Chapter 7 - The Child Who Was Never Supposed to Grow Up
Daniel stared at Marcus.
“The child?”
Marcus nodded.
“My father believed Victor was referring to you.”
Daniel stepped backward.
“So your father knew someone wanted me dead?”
“He tried to prevent it.”
“By helping my father disappear?”
“Yes.”
Daniel gave a bitter laugh.
“Everyone keeps saying they protected me. Yet nobody told me the truth.”
Linda reached for him.
“Daniel—”
He pulled away.
“No. I grew up thinking my father abandoned us.”
His voice cracked.
“My mother worked herself sick. My grandmother worried about every stranger who came near the house.”
Adrian moved closer.
“Daniel, you have every right to be angry.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Do I?”
“Yes.”
“Even with you?”
Adrian didn't hesitate.
“Especially with me.”
Daniel stared.
Adrian continued.
“I inherited a business built on lies. I trusted men who profited from them. I should have asked questions twenty-three years ago.”
Daniel's eyes filled.
“You were twenty.”
“I was old enough to know something was wrong.”
For a moment, the room softened.
Then Sophie spoke.
“There's something nobody has explained.”
Everyone turned.
She looked at the silver pendant around her mother's neck.
“If Nicholas wanted Daniel protected, why did Mom and Evelyn have matching necklaces?”
Linda touched the blue stone.
Her expression changed.
“Because Nicholas wanted us to recognize someone.”
“Who?”
“Someone carrying the other half of the evidence.”
Adrian frowned.
“What evidence?”
Linda unclasped her necklace.
She placed it on the table.
Then twisted the blue stone.
A tiny compartment opened.
Inside was a narrow strip of photographic film.
Daniel leaned forward.
“My grandmother's necklace had a red stone.”
Linda nodded.
“The red pendant held the other strip.”
Adrian stared.
“What was on the film?”
“Photographs of the ledger pages,” Keene explained. “Nicholas divided the negatives so no single person could expose the whole operation.”
Sophie looked at Daniel.
“Where's your grandmother's necklace?”
Daniel swallowed.
“I sold it.”
Linda's face fell.
“When?”
“Three years ago. I needed money for her nursing home.”
Daniel looked ashamed.
“I didn't know.”
Linda reached for his hand.
“You did what you had to do.”
Adrian turned to Marcus.
“Find out where he sold it.”
Daniel shook his head.
“It was a pawnshop outside Worcester. It probably disappeared years ago.”
“We'll look anyway.”
Marcus was already taking notes.
Caroline sat quietly in a corner.
Adrian looked toward her.
“You've known about the pendants?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Then what did you know?”
Caroline rubbed her eyes.
“Father told me Linda was hiding something. He wanted me to find out what.”
“So you hired Sophie.”
“Yes.”
“And threatened her.”
Caroline nodded.
Adrian approached.
“Do you understand what you did?”
She looked at him miserably.
“Yes.”
“No, Caroline. You threatened a woman's medical care because you were afraid of losing control.”
Caroline began crying.
“I thought she was helping Bell.”
Sophie stared at her.
“Why would you think that?”
“Because Bell told me Linda had been blackmailing the company for years.”
Linda shook her head.
“That's a lie.”
Caroline looked toward Adrian.
“Every time I asked about the compensation accounts, Bell showed me payments marked with Linda's name.”
Adrian frowned.
“Payments?”
“Monthly transfers.”
Sophie immediately stood as much as her injured ankle allowed.
“Mom never received those.”
Adrian turned to Marcus.
“Get those records.”
Marcus left the room to make the call.
Caroline covered her face.
“I thought Linda was taking money to stay quiet.”
Linda looked at her with profound sadness.
“Caroline, your father took everything from us. Why would I protect him?”
Caroline couldn't answer.
Keene moved to a small desk.
He returned with a leather notebook.
“There's more.”
Adrian sighed.
“What now?”
Keene opened the notebook.
“Linda wasn't the only beneficiary who stopped receiving payments.”
He showed Adrian a handwritten list.
Twenty-seven names.
Men injured at the docks.
Widows.
Children.
Retired workers.
All connected to the warehouse compensation fund.
“Some of these people died waiting for treatment,” Keene said quietly.
Adrian read the names.
One caught his attention.
Thomas Hale.
Marcus's father.
Next to it was another.
Evelyn Mercer.
And another.
Linda Bennett.
Their lives had been connected by more than Nicholas.
They had all been victims of the same theft.
Adrian closed the notebook.
“We're going to make this right.”
Sophie looked at him.
“How?”
He considered the question.
In his world, problems were often solved through intimidation.
But none of that could restore the years these families had lost.
“By bringing everything into the open,” he answered.
“Even if it destroys your business?”
Adrian looked at her.
“Yes.”
For the first time, Sophie seemed to believe him.
Marcus returned.
His expression was grave.
“Boss, I found the payment records.”
Adrian stood.
“And?”
“Harbor Crest has been sending monthly deposits to an account in Linda Bennett's name.”
Sophie shook her head.
“That isn't possible.”
Marcus continued.
“The account was opened twenty-three years ago.”
“By whom?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Richard Bell.”
Adrian nodded grimly.
But Marcus wasn't finished.
“The withdrawals were authorized by a second signer.”
“Who?”
Marcus looked toward Caroline.
Adrian felt his stomach tighten.
“Marcus.”
The security chief swallowed.
“The signatures belong to Caroline Vescari.”
Caroline jumped to her feet.
“No.”
Marcus showed Adrian the scanned authorization forms.
“Her name is on every one.”
Caroline grabbed the papers.
She stared at the handwriting.
Then shook her head violently.
“I never signed these.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Then whose signature is that?”
Caroline's expression changed.
She raised the papers toward the light.
May you like
And whispered:
“That's my mother's handwriting.”
