Chapter 4 - The Daughter Nobody Buried
I didn't sleep that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Hannah's handwriting. I heard Victor Ashby's warning. I imagined the little girl in the photograph growing up without knowing who she was.
At six in the morning, I called the hospital listed on the back of the picture.
It had changed names twice since then, and its old records were archived. The woman in medical records told me she couldn't release anything without proper authorization.
I wasn't asking for medical records.
I was asking why my dead wife had held another woman's newborn child.
She couldn't answer.
By seven, Nora was at my kitchen table with two cups of coffee and a laptop. Daniel had located the storage facility. It was a small place outside Nashville, with a security gate and rows of numbered units.
Unit 214 had been rented under the name Elizabeth Ashby.
The lease began twenty-two years earlier.
The rent had been paid every month since.
“Someone has kept that unit active for two decades,” Daniel said. “The payments came through a trust account registered to an offshore company.”
Nora looked at him.
“Can you trace the account?”
“Not without a court order or cooperation from the bank.”
“Then get both.”
She spoke as if she could command the world into submission.
I set down my coffee.
“Not everything bends because you own a company.”
She looked up.
“I'm aware.”
“Are you? Because this isn't a boardroom. Somebody threatened my boy last night.”
Her expression softened.
“I know. And I won't take you anywhere that isn't safe.”
I wanted to believe her.
I also wanted to believe Hannah had never lied to me about anything important.
At eight, we left for Nashville. Eli stayed with my neighbor, Mrs. Dorsey, who had watched him since he was a toddler. I made Nora promise not to let anybody from her security team approach him without my permission.
She agreed.
The storage facility manager met us at the gate. He was a heavyset man with a gray beard who looked distinctly uncomfortable when Daniel showed him the key.
“I can't tell you anything about the renter,” he said.
“We're not asking you to violate anyone's privacy,” Nora replied. “We only need access to property that may concern a missing person.”
The manager hesitated, then led us to Unit 214.
The key turned smoothly.
Inside, we found no furniture, no clothing, and no personal belongings.
Just a metal cabinet.
Daniel opened it.
There were folders arranged by year, a stack of VHS tapes, several audio cassettes, and a sealed envelope addressed to Nora.
Her hands shook as she opened it.
My darling girl,
If you are reading this, Richard has finally decided to tell you the truth, or he has run out of time to keep it buried.
I did not abandon you. I did not die in that wreck. I tried to come home, but the people who controlled your father's company would not let me.
There is another child. Her name is Grace.
Your father believes she died. I allowed him to believe it because I was told that if I returned, both my daughters would be killed.
I have spent years searching for a way to reach you. I don't know if I'll ever be brave enough to stand in front of you again.
If you find Caleb Morrow, trust him. He saved your father's life when everyone else left him to die.
And if Victor is still alive, do not believe a word he tells you.
I love you.
Mom.
Nora pressed the letter against her mouth.
For a moment, the woman who commanded a billion-dollar corporation disappeared. She was simply a daughter who had just discovered that her mother might still be alive.
“Grace,” she whispered. “I had a sister.”
Daniel examined the tapes.
“There's a label on this one. October 14, twenty-three years ago.”
I took the cassette from him.
“What is it?”
“Possibly an audio recording.”
We searched the unit for a player, but found none. Daniel had brought a portable digitizer and a laptop. Within minutes, the old recording crackled to life.
A man's voice filled the storage unit.
Victor Ashby's voice.
“If Richard signs the transfer documents, the company remains ours. If he refuses, the accident will take care of him.”
Another voice answered.
“And Elizabeth?”
“She's already made her choice.”
Then came a sharp sound, a chair scraping across a floor.
A woman spoke.
“You promised me the girls would be safe.”
Victor laughed.
“They'll be safe as long as you stay dead.”
The recording ended.
Nora stared at the laptop.
“My uncle tried to kill my father.”
“Or he wanted someone to believe he did,” Daniel said carefully. “We need the original recording authenticated before drawing conclusions.”
She turned toward him.
“Why are you defending him?”
“I'm not. I'm trying to keep you alive.”
A metallic bang sounded outside.
We all froze.
Daniel moved toward the door and looked through the narrow gap.
A dark sedan was parked beside our vehicle. A man in a baseball cap stood near the gate, talking on his phone.
Then he looked directly at the storage unit.
“Someone followed us,” Daniel whispered.
He pulled out his phone and called security.
The man in the cap started walking toward us.
Daniel shut the door and slid the bolt across.
Nora grabbed the cassette.
I moved the metal cabinet in front of the door.
A fist struck the steel.
“Open up,” a man shouted. “Police.”
Daniel looked through the gap.
“No badge. No warrant.”
Another blow rattled the door.
Then came a voice from outside that made Nora go rigid.
“Sweetheart, it's Uncle Victor. We need to talk.”
Nora backed away from the door.
Victor's voice softened.
“Your mother is dead, Nora. And if you keep looking for her, you'll discover that Grace wasn't the only child your father lost.”
A pause.
May you like
Then he added:
“Ask Caleb what happened to his own daughter.”
