Claire Refused Arthur’s Money
Chapter 03 - Claire Refused Arthur’s Money
Claire woke angry.
That was a good sign.
Not pleasant.
Good.
The first thing she asked after seeing Ivy:
“Where are the boys?”
The second:
“Why is Arthur Pendelton outside?”
Joanne Mills answered.
“He brought Ivy in.”
Claire closed her eyes.
That did not look like gratitude.
Arthur learned this from the hallway.
He stayed there.
Aunt May arrived at three.
Real name:
Marjorie Sterling.
Forty-three.
Daniel’s older sister.
Cigarettes, as advertised.
She walked into the pediatric unit carrying a duffel bag and righteous fury.
“Which rich man is involved?”
Arthur stood.
“Me.”
May looked him up and down.
“You look expensive.”
“I’ve been called worse.”
“By me, if you don’t explain.”
Good.
Joanne handled most of it.
The children could stay temporarily with May if background checks cleared and Claire consented.
May did.
Claire did.
The twins needed another day of observation.
Ivy could leave with May that evening.
Arthur’s promise fulfilled.
He could go.
Instead Claire asked to see him.
Celia came too.
Claire lay propped against white pillows.
No dramatic beauty.
Dry lips.
Hospital gown.
Hair unwashed.
Angry enough to look stronger than she was.
Arthur stayed near the door.
“Ms. Sterling.”
“Do not call me that like you’re a bank.”
“Claire.”
She looked at Celia.
“Who’s she?”
“My lawyer.”
Claire laughed weakly.
“Of course.”
Celia said:
“I’m here because your husband’s employment and settlement records may involve Pendelton entities.”
Claire’s face changed.
“You found Daniel’s file.”
“Yes.”
Then she looked at Arthur.
“You knew.”
“No.”
“Your company.”
“Yes.”
“Your cousin.”
“Yes.”
“Your collections man.”
“Yes.”
She looked away.
There are moments when yes is the only decent word.
Arthur had learned few of them.
Claire said:
“I don’t want your money.”
He had not offered yet.
His face must have.
“Okay.”
That surprised her.
She looked back.
“I mean it.”
“I heard you.”
“My husband spent years taking advances because your drivers were paid late whenever dispatch messed up hours.”
Arthur looked at Celia.
New.
Claire continued.
“Northbridge offered him loans at work. Everybody said it was convenient.”
Payroll advance.
High fees?
Likely.
“Then they rolled medical bills into it.”
Her eyes filled.
“Then Daniel died and they took it from the settlement before I saw a dollar.”
Celia asked:
“Did you authorize those deductions?”
Claire laughed.
“I signed a packet at a funeral home two days after burying him.”
Arthur’s stomach turned.
“Who brought it?”
“Dean.”
Of course.
“He said if I didn’t sign immediately, insurance could take six months.”
Celia wrote.
“Did you have your own lawyer?”
“No.”
“Were you told to get one?”
“No.”
Arthur looked at the floor.
Claire continued.
“I used the money I got to pay debts and rent. Then pregnancy.”
Twins.
Unexpected.
No Daniel.
She had been pregnant when he died?
Timeline: twins six weeks old, Daniel died 18 months earlier impossible unless another father.
Claire said:
“After Daniel died, I met someone. It didn’t last. By the time I knew I was pregnant, he was gone.”
Arthur asked nothing.
Not his business.
Claire continued.
“I had savings until the twins were born early.”
NICU bills.
Time off.
Rent increase.
Then the assistance fund denial.
“Three times,” she said.
Arthur nodded.
“I saw.”
“Did you design that fund?”
“My mother did.”
“Did you read the rules?”
“No.”
She stared.
“Then don’t tell me it’s your charity.”
That landed.
Good.
She coughed.
Nurse came.
Conversation paused.
Arthur waited until Claire nodded to continue.
She said:
“Daniel found something before he died.”
Celia leaned forward.
“What?”
“Driver advances.”
“He thought they were illegal?”
“He thought somebody was changing balances after accidents.”
Arthur stared.
Claire continued.
“If a driver got hurt or quit, Northbridge added fees that weren’t on the original loan.”
“Proof?”
“Daniel copied files.”
“Where?”
Claire looked at Arthur.
“I’m not telling you.”
Fair.
“Did Dean know?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Daniel confronted him.”
Arthur’s voice lowered.
“Before the crash?”
“Six weeks.”
Same as suspension.
Celia asked:
“Did Daniel think his life was in danger?”
Claire hesitated.
“No.”
Important.
“He thought he’d lose his job.”
Not murder prediction.
Good.
Then:
“After he died, Dean came to my apartment with settlement papers.”
“Did he ask about the files?”
Claire looked at Arthur.
“That was the first thing he asked.”
There.
“Did you give them?”
“No.”
“Where are they now?”
“I said I’m not telling you.”
Arthur nodded.
Claire watched him.
Then:
“You’re different from what Daniel said.”
Dangerous sentence.
Arthur did not accept it.
“What did he say?”
“That you never needed to threaten anybody twice.”
There it was.
Not compliment.
Claire looked at him.
“I don’t know if you had anything to do with Daniel’s death.”
“I didn’t.”
Too fast.
Celia glanced at him.
Arthur corrected.
“I have no memory of knowing his investigation existed before today.”
Better.
Claire nodded once.
“Then find out.”
Not:
Save me.
Find out.
She turned to Celia.
“Through her.”
Arthur looked at Celia.
She looked satisfied.
Claire continued.
“I want copies of everything you find about Daniel. I want my own lawyer.”
Celia said:
“I can give you names. I cannot represent both sides.”
“Good.”
Arthur almost smiled.
Everyone here enjoyed boundaries.
Then Claire said:
“And I want Dean Hollis nowhere near my family.”
Arthur’s instinct:
Done.
He stopped.
“I can remove him from my companies pending investigation.”
Claire stared.
“Not for me.”
“For the records issue.”
Better.
Celia nodded.
Dean was placed on administrative leave that afternoon with records preserved and access suspended.
No disappearance.
No basement.
No men.
Arthur hated how slow proper process felt.
Then Celia called at 8:40.
“We found Daniel’s vehicle report.”
Arthur was driving home.
“What about it?”
“Truck brakes were functional.”
“Then why did it jackknife?”
“Ice.”
A pause.
“But there’s something else.”
Arthur waited.
“Daniel was not supposed to be driving that route.”
“Why was he?”
“His route was changed ninety minutes before departure.”
“By who?”
Celia exhaled.
“Dispatch override.”
Arthur already knew the likely name.
“Dean?”
“No.”
That stopped him.
The authorization came from Arthur Pendelton’s own executive account.
His digital credential.
The same account only Arthur and one other person had been allowed to use.
Arthur.
And his younger brother, Nicholas.
Nicholas Pendelton had been dead for eleven months.
May you like
But Daniel’s route change happened seven months before that.
And suddenly the dead man in Claire’s story was connected to the dead man in Arthur’s.
