章節 126: A target
Gabriel leaned back in his chair. He drew a long breath in with the bitter taste of tobacco. He reread the documents once again, analysing every word and number.
The driver claimed the bounty and gave it to Claire. The money was mentioned in Claire's will. Claire knew that she will receive that money. Claire knew that she will die. Claire chose to die.
A heavy pit in his stomach weighed him down.
It wasn't until a knock sounded across his office that he finally moved.
"Yes?"
"You received a package, sir." Martha quickly passed him a neatly wrapped package before disappearing out of the room. Only now Gabriel realised that it was morning again. A dark cloudy morning with a continuous splatter of rain. Just as melancholic as the rest of the world.
Gabriel stared at the package for a while, studying the writing on it and the careful wrapping of the brown paper.
He didn't recognise the handwriting. It definitely wasn't Claire's.
With hesitation, he unwrapped it to find a box, and within it was a USB stick.
As stupid as it was to put an unknown USB stick into his device, he did it without a second thought. He received enough random letters and packages from Claire in the past few weeks. Another sign of her preparations.
There were two files on the USB. One was a recording and one was a pdf file.
He played the recording and he froze.
He recognised the voice instantly. His father spoke to someone… at first, he didn't understand what they spoke of and once he did, he closed his eyes and his jaw tensed.
It became apparent that his father planned the shooting. Not that he doubted it before. He already knew that his father had it all planned out. But what he didn't know was what the exact plan was. Hearing it was blood-chilling. It was heartbreaking. It was surprising too.
He was the target and not Claire. He was meant to be shot. He was meant to be hurt. Perhaps not killed. Hurt. And Claire was to be blamed for it. And his father achieved what he set up to do. He didn't stand in his way as he initially thought. He thought he had an upper hand and he never did. He was always losing. And that's why he lost Claire. That's why Claire didn't trust him to keep her safe.
He checked over the packaging but aside from his own name and address, there was no indication of the sender.
He sat there for a while before it was time for his security to switch shifts. He called Harry in.
Harry stood there nervously merely minutes later. He fidgeted knowing that he failed his job.
"Good morning, sir." He said formally.
"Good morning." Gabriel answered half-heartedly. He didn't have the desire to continue with pleasantries. He didn't have the energy for this. He needed answers. "I've called you in because I have a question. Whilst I was in the States, did anyone suspicious visit Claire?"
"No, sir." Harry shook his head. "Mrs Thompson knew all of the visitors."
"I see." Gabriel contemplated on it carefully.
"Even outside of the villa?"
"Even outside, sir. She rarely left the house and all of her trips were to the previous destinations."
"Where did she go?"
"To the Diamond Corporate office."
"Who did she meet in there?"
"The interim CEO, Gordon Trapp."
"Anyone else?"
"Mr Theodore Watters."
"Did she tell you why she saw him?"
"I did not enquire."
Gabriel went silent. He felt that he was still missing something.
"So, no one was here while I was away, correct?" He asked again.
"No one of concern." Harry repeated.
And here it was. Gabriel heard it. He looked up at Harry as if something clicked in his brain.
"Who was here?"
"Just a single visitor, sir."
"Who?"
"I'm afraid that I didn't catch a name. I've checked their ID and they weren't suspicious and then Mrs Thompson confirmed that she knew him and she dismissed me."
"Do you remember any details?" Gabriel felt his insides twist into a tight knot. A different one. The one which he felt when he untangled a mystery.
"His ID showed that he was a government worker."
"A government worker?"
"Yes. He was from the National Crime Agency. Besides." Harry thought for a moment trying to recall the interaction that has happened over a month earlier. "He was French. He had a French name."
"Any CCTV?"
"I'm afraid not enough to be significant. We had a brief outage that day. We checked on Mrs Thompson as soon as it was noticed and she was not in distress."
"And why was I not informed of the outage?"
"Mrs Thompson said that it was not of high concern and that it wasn't necessary to worry you, sir."
"Of course she did." Gabriel mumbled as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Thank you, Harry. You're dismissed."
Harry bowed his head and left obediently. He often acted like a soldier. Sometimes too much like one.
Gabriel started pacing but soon he felt dizzy. He forgot to eat or drink again. He was saving all of the meals that Claire cooked for a better occasion. He made sure that no one else touched them.
He wanted to share the new discovery with someone but there was no one there. The only person that he would've been so open with was gone.
He took out another cigarette and slowly smoked it, using its bitter taste as a distraction from his racing thoughts.
Later that day he decided to return to pay a visit to his company. He wasn't sure what he was looking for. He definitely wasn't ready. But he needed out of the house especially after he fought an urge of going into Claire's room and burying his face in her bed in the hope to catch the last glimpse of her smell.
He managed to keep his mind occupied with the mystery of how Claire prepared for her last day on Earth as if solving it was going to provide him with so-needed closure.
Klaus kept glancing at him in the mirror. The last time he drove him anywhere was chasing the ambulance to the hospital.
He remembered very well the amount of pain that Gabriel was in that day. Pain… it wasn't pain. It was worse. It was agony. Painful destruction of his very being. Every fibre of his body changed forever.
As they pulled up at the square, Gabriel struggled. He struggled to be there without Claire.
He was taken aback by the number of reporters that hovered around. As soon as he stepped out of the car and one of them spotted him, they all run, almost suffocating him. He felt trapped. But then he realised that he could use it.
"Mr Moore, you have been previously spotted during the trial. What are your thoughts on the accusations?"
"Mr Moore, your ex-employee has passed away after the car accident?"
"Did you have an affair with Miss Thompson?"
"Did Miss Thompson betray you to get to your father?"
"Can you confirm that Miss Thompson was your girlfriend?"
"If I agree to give a statement, will you stop shouting in my face?" Gabriel asked through his gritted teeth. A few reporters nodded and a silence that he asked for befell. He didn't plan what to say. He didn't think that much ahead.
"You have no conscience, do you? You're all vultures, aren't you? Prying on other people's tragedies." He was angry. He was furious. They've got it all wrong. "First of all, how dare you accuse me of an affair. I've made it clear that Claire was someone very dear to me. I didn't have an affair with her as there was no one else besides her. She was my wife so speak about her with respect. She was Claire Moore, so get that right too!" He almost screamed. He waited to unload it for so long and no one was there to stop it. "We were married since April this year but you still try to find some indecency between us. You still try to tarnish our names. Claire's name. I've had enough of it. If one more person speaks ill of my wife, I'll make sure that they face the consequences of this. And now you're standing in front of a man who saw his wife die in front of him. Or rather, I am sure that she was killed, that her death was orchestrated, and I'll ensure that all involved will pay for this. And when it comes to my father, he better be ready for what is coming to him. He is now facing a man who has nothing else to lose and that is very dangerous."
"What does it mean?"
"I will be standing in court against my father. All those accusations are very true. He is responsible for the deaths of thousands. He took lives and ruined lives. He will be brought to justice. For that and much more."
"Why did you marry Miss Thompson?"
"Because I loved her, of course. Claire Elise Thompson was the most magnificent person I ever came across. And I was more than privileged for her to become my wife. For her to hold my name, even if in secret."
"How we are to know that it's true."
"I will publish the confirmation of our marriage. Although my word should be enough. And now, please respect that I am still in bereavement and leave."
They didn't argue. What Gabriel told them was enough to run several headlines. What Gabriel told them was enough to break the news.
What Gabriel told them was a truth that he needed to unload so desperately. And now, he was going to make sure that everyone knew that Claire was his wife. He was going to show it everywhere. He knew that the photographs taken showed him wearing his wedding ring, the ring gifted to him by Claire post-mortem but which still held its meaning, more so than ever. Even death couldn't break the contract with no break clause. It was an unbreakable marriage.
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