As the time for Gabriel's arrival neared, she fidgeted anxiously. Fed up with waiting for the phone call, she called Eva.
"Hi Eva"
"Hi, Claire. He's expected to arrive soon before you start quizzing me."
"I'm sorry. Have I been that bad?"
"Very much so. The doctor's appointment is booked for tomorrow, as I've said. I'll see how he feels after the journey. If he's well enough, I'll take him out for dinner. If not, I'll get him straight home. I'll make sure to get him to call you after the appointment, at the latest."
"Thank you." Claire let out a sigh of relief.
"Are you okay? You seem on edge, girl."
"I am not certain what okay is anymore."
"It's a rough time, I know. I can't imagine what you must be going through. Between the whole thing with your resignation and Gabriel's shooting… keep it up, Claire. I'll come to visit at Christmas and we will have some time together."
"I'll be certainly looking forward to it." Claire agreed although she knew that it was like an empty promise.
"He's here. Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him. I'll try not to bully him too much either. We'll call you later. Bye." Eva said cheerfully, her excitement to see Gabriel could be heard in her voice.
Part of Claire hoped to hear Gabriel that day but she trusted Eva to take care of her brother. She trusted Eva.
Trust was still such a weird concept.
Claire dismissed all of the staff that evening, besides the security. She wasn't sure what to do with herself at first. She read through Pierre's plan carefully. She was unconvinced of it. She couldn't leave things as they were. She had too much-unfinished business.
Not expecting to hear from Gabriel that day, she hid in a kitchen. If she were to die, she needed to make sure that Gabriel was taken care of. He barely ate recently, so her first thought was to prepare as many freezer meals for him as possible.
It was when she was layering the lasagne that she heard her phone faintly run upstairs. Her heart skipped a beat. They say that no news is good news, so…
'Cuore mio' was on the screen. Claire was terrified when she answered the call, wondering if anything happened to Gabriel, worried that Michael might've already started to execute his plan to eradicate his son.
She answered, apologising immediately. Gabriel sounded fine. He offered to call back later if he was disturbing her.
No, she didn't want that. She wanted to hear him. She needed to know that he was okay. She was startled that he asked FaceTime her, that he wanted to see her. She agreed, seeing his handsome face on the screen. She held in the tears.
How could she lie to him and hide the truth? How could she run away and hide from him? How could she cause that kind of heartbreak?
As he smiled weakly, visibly tired, she just wanted to hold him forever, reassuring him that it'll be fine.
"You look beautiful, Claire dear." Gabriel complimented her. Claire felt the bruises forming all over her body. She hardly took care of herself. She didn't sleep or eat well. She definitely didn't feel beautiful.
"You look rather handsome, too." She said, admiring the dimples on his cheeks appearing with his soft smile.
She sat down in the armchair, listening of his long flight until Gabriel fell asleep.
Claire smiled at a video of Gabriel asleep. She didn't want to disconnect. Not yet.
If she were to go with Pierre's plan, he would have to leave Gabriel. He would have to break his heart. He would have to hurt him. She didn't have the heart to do it but… what if that was the only way to keep him alive?
Answering the video call from Gabriel was bittersweet. She missed him dearly. It was the first time that she felt his absence to her core. But as he grumbled about Eva, as he spoke to her of his flight, as he talked about all that was trivial, she knew that she will do anything to protect him, even if she needed to break him first.
At last, she disconnected. She finished cooking way into the morning, sobbing through the night. Then she went to sleep in Gabriel's bedroom, inhaling his deep smell from the bedsheets.
Eva updated her in the morning, letting her know that Gabriel woke up and already grumpily said something to her. The doctor's appointment was still some time away.
Claire sat in her study, contemplating all of her options. She had none left. At least not the ones she would consider.
She opened the file from Pierre looking at the photos of her loved ones, with shadows of people following them.
She picked up the phone that Pierre gave her and called it. The dialling tone seemed to last forever before Pierre's voice propped up on the other side.
"Good morning, Claire."
"Morning." Claire answered, not quite ready for pleasantries. "I'll do it." She said decisively and straight to the point. "But, I have terms too."
"You're running a hard bargain." Pierre replied. "What do you want?"
"I need help getting all of my business sorted. I need reassurance that Gabriel and my family and friends will be safe. I need to know what is happening whilst I'm away."
"Okay." Pierre agreed. "I have your back, Claire. You're not going to be left completely alone."
"Thanks." Claire uttered. She still wasn't sure if Pierre was to be trusted. "I need a bank account where the money will go in. I need the Last Will written that gives that money to my family and friends." Claire thought for a second. "I have a trusted lawyer that will be able to help with the Will but I need the account."
"Not an issue. I'll sort it out for you today. Anything else?"
"I don't know. I don't think I can think clearly." Claire admitted. "I'll call you when I'm ready."
"Sure. I'll wait. Don't push it too much. It'll be harder to escape if you're dead."
"Actually. I wanted to get something and I wondered if you can get it for me so it's a surprise."
"Go on."
"I'll send you the information." Claire spoke quietly as if she was worried that someone will overhear her. But no one was there to hear her words. "It's a gift for Gabriel but I rather have him receive it afterwards."
"Yeah, no problem." Pierre agreed again. She thought that he would be less keen to help her but there was no resistance.
She sat by her desk, thinking of a plan.
She was not going to leave Gabriel without hints. No. She was going to disappear but she wanted to make sure that she left him hints, and hope.
She picked the things that held meaning for them both. A drawing of them from their first date, and a book that Gabriel gave her. She asked Pierre to pick up an order for her. She ordered a custom-made wedding ring for Gabriel. She wrote letters. She wrote notes. She packed different packages. She ensured that they were to be delivered accordingly, on her own timescale. Her uncle was to hold onto the first package for Gabriel. She made sure that the packages were to be delivered to the people she trusted. She hoped that they will be able to pass them on to Gabriel when the time was right.
She wrote the words carefully, hoping that if Gabriel reads them, he'll be able to see that she was planning to come back.
Later,
Claire asked Klaus to drop her off at the Diamond Corporate office. It has been a while since she's been here, but it felt like whole lifetimes.
As she walked through the lobby, her heart throbbed at the sight of a large banner of Gabriel and a now empty slot beside him.
She had no place to be here.
She saw Pierre enter the elevator. She wasn't sure if it was planned or if he intended to catch her there. He stopped the elevator for her and she entered it. They were alone.
"Good morning, Claire."
"Morning." Claire answered, not quite ready for pleasantries.
"Here you go." He passed her a small strip of paper and a box. "It's what you asked for."
"Thank you." Claire was surprised by his swift resolution as she looked into her hand. The paper had account details and the box had the wedding ring that she had ordered.
"No problem." Pierre replied. He was heading to floor thirty-six. Of course, he was. His cover-up company was getting a new fancy office.
"What even is your job at the NCA?"
"Covert Senior investigator. I specialise in organised crime and I'm a part of the Criminal Justice Task Force."
"I thought you went back to France after uni…"
"I have joined the training academy. At first, I thought about joining the police but I did very well with the investigation side of things."
"I see." Claire nodded unsurely. Pierre waved her goodbye as he walked out of the elevator. She continued up to floor forty-one where Gordon's office was.
If she were to disappear, she wanted to ensure that the company could run on its own for a while longer. She brought all of the paperwork and policies that she ever worked on, and she rearranged Gordon's calendar to fit herself in it. Gordon was kind of used to her ways now so he just smiled and welcomed her into his office. He was on board with her style of work and her policies. He provided her with criticism and feedback only to help her improve upon it, not to take her down. Perhaps, it was because he was closer in age to her and Gabriel than the rest of the board of directors.
After seeing Gordon, Claire went to see Mr Watters. She already knew what she was to ask of him. Her Will was written she just needed someone to see to it. If she asked Adam or Alex Best, they would have been suspicious and worried. Watters kept her marriage contract a secret. He was the best bet to keep it quiet.
Watters looked surprised to see her but he heard her request and accepted it, filing her Will properly.
On the way home she stopped by her uncle, asking him to keep the gift for Gabriel, with the custom-made ring, safe. She was careful to not disclose too much. She was careful to not mention her relationship with Gabriel. Thankfully Adam hasn't asked questions. If Gabriel Moore comes to his home, he was to pass the package and letter to him.
Claire returned home, feeling increasingly depressed and anxious.
She sat down with the phone in her hand, waiting for the update from Gabriel and Eva. She was impatient.
It was a while before the phone rang and she answered it within a split second.