Chapter 15 - The Father's Shadow
The passport renewal changed the investigation.
A man who had supposedly died twenty years earlier had renewed a passport four months ago. The application had been filed through a private travel service. The photograph showed an older version of Richard's father.
Detective Moore requested the original application and contacted federal authorities. The name Thomas Mercer was linked to two properties, one in Maine and another in Nova Scotia. Both had been purchased through companies connected to the old Harrington foundation.
Richard wanted to go to Maine immediately.
Moore refused. “We have to coordinate with the authorities. If he is using a false identity, we need to make sure he cannot disappear again.”
At home, Lydia had been quieter. She was reading Anna's letters in order and keeping a notebook of questions. She had asked Elena to help preserve the pages in protective sleeves.
“She wants to know her mother without being told what to feel,” Elena told Richard.
“I know.”
“Then let her.”
Three days later, the police located Thomas Mercer at a coastal property in Maine. He was living alone and had no recent criminal record under that name. Officers confirmed that he matched the passport photograph.
The call came at 6:15 in the evening.
They had taken him into custody without resistance.
Richard traveled to Maine the next morning with Martin. The meeting was arranged at a federal office, with Detective Moore present. His father entered wearing a gray sweater and carrying a cane.
“Richard,” he said.
Richard remained standing. “You're dead.”
“I know what they told you.”
“You let them tell me.”
“I thought it was safer.”
“For whom?”
His father looked down.
Richard sat. “Did you know Anna was trying to contact me?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know Lydia was alive?”
“Yes.”
The words seemed to strike the room.
“You knew I spent eighteen years believing my daughter was gone. You knew Anna died without seeing her. And you stayed hidden?”
“I was trying to protect the family.”
“You keep using that word.”
His father explained that he had helped Victor Crane divert money from the foundation. When Anna discovered the scheme, she threatened to expose it. He urged Margaret to move Lydia temporarily, claiming the child might be targeted. He promised to arrange a reunion once the danger passed.
But the scheme grew. Victor threatened to reveal the family's involvement. Richard's father disappeared after a staged accident, believing his absence would protect the remaining assets and keep investigators away.
“And Anna?” Richard asked.
His father looked away. “She became ill. I heard about it.”
“Did you contact her?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I was afraid.”
Richard stared at him. “You let her die alone.”
His father began to cry, but Richard did not comfort him.
Detective Moore asked whether he would provide a formal statement and identify the accounts he had controlled. He agreed, though he requested immunity. The prosecutor would decide whether any agreement was possible.
After the meeting, Martin asked whether Richard wanted to see his father again.
“No.”
At home, Lydia was waiting in the study.
“Did you see him?”
“Yes.”
“Is it true?”
Richard sat beside her. “He knew I was looking for you. He knew your mother was trying to reach me. He chose to stay away.”
Lydia held Anna's photograph. “I don't want to meet him.”
“You don't have to.”
She leaned against him, and he held her without asking her to explain.
That night, Detective Moore called. The investigators had found a second bank account in Thomas Mercer's name. It had received money from the foundation for years, even after his supposed death.
The final transfer had been made only four months earlier.
The recipient was a private investigator.
The payment note read: Locate the girl. Confirm whether she remembers the original night.
May you like
Someone had been searching for Lydia again.
And they had not been looking for her to bring her home.
