Chapter 3 - THE GRAVE WITHOUT A BODY
Vincent returned to his estate shortly after midnight.
He did not remove his coat. He walked straight through the marble foyer and into the private study, where Daniel Russo, his head of security, was waiting.
“Tell me everything.”
Daniel placed a folder on the desk.
“Anna Bennett has been living in Evanston for nearly three years. She works as a pediatric physical therapist at a rehabilitation center. She uses her maiden name professionally. The child is registered as Leo Bennett.”
“Where was she after the crash?”
“St. Agnes Hospital in Indiana. She was found by a flight attendant near the rear service road. She had a concussion, a fractured shoulder, and several burns. Her identification had been destroyed.”
Vincent gripped the desk.
“Why wasn't I told?”
“The hospital never contacted us. The passenger manifest listed Anna as deceased. The explosion was severe enough that investigators initially believed no one could have escaped.”
“She was alive.”
“Yes, boss.”
“And she called my office?”
Daniel opened another page.
“We found two incoming calls from St. Agnes Hospital. Both were logged under an unidentified caller. The first was transferred to the executive office. The second was marked as a wrong number.”
“Who took them?”
“Your former executive assistant, Marissa Cole.”
Vincent stared at him.
“Where is she?”
“She left the company eight months after the crash. She's currently working for Bellini International.”
The name made Vincent's expression turn cold.
“Bellini?”
“That's what the records show.”
Vincent opened the old flight investigation. Several pages had been copied, but one section was missing.
“Where is the complete file?”
“Some pages were removed from the company archive.”
“By whom?”
“We're checking.”
Vincent picked up a photograph from the desk. It was from his wedding. Anna stood beside him in a simple ivory gown, smiling as if the future had no reason to frighten her.
He remembered the promise he had made.
I will always come back for you.
He had broken it in the worst possible way.
“Find Marissa. Find the missing pages. And find out who arranged the maintenance that day.”
Daniel nodded.
Vincent walked into the east wing. At the end of the corridor stood a small room he had kept locked since Anna's funeral. Her books remained on the shelves. Her blue scarf still hung over the back of a chair. A dried bouquet from their last anniversary sat in a glass vase.
He opened the curtains.
Then he sat on the floor and cried for the first time in three years.
May you like
Not because Anna had returned.
Because she had returned without him.
