Chapter 3 - The Name Daniel Left Behind
“Where are you?” Adrian demanded.
“At home.”
“Lock the doors.”
His mother gave a strange laugh.
“It's too late for that.”
The call ended.
Adrian ran.
His mother's estate was fifteen minutes away.
He made it in nine.
The front door stood open.
“Mom!”
No answer.
He entered.
A lamp had been knocked over.
A wineglass lay shattered.
Then he saw his mother sitting calmly in the library.
Marcus sat opposite her.
Adrian stopped.
His uncle smiled.
“There he is.”
Adrian looked at his mother.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you hang up?”
Marcus answered.
“Because I asked her to.”
Adrian stepped toward him.
“You knew about box 417.”
Marcus sighed.
“Daniel always was theatrical.”
“You had him followed.”
Marcus didn't deny it.
Adrian's mother stood.
“Adrian, listen.”
“No. I've listened for four years.”
He placed Daniel's photograph on the table.
“Why was Daniel with Dad, Bennett and Marcus at that warehouse?”
His mother's face changed.
Marcus leaned back.
“Because Daniel was blackmailing us.”
Adrian laughed.
“That's the story?”
“It's the truth.”
“I have his files.”
That erased Marcus's smile.
Adrian saw fear.
Small.
But real.
“He recorded everything,” Adrian said.
His mother whispered, “Everything?”
Adrian looked at her.
That single word told him she knew more than she claimed.
“Daniel said Marcus wasn't working alone.”
Marcus stood.
“Be careful.”
“Or what?”
His mother stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Adrian turned to her.
“Daniel named someone.”
She went still.
Marcus stared at him.
“Who?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Because Daniel's video had named Evelyn Vale.
Adrian's mother.
But Adrian hadn't believed it.
Not yet.
Daniel's exact words had been:
“Evelyn knows where the original records are.”
Not that she committed crimes.
Not that she ordered anything.
Only that she knew.
Adrian needed to understand before accusing her.
Marcus approached.
“Give me the drive.”
“No.”
“Adrian.”
“No.”
Marcus's jaw tightened.
Then Elena called.
Adrian answered immediately.
She was crying.
“Someone was inside my apartment.”
Adrian left without another word.
When he arrived, drawers had been emptied.
Cushions ripped.
The crib overturned.
Elena and Lily were safe at a neighbor's apartment.
Adrian felt something cold replace his anger.
“Pack.”
Elena stared at him.
“What?”
“You're coming with me.”
“I can't live in your house.”
“Tonight you can.”
Bennett agreed.
They returned to Adrian's estate after dark.
For the first time, Elena entered through the front door as a guest.
Adrian noticed how uncomfortable that made her.
He showed her a suite upstairs.
Lily immediately grabbed the expensive curtain.
Elena pulled her hand away.
Adrian smiled.
“She can destroy it.”
“Do you know what these curtains cost?”
“No.”
“You bought them.”
“I have people who buy curtains.”
Elena laughed.
It was the first time he'd heard her laugh without exhaustion beneath it.
For one brief moment, the darkness lifted.
Then Bennett arrived.
He carried another file.
“Daniel's autopsy.”
Elena's smile vanished.
Bennett placed it down.
“There's something you weren't told.”
Elena didn't touch it.
“What?”
“Daniel's injuries weren't consistent with the crash alone.”
Adrian read.
Two fractured ribs had occurred before impact.
Bruising around one wrist.
A head injury possibly predating the collision.
“He was attacked,” Adrian said.
Bennett nodded.
Elena covered her mouth.
Adrian felt helpless watching her.
He wanted to promise justice.
He didn't.
Promises were cheap.
Evidence mattered.
They spent hours reviewing Daniel's files.
At 1:20 a.m., Lily woke.
Elena picked her up.
Adrian warmed a bottle.
“You've done that before?” Elena asked.
“No.”
“You look terrified.”
“I negotiate billion-dollar acquisitions.”
“This bottle is winning.”
She smiled.
Then Adrian saw the formula container she'd brought.
The same one.
Nearly empty.
He opened a cabinet.
Earlier that evening, he had ordered several cans.
Elena stared.
“You bought all that?”
“I may have overestimated.”
“You bought enough for a daycare.”
“I panicked.”
For the first time since Daniel's name returned to his life, Elena laughed hard enough to cry.
Adrian laughed too.
Then his phone buzzed.
Security alert.
Someone at the front gate.
2:03 a.m.
Adrian checked the camera.
His mother.
Alone.
He went downstairs.
Evelyn Vale entered carrying a small metal box.
She saw Elena.
Everything stopped.
Evelyn whispered, “You look like him.”
Elena's expression hardened.
“You knew Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“How well?”
“Well enough to owe you an apology.”
Evelyn placed the metal box on the table.
Adrian looked at it.
“What is that?”
“The reason Daniel died.”
Elena went pale.
Evelyn opened it.
Inside were dozens of original documents.
Adrian recognized signatures.
Property transfers.
Payments.
Shell companies.
Then one document caught his attention.
A birth certificate.
He lifted it.
The father's name was Daniel Mercer.
The child wasn't Lily.
The birth date was thirty-two years earlier.
May you like
Adrian read the child's name.
His own.
