Chapter 4 - Daniel's Last Promise
Clara was taken to a private hospital under security escort.
The examination revealed that she was experiencing contractions brought on by physical strain. Thankfully, the medical team found no immediate signs of labor, and her daughter appeared stable.
The doctor ordered rest, hydration, and close monitoring.
Vincent remained in the corridor until the doctor came out.
“Mr. Moretti, she needs to avoid stress and physical exertion. If the contractions return or intensify, we need to know immediately.”
“Whatever she needs, provide it.”
The doctor nodded.
When Vincent entered Clara's room, she was sitting against the pillows, staring at Daniel's wedding photograph.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered.
He frowned.
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Because my husband brought danger into your family.”
Vincent pulled a chair beside her bed.
“Your husband may have saved my daughter's life. If anyone owes an apology, it's the people who forced him to make that choice.”
Clara's eyes filled.
“He never told me anything.”
“Perhaps he believed silence was the only way to keep you safe.”
She looked at him.
“Do you think he loved me?”
Vincent's expression softened.
“I think a man who was willing to die protecting a child he wasn't related to had a great deal of love in him.”
Clara pressed the photograph to her chest.
For six months, she'd believed Daniel's final secret was that he'd died before he could become a father.
Now she wondered how much of his life she had never truly understood.
Margaret Shaw arrived that afternoon with preliminary findings.
Daniel Bennett had not been employed by a construction company. His records showed that he had worked for a private transport firm that had dissolved shortly before his reported death.
The construction site had existed, but the employer's registration was fraudulent.
The accident report contained inconsistencies.
And the company that paid Clara's funeral expenses had been linked to one of Richard Sterling's shell companies.
“Someone created a false employment history,” Margaret explained. “We don't yet know who arranged it, but the evidence suggests Daniel was deliberately concealed.”
Clara went pale.
“Does that mean he was murdered?”
“It means we need more evidence before making that conclusion,” Margaret replied. “We won't jump ahead of the facts.”
Vincent nodded.
“Find the people who handled the body, the accident report, and the payments. I want the original records, not summaries.”
Margaret turned to Clara.
“Did Daniel ever leave you a message about the box?”
Clara thought for a moment.
“He told me not to open it until our daughter was born. He said that if he wasn't there, the box would help me understand why he had been afraid.”
“Did he ever say where the recording was?”
“No.”
Then Clara remembered something.
“On our anniversary, he gave me a little music box too. It plays a lullaby. He said his mother used to sing it to him.”
Vincent leaned forward.
“Do you still have it?”
“Yes. It's in my apartment, unless the intruders took it.”
Margaret made a note.
“We'll have the apartment secured and photographed before anything is moved.”
Vincent's phone rang.
An unfamiliar number.
He answered.
“Moretti.”
A woman's voice whispered, “Vincent?”
He froze.
“Elena?”
“Yes.”
He stood so abruptly that the chair scraped the floor.
“Where are you? Are you safe?”
“For now.”
“Why won't you tell me where you are?”
“Because Richard has people everywhere. I don't know who I can trust.”
Vincent lowered his voice.
“You can trust me.”
A long silence followed.
Then Elena said, “I want to believe that.”
“You don't have to believe anything yet. Just tell me what you need.”
“I need Clara to know what Daniel did.”
Clara sat up.
Vincent looked at her.
“She can hear you.”
Elena's breath caught.
“Clara Bennett?”
“Yes,” Clara whispered.
“I'm sorry,” Elena said. “I'm so sorry about Daniel.”
Clara's eyes filled.
“Did he really protect your daughter?”
“He did. When Richard's people tried to take Grace away from the woman hiding her, Daniel refused to hand her over. He knew Richard would never let him live if he kept resisting.”
“Who was raising Grace?”
“A woman named Margaret Ellis. She was a nurse who had helped me escape. She loved Grace like her own child.”
Elena paused.
“Daniel arranged for them to leave Chicago. He delivered money, documents, and a route to a safe place. But Richard discovered what he was doing.”
Clara covered her mouth.
“What happened to my husband?”
“I don't know every detail. Daniel told me he had a plan to disappear afterward. Then I heard he'd been killed. I never had proof until now.”
Vincent's jaw tightened.
“Why did you wait four years to contact me?”
“Because I was trying to keep Grace alive. Richard told me he would use her to control you. He had forged documents, manipulated your security, and convinced your own advisers that I had betrayed you.”
“I would never have believed him.”
“I know that now,” Elena whispered. “But back then, I was pregnant, frightened, and alone. Every time I tried to reach you, someone intercepted me.”
Vincent closed his eyes.
“I should have found you.”
“You were searching for the woman Richard described, not the woman I was forced to become.”
He swallowed.
“Tell me where you are.”
“Not yet. First, you need to understand what Richard wants from Clara.”
Vincent's expression sharpened.
“What does he want?”
“The recording Daniel hid. It proves Richard arranged the forged documents, ordered Grace's transfer, and paid people to erase the evidence.”
“Why would Clara have it?”
“Daniel knew Richard would search every obvious hiding place. He chose someone Richard would never consider important.”
Clara looked down at her wedding photograph.
“Me.”
“Yes,” Elena whispered. “But there's something else. Daniel discovered that Richard's people had been tracking Clara's pregnancy. He believed they intended to use the baby to force him into surrendering Grace.”
Clara felt cold.
“My daughter?”
“He knew Richard might target you once he realized Daniel had left evidence behind. He wanted to protect both of you.”
Vincent's expression turned to stone.
“Richard won't get near her.”
Elena's voice softened.
“Vincent, please don't turn this into another war. I need you to bring our daughter home, not create another grave.”
He looked at Clara.
Then at the photograph of Grace.
May you like
“I'll do this the right way,” he promised. “I'll protect them both.”
For the first time in four years, Elena allowed herself to believe that she might finally be able to come home.
