Claire looked down at her fingers, truly feeling the extend of the pain that she was trying to bury, but yet feeling a glimmer of hope.
"That's ridiculous." Jack mumbled. "You are Claire."
His words provided Claire with comfort. She was Claire and she was closer to her home.
"Yes but also no one knew of Claire. I've started to question my sanity when I had no validation of my existence anywhere."
"That's so terrifying." Anne said quietly, her eyes wide open. It was not the best introduction to Claire or the family, that was for sure. Claire felt for her. She seemed kind. She seemed perfect for Jack who deserved the world.
"What did they do to you in that Sanatorium?"
"They doped me up with anti-psychotics and told me that Claire never existed. On a positive side, they patched me up pretty well. The shot wounds left no marks which I am astonished by."
"Silver lining, I suppose." Jack placed a plaster across Anne's cheek once the wound was cleaned and then looked back at Claire. He let out a long sigh. "So glad that you're back."
"So glad to have found you. I've missed you so much."
"We all have missed you, too, Claire." Jack then poured the boiling water in a cup and brought the cup of tea in front of Claire, exactly as she liked it, and sat down opposite of her, right next to Anne.
"Tell me about you. What are you doing nowadays?"
"Not that much." Jack said quietly. "I work on the construction site as I have lost my job along with my identity." Jack sneered. "Anne obviously knows and that's it. I haven't had much contact with our family in months. It's been… interesting."
"I'm so sorry, Jack." Claire was genuinely empathetic to her cousin.
"It is not your fault, do not apologise." Jacks voice was stern. "I am very glad that you are alive and well. We all thought that something happened to you. A new identity was given to us by the few people from the National Crime Agency who approached us and helped us hide. It was for the best."
"Was it Pierre Martin from the National Crime Agency?"
"No. It was a man called Jacque and a woman called Camille."
"I am glad that they helped you." Claire smiled sadly. "I will try to make things right, Jack. You deserve better life than this."
"Don't do anything Claire. It is not worth the risk. I am content in my new life. We all accepted it. There's no point in messing it up again."
"Do you know where everyone is?" Claire asked, trying to conceal the despair that she felt.
"After you were gone, things got a bit ugly. Dad was shot. Someone tried to hurt Alex too. And someone broke into uncle's and aunt's home. So when we were approached by the witness protection scheme, we all took that offer. Actually, we did it just in time to avoid Michael Moore. Not sure if you know but he managed to get the trial's conviction overturned…"
Claire nodded. She suspected as much. "Dad and mum are in Leeds. Alex is in Manchester. Uncle and aunt are in outskirts of Sheffield. Your Nonna went back to Italy for now. Your friend, Gina, is in Newcastle. I think she might be aware of the whereabouts of your other friends."
Jack grabbed a small notepad and wrote down the addresses.
"Thank you, Jack." Claire tried to hold back her tears.
"No worries. Also, I am called Fred now." He smiled at her in a brotherly way that she knew so well. "Frederick Smith."
"If it makes you feel better, I'm Elise Cooper."
Jack smiled at her widely but then his smile vanished again.
"Gabriel… he is…" he hesitated. "He wasn't around us."
"I know."
"We didn't find him. We looked for him when things got tough to keep him safe. Uncle and aunt really wanted to keep him under the wing."
"He was with me when I've got shot. He almost lost his life then too." Claire said honestly. "He is alive. He is well." She lied.
"That's good." Jack let out a sigh of relief.
Following a long conversation and a bit of nostalgia, Claire left their home late at night and went back to her empty apartment, holding tight to a small note with four addresses.
Whilst searching for her family, she didn't get nearly as far North as they were. Her method wasn't a good one either. It was only so far she could get with visiting different cities and hoping to bump into someone she knew. It worked better by an accident than her wild intention.