Chapter 3 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Nolan didn't retreat.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Most people who heard Grimm growl immediately reconsidered their life choices.
Nolan simply adjusted his cuff links.
"Still temperamental, I see."
Grimm's lips pulled back.
"Leave," Vincent said.
Nolan laughed.
"You're going to throw me out of my own family home because your housekeeper brought her child to work?"
"She's not the problem."
"Really? Because that dog hasn't allowed anyone within three feet of him for six years. Now he's practically a stuffed animal."
Vincent stepped closer.
"One more word."
Nolan raised both hands.
"Fine. I'll leave. But we need to discuss Daniel."
I felt Lucy tighten her grip on my fingers.
"Why?" I demanded.
Nolan looked at me.
"Because the man you're calling dead stole something from this family."
Vincent's jaw hardened.
"Enough."
"Ask your housekeeper what her husband was doing the night the warehouse burned."
I stared at him.
"What warehouse?"
Nolan smiled.
"Interesting. You really don't know."
Vincent ordered Marcus to escort him out.
This time, Nolan went.
But before the doors closed, he glanced at Lucy again.
"Take good care of your daughter, Claire. Some family secrets have a nasty habit of coming back."
The door slammed.
I turned toward Vincent.
"What happened to my husband?"
He looked at Marcus.
"Secure the property. Nobody comes in or goes out without my permission."
Then he faced me.
"Come with me."
"No."
"Claire—"
"I spent six years believing my husband was dead. I buried him without a body. I raised his daughter alone. I listened to her ask why other children had fathers and she didn't."
My voice cracked.
"And now you're telling me everyone knew something I didn't?"
Vincent didn't defend himself.
He simply said, "I didn't know you were alive."
That stopped me.
"What?"
"Daniel disappeared after the warehouse fire. His records were erased. The police believed he had died. I believed it too."
"Then why did Nolan recognize Lucy?"
Vincent looked toward the hallway.
"Because Nolan was there the night Daniel disappeared."
My stomach twisted.
Vincent led us into a private sitting room.
Marcus brought Lucy a glass of juice and a plate of cookies.
She immediately asked whether Grimm could have one.
"Not chocolate," Marcus said.
"Why?"
"Because chocolate makes dogs sick."
Lucy considered this.
"Then he can have a plain cookie."
For the first time, Marcus smiled.
Vincent waited until she was distracted.
"Daniel was my security director. He knew everything about my operations. Six years ago, he discovered someone inside the organization was selling information to our enemies."
"Who?"
"I never found out."
"And the fire?"
"A shipment warehouse exploded. Daniel was inside."
"Was he?"
Vincent hesitated.
"His car was found outside. His blood was on the passenger door. But no body was recovered."
I felt sick.
"Why didn't you look harder?"
"I did. For two years."
"Then you stopped?"
His eyes hardened with something that looked like shame.
"I was told Daniel had taken money and fled."
I shook my head.
"Daniel would never steal."
"I know that now."
He pulled a photograph from his desk drawer.
It showed a younger Vincent standing beside a smiling man holding a black puppy.
Daniel.
My Daniel.
Lucy saw the photograph and ran toward it.
"Daddy!"
I grabbed the picture.
"Sweetheart, that's Daddy when he was younger."
She touched his face.
"That's Sammy's Daddy."
Vincent nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Then he showed me something else.
A second photograph.
It had been taken outside the same warehouse on the night of the explosion.
Daniel stood beside a dark vehicle.
And behind him was a woman I recognized.
My sister.
Rebecca.
I hadn't seen Rebecca in seven years.
She had disappeared three months before Daniel died.
"Why is my sister with my husband?"
Vincent looked at the picture.
"Because she was the last person Daniel called before the fire."
I couldn't speak.
Then Lucy tugged at my sleeve.
"Mommy?"
"What is it, baby?"
She pointed at the photograph.
"That's the lady who comes to my dreams."
My heart stopped.
"What lady?"
May you like
Lucy touched Rebecca's face.
"The one who says Daddy is coming home."
