Chapter 6 - WHAT EMMA HEARD BEHIND THE DOOR
The photograph destroyed everything I thought I knew.
Daniel alive.
Three days before his death.
Impossible.
Unless the police report had been falsified.
Claire wanted to call the police.
I agreed.
But before we could, Emma came running downstairs.
“Mommy!”
Claire turned.
“What happened?”
“I heard Daddy.”
Claire froze.
“Marcus?”
Emma nodded.
“He was outside last night.”
My blood went cold.
“Did you see him?”
“No.”
“What did he say?”
Emma looked at me.
“He said, ‘Tell Vincent the truth.’”
Claire grabbed her daughter.
“Where did you hear that?”
“From the hallway.”
I looked toward the front door.
Nobody had entered.
Someone had been outside.
Watching.
Waiting.
We moved into a secure guesthouse that afternoon.
Emma thought it was an adventure.
Claire didn't.
Neither did I.
That evening, I received a call from an unknown number.
“Vincent.”
I recognized the voice.
Franklin Ward.
“You're alive.”
“For now.”
“Where is Daniel?”
Silence.
“Answer me.”
“You're asking the wrong question.”
“Then tell me the right one.”
“Who killed him?”
Franklin laughed quietly.
“Your father.”
I felt my blood run cold.
“He didn't.”
“He ordered the boat tampered with.”
I closed my eyes.
“Why?”
“Because Daniel was going to expose him.”
“Then why did the police call it an accident?”
“Money.”
Of course.
Everything returned to money.
“Where are you?”
“Not important.”
“What do you want?”
“To finish what Daniel started.”
The line went dead.
Claire had been listening.
“What does he mean?”
I looked at her.
“I don't know.”
She stepped closer.
“Vincent.”
I finally told her everything.
Daniel's note.
My mother's confession.
The financial records.
Franklin.
The photograph.
Claire listened without interrupting.
When I finished, she sat down.
“My father tried to expose your father.”
“Yes.”
“And Daniel tried to help him.”
“Yes.”
“And Marcus knew.”
“Yes.”
She looked toward Emma.
“What does that make us?”
I took her hand.
“Two people who were never supposed to meet.”
She squeezed my fingers.
“Yet here we are.”
That night, Emma couldn't sleep.
She came downstairs carrying Walter.
“Can I sleep here?”
Claire smiled.
“Of course.”
Emma climbed between us on the couch.
She looked at me.
“Are you staying?”
The question was simple.
But it struck me harder than anything Franklin had said.
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
I looked at Claire.
Then Emma.
“As long as you'll have me.”
Emma nodded.
“Okay.”
She closed her eyes.
Within minutes, she was asleep.
Claire leaned against me.
“She trusts you.”
“I know.”
“That's dangerous.”
“Why?”
“Because if you leave, she'll be hurt.”
I looked down at Emma.
“I won't.”
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
“You can't promise that.”
“I can promise I'll try.”
She smiled.
“That sounds more honest.”
Then we heard a noise outside.
A car door.
I stood immediately.
Claire grabbed Emma.
Security moved toward the windows.
A man appeared beyond the gate.
Franklin.
He raised his hands.
“I came alone.”
I went outside.
“What do you want?”
He looked at the house.
“I want to tell you the truth.”
“What truth?”
He handed me a file.
“Your father didn't order Daniel's death.”
I stared at him.
“You just said he did.”
“I said he believed he did.”
“What does that mean?”
Franklin looked toward Claire.
“Your father discovered the fraud.”
He paused.
“Then someone else took control.”
“Who?”
Franklin whispered one name.
May you like
“Your mother.”
My world stopped.
