Chapter 7 - THE FATHER I THOUGHT HAD ABANDONED ME
I stared at the photograph until the man's face blurred.
David Walker.
My father.
He had dark brown hair, kind eyes, and a crooked smile.
He was holding a baby wrapped in a white blanket.
Me.
On his wrist was a simple brown leather watch.
I remembered that watch.
Not from childhood.
From Grandpa's dresser.
He'd kept it in a small box beside his wedding ring.
When I asked about it, he'd said it belonged to someone who'd been very brave.
I hadn't understood.
Now I did.
“Was he a good man?” I asked.
Eleanor's eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“Then why wasn't he there?”
She looked down.
“Because he refused to help Victor.”
Luca leaned forward.
“Help him do what?”
Eleanor took a long breath.
“David worked in the company's accounting department. He discovered that money was being transferred through false vendor accounts. When he brought the evidence to Anthony, Victor learned about it.”
I held the photograph tighter.
“What happened?”
“Victor threatened David. He said Isabella and Sarah would suffer if David didn't keep quiet.”
“And David refused?”
Eleanor nodded.
“He tried to take you both out of Chicago.”
I looked at Luca.
“My father tried to protect us.”
“Yes,” Eleanor whispered.
“But Richard intervened.”
The room went silent.
Luca's jaw tightened.
“Richard?”
Eleanor nodded.
“He told David that Victor had agreed to let the family leave safely if David surrendered the original accounting records.”
“Did Victor keep his promise?” I asked.
Eleanor looked at me.
“No.”
I could barely speak.
“What happened to David?”
“He was arrested after someone planted company records in his car. Victor accused him of embezzlement.”
Luca stared at her.
“Why have I never heard this?”
“Because the case was handled quietly. David accepted a plea agreement after Victor threatened to implicate Isabella.”
I shook my head.
“My father went to prison?”
Eleanor nodded.
“He served eleven years.”
My chest tightened.
Eleven years.
Nearly half my life.
“And after he got out?”
Eleanor's expression changed.
“He tried to find you.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“He wrote letters. Thomas was afraid Victor would use them to locate you.”
Tears burned my eyes.
“Grandpa kept them from me?”
“He believed he was protecting you.”
I looked down at the photograph.
For the first time in my life, I felt angry with the man who'd raised me.
I loved Grandpa.
But he'd made choices about my life without letting me know they existed.
“Where are the letters?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“I don't have them.”
“Does Richard?”
“Possibly.”
I stood.
“Then we're going back to Chicago.”
Luca rose too.
“Sarah, before we leave, there's something else we need to understand.”
He turned toward Eleanor.
“What happened to my father?”
Eleanor's expression became guarded.
“I've told you what I know.”
“No.”
His voice was firm.
“You told us Anthony stayed behind at the station. You told us Isabella returned for him. But you haven't explained what happened afterward.”
Eleanor looked toward Daniel.
My son sat on the carpet, building a small tower with wooden blocks.
She lowered her voice.
“Anthony confronted Victor at the warehouse.”
“And?”
“Richard was there.”
Luca waited.
“Anthony demanded that Victor return the stolen money and release David from the false accusations.”
“What did Victor do?”
“He ordered his men to restrain Anthony.”
Luca's face hardened.
“Did they hurt him?”
Eleanor closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
I reached for Daniel instinctively.
He looked up.
“Mommy?”
“I'm okay, sweetheart.”
But I wasn't.
Everything inside me felt torn apart.
Eleanor continued.
“Isabella arrived while they were arguing. She threatened to expose Victor. Richard tried to stop her.”
“What happened next?” Luca asked.
“A struggle.”
Eleanor's hands trembled.
“Someone was injured.”
“Who?”
She shook her head.
“I never knew for certain.”
Luca stared at her.
“Was it my father?”
Eleanor didn't answer.
Then Vanessa spoke.
“Mom, you told me Dad was responsible for Matthew's illness.”
Eleanor looked at her sharply.
“Vanessa.”
“No.”
Vanessa's voice broke.
“You told me Matthew got sick after the warehouse accident. You said Dad wouldn't let doctors examine him properly.”
Eleanor covered her mouth.
Luca looked between them.
“What accident?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“When Matthew was seven, he was at the warehouse one evening. There was an explosion in a storage room.”
Richard's name seemed to hang unspoken between us.
Eleanor closed her eyes.
“Victor had been destroying records.”
Vanessa stared.
“Matthew was there?”
“He was playing in the office. He'd followed your father without permission.”
I looked at the photograph of Vanessa's brother.
The boy with the kind eyes.
Suddenly, I understood why Vanessa had been so frightened when Daniel touched the piano.
She'd watched one child become collateral damage in her father's secrets.
And she'd spent years trying to prevent another.
But fear had made her cruel.
Eleanor turned toward her daughter.
“Matthew never recovered fully from the injuries and complications.”
Vanessa began crying.
“Dad told me it was an electrical accident.”
“He lied.”
The room went quiet.
Luca approached Eleanor.
“Was Anthony there that night?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“Did he cause the explosion?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Eleanor looked at the floor.
“Victor ordered the records destroyed. His men started a fire that spread farther than they expected.”
Luca looked devastated.
“My father was inside?”
“Yes.”
“Did he survive?”
Eleanor hesitated.
Then said:
“He was taken out alive.”
Luca stopped breathing.
“Who took him?”
“Richard.”
For several seconds, the only sound was the fire crackling in the fireplace.
Then Luca turned toward Gabriel.
“We're going back.”
I looked at Eleanor.
“Before we leave, tell me one thing.”
She nodded.
“Is David Walker alive?”
Eleanor's eyes filled.
“I believe so.”
My knees weakened.
“Where?”
She reached into the blue book again.
This time, she removed a small business card.
A modest woodworking shop in northern Illinois.
Walker & Sons Restoration.
“He contacted me seven years ago,” she whispered. “He said he was finally ready to find you.”
I stared at the card.
“Why didn't he?”
Eleanor looked ashamed.
“Because Thomas told him you were safer without him.”
I closed my eyes.
Then Daniel approached.
He touched the photograph in my hand.
“Who's that man, Mommy?”
I knelt.
“Someone important.”
“Does he know me?”
I couldn't answer.
Luca crouched beside us.
“Maybe he will soon.”
Daniel studied him.
Then asked:
“Are you my family too?”
Luca's expression softened.
“Yes, buddy. I think I am.”
Daniel nodded thoughtfully.
“Okay.”
Then he returned to his blocks.
The innocence of that answer nearly broke me.
We left Wisconsin an hour later.
But before getting into the car, Eleanor caught my arm.
“Sarah, there's one thing Thomas never knew.”
I turned.
“What?”
She looked toward Luca.
“David wasn't the only person who tried to find you.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who else?”
Eleanor swallowed.
“Anthony.”
Luca froze.
“Your father survived the warehouse fire,” she continued. “And months later, he sent Thomas a message.”
Luca stepped closer.
“What message?”
Eleanor looked at him with tears in her eyes.
“He said he couldn't come home until Victor was exposed.”
Luca's voice broke.
“Where is he now?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Then she placed a folded paper in my hand.
“I received this three weeks ago.”
I opened it.
Four musical notes were printed across the top.
Below them was a sentence written in careful block letters.
Tell Luca the fifth note is not a key. It is a warning.
At the bottom was a signature.
Anthony Moretti.
May you like
And beneath it, a date.
October 2, 2026.
