My Father’s Perfect Smile
Chapter 06 - My Father’s Perfect Smile
By ten the next morning, Malcolm had already gone public.
Not with the truth.
With a statement.
A reporter sent it to Claire before she had even left Rebecca’s house.
The Harrington Foundation had been “targeted by an individual making false and financially motivated claims.”
The statement did not name Elena.
It did not need to.
By noon, photographs from the gala were circulating online.
Adrian standing close to Elena.
Claire behind them.
Headlines turned pain into entertainment.
MARRIAGE TROUBLE AT HARRINGTON GALA?
MYSTERY WOMAN IN RED.
Malcolm called Claire eleven times.
She answered the twelfth.
“Take down the statement.”
“Good morning to you too.”
“You made her look like a blackmailer.”
“She is one.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know exactly who she is.”
Claire gripped the phone.
“Then say it.”
Silence.
“Say what?”
“Say her name.”
He did not.
Claire continued.
“Elena Marquez.”
Another silence.
Then Malcolm’s voice changed.
Softer.
Dangerous in its calm.
“Come to the office.”
“Why?”
“Because this is not a conversation for the phone.”
“I’m done having conversations on your terms.”
“Claire.”
“Did you have an affair with Rosa Marquez?”
The line went quiet.
She could hear him breathing.
“Your mother filled your head with stories.”
“My mother has been dead for sixteen years.”
“Rebecca, then.”
“Did you?”
He exhaled.
“Yes.”
The word hurt less than Claire expected.
Maybe because the lie had already done most of the damage.
“Is Elena your daughter?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you ever try to find out?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Rosa left.”
“You threatened her.”
“That is her version.”
“Did you threaten her?”
He snapped.
“I was trying to protect this family.”
There it was again.
Protect.
Claire almost laughed.
“From a baby?”
“From scandal. From opportunists. From people who would have torn us apart.”
“You tore us apart.”
“You don’t understand what I built.”
“No. I’m starting to.”
Malcolm lowered his voice.
“Listen to me carefully. Adrian has known about this for months.”
“I know.”
“He chose not to tell you.”
“I know.”
“He met Elena repeatedly.”
“I know.”
“And you still trust him?”
Claire looked toward the living room.
Adrian was asleep on Rebecca’s couch, one arm over his face.
He had stayed because Claire had not asked him to leave.
But trust was not a door she could simply reopen.
“I don’t know,” she said.
Malcolm seized the hesitation.
“You should.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means your husband has his own reasons for wanting me weakened.”
Claire frowned.
“Stop.”
“His firm is bidding on the waterfront redevelopment contract. My board has the deciding vote.”
“That has nothing to do with this.”
“Doesn’t it?”
Claire hated the tiny doubt that entered her mind.
Malcolm heard the silence.
His perfect timing.
His perfect smile, even through the phone.
“I’m your father,” he said. “Whatever mistakes I made, I have never wanted anything except to protect you.”
Claire looked at the brass key in her hand.
“Then tell me what it opens.”
Malcolm stopped breathing for a beat.
Claire sat up straighter.
“You know the key.”
He hung up.
No denial.
No question.
Just silence, then the dead line.
Across the room, Adrian opened his eyes.
“What happened?”
Claire stared at the phone.
“My father knows what my mother left behind.”
May you like
Adrian sat up.
“And now he knows I have it.”
