Chapter 2 - THE LAST THING DANIEL LEFT
Marcus found the memory card before anyone else could touch it.
He placed it inside an evidence sleeve and called the estate’s technical
team. The dining room was cleared, the guests were escorted through the
west entrance, and every exit was watched.
Gabriel refused to leave Rachel and Lily.
He took them to the library, a quiet room with a fireplace and thick
curtains. Lily sat on a leather sofa, holding the damaged carnation.
Rachel sat beside her, still wearing her black housemaid’s uniform.
Gabriel remained standing.
“Why didn’t you come to me?” he asked.
Rachel gave a tired, disbelieving laugh.
“I did.”
“When?”
“Three days after Daniel’s funeral. I called your office. Your assistant
said you were unavailable. I sent two letters. They came back unopened.
Then a man waited outside our apartment and told me to stop trying.”
“Who?”
“I never learned his name. He said he worked for you.”
Gabriel looked toward Marcus, who had just entered.
“Find the call records and the letters. I want to know who handled
them.”
Marcus nodded.
Rachel continued. “A week later, Vanessa came to our apartment. She said
Daniel had stolen money and that your people believed I knew where he
hid it. She said if I kept asking questions, Lily could be taken into
care.”
Gabriel’s expression turned cold.
“She threatened a child?”
“She told me that nobody would believe a poor widow accusing a woman
like her. Arthur stood beside her. He said he could make sure I never
worked in this city again.”
“Why didn’t you report them?”
“To whom? The police? Daniel’s death was already called an accident. The
company had lawyers. Vanessa had your name. I had a five-year-old and no
money.”
Gabriel lowered his eyes.
He had spent three years believing he had lost Daniel’s family. The
truth was worse: he had been made to abandon them while they were still
alive.
A soft knock came from the door.
Marcus returned with the technical director, a woman named Priya Shah.
“We’ve copied the card,” Priya said. “It contains one audio file and
several photographs. The file appears to be from a voice recorder.”
Gabriel looked at Rachel.
“Do you want to hear it?”
She nodded.
Priya connected a laptop to the room’s speakers.
Static crackled.
Then Daniel’s voice filled the library.
“Gabe, if you’re hearing this, something happened before I could
explain.”
Rachel covered her mouth.
Lily looked up.
“That’s Daddy.”
Gabriel gripped the back of a chair.
Daniel continued.
“I found transfers from the Moretti shipping accounts to companies that
don’t exist. Arthur is approving them. Vanessa is arranging meetings
with the people receiving the money. I don’t know how far it goes, but
it’s bigger than theft.”
A pause. A rustle.
“I confronted Arthur. He said the money was payment for keeping the
family safe. Then he told me you knew. I don’t believe him. I need to
show you the documents before he realizes I have copies.”
The recording clicked, then resumed.
“If I don’t make it back, find Rachel. Find Lily. I promised them I’d
come home. Don’t let anyone tell you I abandoned them.”
Rachel began to cry silently.
Gabriel closed his eyes.
Daniel’s voice softened.
“And Gabe… don’t trust the people who tell you I’m dead before you’ve
seen proof.”
The file ended.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Gabriel asked, “Are there more?”
Priya nodded. “The photographs show warehouse ledgers, shipping
manifests, and scans of payment instructions. There’s also a picture of
a storage unit key.”
Marcus studied the screen.
“That’s the old freight depot on Halsted. Daniel used to keep personal
records there.”
Gabriel looked at him.
“Why didn’t you know?”
“Because Daniel never told me about it.”
Gabriel turned back to Rachel.
“Did he ever mention a key?”
Rachel hesitated, then reached into the small pocket sewn inside her
handbag.
“I kept something from his coat. I didn’t know what it was.”
She placed a brass key on the table.
A tiny paper tag was attached.
UNIT 318.
Gabriel looked from the key to the photograph.
May you like
For the first time in three years, he felt that Daniel might have left
them a way to uncover the truth.
