Chapter 9: The Master Architect

When morning finally broke, pouring pale, gray winter light into the West Ashley house, Clare was still there.

She had eventually collapsed on the worn leather couch in the living room. Owen had draped a heavy folded blanket over her shoulders sometime after 2:00 AM, moving silently so as not to wake her.

She woke to the soft sound of small, bare feet padding down the wooden stairs.

Caleb came around the corner. His hair was sticking up wildly at the back. He was still in his pajamas. In his left hand, he held a piece of paper.

He completely ignored his father standing by the stove. Caleb walked straight up to the couch, stopped in front of Clare, and held the paper out to her.

It was a meticulous pencil drawing on lined notebook paper. It depicted three stick-figures: a man, a small child, and a woman. They were sitting together on a long wooden bench near a sand-colored stretch of beach. The woman did not have a face drawn in yet—just a blank outline of a head and hair.

“I drew this last week,” Caleb said, his voice entirely serious. “I didn’t know your name yet.”

Clare sat up slowly. She took the drawing with both hands. She looked at the faceless woman sitting next to the father and son. She stared at it for a very long time. Her throat tightened.

She didn’t say anything. Owen, flipping an egg at the stove, didn’t say anything either. He merely poured a fresh cup of hot coffee, walked over, set it gently on the side table beside her, and went back to his cooking.

Clare folded the drawing directly in half along its grain. She did it very carefully, ensuring the creases were perfect. She slid the folded paper into the inside breast pocket of her expensive designer coat.

She stood up. The exhaustion was gone from her eyes. It was replaced by something cold, sharp, and terrifyingly clear.

She turned to Owen.

“I need exactly forty-eight hours to coordinate,” Clare said, her voice ringing with the authority of a CEO who was no longer asking for permission. “Then I want every single person in that boardroom.”

Owen poured himself a second cup of coffee. He nodded once.

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