Chapter 3 - THE NOTEBOOK UNDER THE FLOOR
Emma had spent fifteen years believing that silence would keep her family safe.
Now Daniel Brooks was tied to a chair because of her.
"His name was Owen Lawson."
Adrian Vale went completely still.
The sedan continued through downtown Chicago, but inside it, the air seemed to disappear.
"Owen Lawson," he repeated.
Emma nodded.
"Do you know him?"
Adrian looked away.
"I know the name."
"How?"
"Because I searched for him."
Emma stared.
"Why?"
Adrian's voice dropped.
"Because he saved my life."
The confession struck her with unexpected force.
For years, Emma had imagined confronting a man who had forgotten her father.
Instead, Adrian was looking at her with something painfully close to shame.
"I found a police report," he continued. "It said he died in a highway accident."
"He didn't just die."
Adrian turned.
Emma felt the old anger rising.
"He gave a statement about the shooting. Three weeks later, someone forced his ambulance off the road."
"That was never proven."
"Neither was your father's murder."
Adrian's expression darkened.
"Careful."
"No. I've been careful since I was thirteen."
She reached into her purse and removed a folded photograph.
It showed Owen Lawson standing beside an ambulance, smiling beneath the pale winter sun.
He was a broad-shouldered man with kind eyes and a crooked front tooth.
Adrian stared at the photograph.
His face changed.
"I remember his hands," he whispered.
Emma frowned.
"What?"
"His hands were shaking."
Adrian touched the photograph with one finger.
"He was trying to stop the bleeding, and his hands were shaking. I thought he was afraid."
Emma swallowed.
"He was always afraid when someone might die."
Adrian looked at her.
"That didn't stop him."
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Emma remembered Daniel.
"We have to call the police."
"We will."
"Then do it."
Adrian leaned forward.
"Marco. Drive to the nearest police station."
The driver glanced into the rearview mirror.
"Boss, Kessler has people—"
"I said drive."
Twenty minutes later, they were sitting across from Detective Lena Ortiz, a homicide investigator whose tired eyes suggested she had seen every version of human cruelty Chicago could offer.
Ortiz examined the photograph of Daniel.
"Do you know where this was taken?"
"No," Adrian answered.
"Any demands besides bringing Miss Lawson?"
"No."
Ortiz studied him.
"Mr. Vale, you understand how this looks."
"Very clearly."
"A missing restaurant manager. A threatening message. A man with your reputation."
"Then arrest me if you have evidence."
Emma interrupted.
"Detective, my father died fifteen years ago. I think the same people who killed him have Daniel."
Ortiz's expression changed.
"Your father was Owen Lawson?"
Emma nodded.
The detective set down her pen.
"I know that case."
Adrian leaned forward.
"How?"
Ortiz hesitated.
"Because my former partner investigated his death."
"Who was your partner?"
"Detective Robert Mercer."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"Mercer retired."
"Six years ago."
"Where is he now?"
Ortiz looked between them.
"That's complicated."
Before Emma could ask what she meant, Ortiz's phone rang.
She listened.
Then stood.
"We have a location."
Daniel had been found alive inside an abandoned print shop on the South Side.
By the time they reached the hospital, he was undergoing treatment for a concussion and two broken ribs.
Emma stood outside his room, trembling.
Adrian remained beside her.
"You can go home," he said.
"I don't want to."
"Emma—"
"Stop telling me what to do."
He looked at her.
She expected irritation.
Instead, he nodded.
"All right."
Daniel regained consciousness shortly after midnight.
His first words were barely audible.
"Emma."
She hurried to his bedside.
"I'm here."
His eyes filled with tears.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I should have told you."
Emma felt her stomach sink.
"Told me what?"
Daniel looked toward Adrian.
Then back at Emma.
"Your father came to the restaurant years ago."
Emma froze.
"That's impossible. He died before you worked there."
Daniel shook his head weakly.
"Not your father."
He swallowed.
"The man who killed him."
Adrian stepped closer.
"Who?"
Daniel began trembling.
"He came to see George Kessler."
Emma's heart hammered.
"What did he look like?"
Daniel reached for her hand.
"Emma, you need to get your father's notebook."
She stared.
"How do you know about that?"
"Because your father left something hidden inside it."
Emma's breath caught.
"What?"
Daniel's voice dropped to a whisper.
"A key."
Before he could explain, the monitors beside his bed began beeping.
A nurse rushed inside.
Then another.
Daniel's eyes rolled backward.
Emma was pushed toward the door as medical staff surrounded him.
Adrian caught her before she fell.
"What's happening?"
A doctor shouted for a crash cart.
Daniel's body convulsed.
Someone had poisoned him.
And when Adrian looked through the doorway, he saw a small plastic cup beside Daniel's bed.
The water inside had turned faintly blue.
May you like
He recognized the color.
His father had died beside an identical glass.
