Chapter 4 - The Names Inside the Wall
Emily’s first thought was not about Adrian’s family.
It was about Daniel.
“If my brother found those records…”
“He became dangerous to whoever wanted them hidden,” Adrian said.
Emily’s eyes filled.
“And I brought myself straight into their house.”
“No.”
Adrian’s answer was immediate.
“They brought you here.”
That distinction mattered.
Emily looked at him.
For eight months, she had believed she was fortunate to have work at the Marchetti estate.
Now even that small dignity felt stolen.
Adrian handed the miniature key to Marcus.
“Find what it opens.”
Marcus photographed it but gave it back.
“I think we already know.”
He placed Daniel Parker’s construction report on the table.
Bellweather Restoration had renovated an old commercial building in downtown Chicago.
Suite 814 had been listed as an abandoned records office.
Daniel’s accident happened after workers discovered a steel compartment inside a wall.
Eight numbers were written on the permit.
The same eight numbers.
Katherine looked at Emily.
“Daniel must have copied them.”
Adrian said, “The compartment may still exist.”
Marcus shook his head.
“The building was gutted after the accident.”
“By Bellweather?”
“Yes.”
Of course.
Noah sat silently with his hot chocolate.
Then he asked, “Is Uncle Daniel bad?”
Emily crouched beside him.
“He’s my brother, sweetheart.”
“I know.”
“He’s not bad.”
Noah frowned.
“Then why are people hiding him?”
Emily had no child-sized answer.
Katherine did.
“Because sometimes grown-ups hide the person telling the truth.”
Noah considered that.
“That’s dumb.”
Adrian almost smiled.
“Yes.”
They moved downstairs.
The charity gala had emptied.
Crystal glasses remained abandoned across linen-covered tables. Flowers drooped beneath the chandeliers.
Twenty minutes earlier it had been a room built to impress strangers.
Now Adrian hated every inch of it.
Emily stopped beside the grand piano.
Her broken phone still lay where Celeste had crushed it.
One of the staff had carefully placed the pieces on a silver tray.
Emily picked up the cracked case.
Katherine watched her.
“That mattered to you.”
“My mother bought it for me before she died.”
Adrian turned.
He had assumed Emily’s tears were for the photographs.
She noticed his expression.
“It was cheap.”
“That isn’t what I was thinking.”
Emily ran a thumb across the damaged case.
“My mom saved three months for it.”
Adrian looked toward the doors Celeste had left through.
Another small cruelty.
Another detail he would not forget.
Marcus returned.
“They found the transfer van.”
Emily rushed forward.
“Daniel?”
“Alive.”
Her knees nearly buckled.
“Where?”
“Northwestern Memorial. Someone dumped him near the emergency entrance.”
Emily covered her mouth.
“What happened?”
“Sedated. No major injuries.”
“I’m going.”
Adrian picked up his coat.
“So am I.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Yes.”
It was not dramatic.
That was Adrian.
When he decided something, he stopped discussing whether it would happen.
Katherine stayed at the estate with Noah and trusted female security staff.
Before Adrian left, Noah gave him a folded drawing.
“For Uncle Daniel.”
Adrian looked down.
Four stick figures.
Emily.
Daniel.
Noah.
And someone labeled MOM.
Adrian looked at his son.
“You made this tonight?”
Noah nodded.
“So he knows people are waiting.”
Adrian folded it carefully and placed it inside his jacket.
At the hospital, Emily found Daniel awake but disoriented.
Her younger brother had lost weight since she last saw him.
He looked at her.
“You came.”
Emily grabbed his hand.
“Of course I came.”
Daniel’s eyes moved to Adrian.
Fear flashed across his face.
“Marchetti?”
Adrian stopped several feet from the bed.
“You know me?”
Daniel nodded.
“You’re in the files.”
Emily looked between them.
“What files?”
Daniel struggled to sit up.
“The ones in the wall.”
Adrian remained still.
“What did you see?”
“Payments.”
“To whom?”
“Doctors. Police. Judges. Private hospitals.”
He swallowed.
“Families.”
Katherine had been right.
Daniel looked at Emily.
“I tried to tell you.”
“You said they weren’t patient records.”
“I didn’t know who was listening.”
Emily’s eyes filled.
“Why didn’t you trust me?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
She laughed once, painfully.
“How did that work out?”
Daniel flinched.
Emily instantly regretted it.
She squeezed his hand.
“I’m sorry.”
“No. You’re right.”
Adrian took Noah’s drawing from his jacket.
“My son made this for you.”
Daniel stared at it.
“For me?”
“He thinks people should know someone is waiting.”
Daniel accepted the paper.
His face broke.
Emily turned away.
Adrian gave him a minute.
Then Daniel whispered, “I stole one file.”
Adrian looked back.
“Whose?”
“Your mother’s.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Where is it?”
Daniel looked at Emily.
“In Mom’s sewing machine.”
Emily blinked.
Their mother’s old Singer machine had sat untouched in Emily’s apartment for years.
“What was in Lucia’s file?”
“Medication logs.”
Adrian’s face hardened.
“And?”
“Audio transcripts.”
“Of what?”
Daniel swallowed.
“Arguments between Lucia and your father.”
Emily said, “Vittorio?”
Daniel nodded.
Adrian’s voice dropped.
“My father was dead.”
Daniel looked at him.
“The transcripts are dated three years after his funeral.”
Silence filled the hospital room.
Daniel continued.
“I thought the dates were wrong.”
“So did I,” Adrian said.
“But then I found photographs.”
Adrian waited.
“Vittorio with Dr. Warren. Celeste. Your mother.”
“What were they doing?”
“Meeting at Bellweather.”
Daniel’s fingers tightened around Noah’s drawing.
“And there was a woman named Sofia Romano.”
Celeste’s mother.
Adrian knew Sofia had died when Celeste was young.
“What about her?”
“She was a patient too.”
Emily frowned.
“So Celeste’s mother was being drugged?”
Daniel nodded.
“That’s why Celeste helped them.”
The reversal hit Adrian hard.
Celeste might not have entered this conspiracy as a willing participant.
Daniel continued.
“Her father owed Vittorio money. Warren treated Sofia. Celeste was told that if she didn’t cooperate, her mother would lose care.”
Emily sat slowly.
“So she was trapped.”
“At first,” Daniel said.
Adrian caught the distinction.
“At first?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Later, she started making requests.”
“What kind?”
“Names she wanted added to the program.”
Emily whispered, “Katherine?”
Daniel nodded.
“And Lucia.”
Adrian’s face became terrifyingly blank.
“Why?”
Daniel hesitated.
“I only saw part of the transcript.”
“Tell me.”
“Celeste believed Lucia had destroyed her mother.”
“How?”
“She thought Lucia convinced Vittorio to stop paying for Sofia’s treatment.”
Adrian stared at the floor.
A motive.
Ugly.
Personal.
But understandable enough to grow into hatred.
Emily asked, “Why Katherine?”
Daniel looked at Adrian.
“That part wasn’t revenge.”
“What was it?”
“Fear.”
“Of Katherine?”
“Katherine had discovered the medication scheme. Celeste believed if Katherine exposed Warren, Sofia would lose access to the only treatment keeping her stable.”
Adrian closed his eyes briefly.
One answer.
Two new questions.
Why had Celeste continued for six years after Sofia died?
And why had Vittorio created the system in the first place?
Daniel suddenly reached for Emily.
“The sewing machine.”
“What?”
“Get it before they do.”
Marcus called from the hallway at that exact moment.
Adrian answered.
His expression changed.
“What happened?”
Marcus spoke quickly.
Adrian looked at Emily.
“Your apartment was broken into.”
Emily stood.
“The sewing machine?”
“Gone.”
Daniel swore softly.
Adrian asked Marcus, “Anything else taken?”
A pause.
Then Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“Say that again.”
Emily stepped closer.
“What?”
Adrian ended the call.
“They didn’t just take the machine.”
“What else?”
“Someone left something behind.”
He turned his phone toward her.
Marcus had sent a photograph.
Emily’s apartment wall had been covered with dozens of old family photographs.
In the center, someone had pinned one new picture.
Emily and Daniel’s mother.
Twenty-seven years younger.
Standing beside Lucia Marchetti.
And Katherine.
On the back were four handwritten words:
May you like
ASK EMILY WHO HER FATHER WAS.
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