastered to her cheeks, shivering violently in the chill. Her eyes were red-rimmed, carrying the haunted, desperate look of someone running out of time.
"Are you Sharon Vance?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Yes. Who are you?"
"My name is Clara," she whispered, stepping closer to the light. "I... I know this is insane, and I know you probably never want to hear the name Miller again as long as you live, but... I had to come. You're the only one who can help us."
The name hit me like a physical blow. "Miller? Are you related to Nathan?"
Clara let out a bitter, shuddering laugh, pulling the shivering toddler closer to her chest. "I was his wife. His legal wife. For five years."
The front door seemed to tilt on its hinges.
"His what?" I stepped back, unlatching the chain and pulling the door wide open. "Nathan was unmarried. His background check—"
"Was completely fabricated," Clara interrupted, stepping into the warm foyer out of the rain. "Nathan is a master of identity masking. He divorced me on paper in a remote county three years ago using forged signatures while I was recovering from chemotherapy. But that's not even the worst part."
She reached into her soaked canvas bag and pulled out a thick file of certified documents, slamming them onto my entryway console table.
"Nathan didn't just target you for your house and savings," Clara said, her voice dropping to a terrifying, urgent whisper. "He's done this twice before. And the women he robbed... two of them never made it out of their marriages alive."
My breath caught in my throat. The room seemed to spin.
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"What are you talking about?" I managed to choke out, staring at the certified police reports and autopsy files laid out under the hallway light.
Clara looked me straight in the eyes, her expression grim and unyielding. "Nathan isn't just a con artist, Sharon. He’s a professional predator working for an international asset-stripping syndicate controlled by his mother. And by exposing him publicly at your wedding... you didn't just ruin his scam. You stepped right into the crosshairs of dangerous people who don't leave loose ends."
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