Chapter 17
Maya uncovered one final secret in the old Donovan archives.
A life insurance policy.
On me.
Taken out by the company under a key-person policy after my promotion.
Normal enough.
Except Dylan had tried to change the beneficiary routing through a shell entity one day before the attack.
If I had died, money would have moved into accounts he controlled.
The room went quiet when Maya told me.
Marcus swore.
Thomas sat down.
Elaine looked like she might break something.
I felt strangely calm.
Not because it did not hurt.
Because I was done being surprised by the depth of his selfishness.
Prosecutors reopened financial charges.
Dylan’s sentence was extended after a plea.
He confessed to planning the attack as both revenge and cover.
He insisted Dad did not know about the life insurance change.
Maybe true.
Maybe not.
Dad was gone.
Some questions remain rooms without doors.
I visited Dylan once after that.
Behind glass.
No touching.
No privacy.
He looked shocked to see me.
“I need to hear you say it,” I told him.
He swallowed.
“What?”
“You tried to kill me for money and a title.”
Tears filled his eyes.
“I didn’t think of it like that.”
“Think now.”
He covered his face.
When he looked up, he whispered, “Yes.”
I stood.
That was all I needed.
Not apology.
Not closure from him.
A named truth.
As I left, he said, “Claire, do you forgive me?”
I paused.
May you like
“No.”
Then I walked out lighter than when I entered.
