Chapter 5: The Man Who Was Buried Twice
Daniel didn't move.
He couldn't.
For six years, he had kept his father's watch in a velvet box beside his bed. He had stood beside the grave while the priest spoke. He had signed the papers, paid the funeral expenses, and watched his father's closest friends lower their heads in solemn respect.
He remembered the coffin.
He remembered the flowers.
He remembered Brielle holding his hand while the last shovelful of dirt fell.
And now she was telling him that none of it had been real.
“Take it back,” he said.
Brielle stared at him.
“What?””
“Take it back.””
“I can't.””
“Then tell me you're lying.””
“I wish I were.””
The front door handle turned again.
Daniel raised his weapon.
“Thomas!”” he shouted.
No answer.
The power was still out. The security system remained silent. Outside, the black car sat beneath the trees, its headlights illuminating the wet driveway.
Martin Vale stood beside it, watching the house.
Daniel turned toward Brielle.
“Did my father arrange Elisa's accident?””
“I don't know.””
“Did he arrange his own death?””
“I don't know!””
“You expect me to believe that?””
Brielle shook her head, sobbing.
“I expect you to understand that I was never the person in control. Martin made the decisions. Your father paid for them. I was the one who wanted you, and I was foolish enough to believe that if I helped them, I could eventually make you love me.””
Daniel looked at her with a disgust so complete it left him strangely calm.
“You helped them destroy the woman I loved.””
“I know.””
“You stole seven years from my daughter.””
“I know.””
“You let me mourn a child who was alive.””
Brielle covered her mouth.
“I know.””
Daniel lowered the weapon slightly.
“Then why should I let you walk out of here?””
Brielle looked at Lily.
“Because I'm the only person who knows where Rose is.””
The room went silent.
Daniel grabbed her by the arm.
“Tell me where she is.””
“Not until you promise to protect me.””
“You're negotiating with me?””
“I'm trying to survive!””
She jerked free and ran toward the drawing room.
Daniel followed, catching her before she reached the window.
“Where is my daughter?””
Brielle's breath came in short, panicked bursts.
“St. Catherine's is only the beginning. Rose was moved years ago. She's been living with a family under a different name.””
“What family?””
“I don't know their surname.””
“Brielle!””
“I only have the file number!””
She reached into her handbag and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
Daniel snatched it.
At the top was a photograph of a little girl with dark hair and solemn eyes. She stood beside a woman in a yellow sweater, both smiling at the camera.
The girl was perhaps seven years old.
Daniel stared at her face.
She had his eyes.
Not merely the same color. The same slight downward tilt at the outer corners, the same tiny crease beneath the left eye that appeared when he smiled.
Beneath the photograph was a name.
*ROSE ELLIOTT.*
A date of birth.
A medical record number.
And a note written in black ink.
Placement approved by E. Whitmore.
Daniel read it twice.
Then he looked up.
“Who is E. Whitmore?””
Brielle's face crumpled.
“Your mother.””
Daniel felt a fresh wave of nausea.
His mother had died when he was nineteen. A heart attack, the family doctor had said. Sudden. Unavoidable.
He remembered standing beside her hospital bed, holding her cold hand. He remembered his father telling him she had been taken too soon.
He remembered the funeral.
Two parents.
Two deaths.
Two graves.
How many lies could one family contain?
“My mother died twenty years ago.””
Brielle shook her head.
“Your mother died six years ago.””
Daniel stared at her.
“No.””
“She had been living in Switzerland. Martin arranged it. Your father wanted her out of the country after she threatened to expose him.””
Daniel's hands began to shake.
“You expect me to believe that my entire family has been pretending to die?””
“I don't expect anything from you anymore.””
Brielle looked exhausted.
“I just want to survive the night.””
A loud crash came from the hallway.
Daniel spun around.
The front door had burst open.
Two men entered first, wearing dark raincoats. Martin followed, carrying no weapon that Daniel could see.
He looked exactly as he had in the security footage: silver hair, broad shoulders, a face carved into the permanent expression of a man accustomed to being obeyed.
“Daniel,” Martin said.
“Put the gun down.””
Daniel aimed at his chest.
“Where is my father?””
Martin sighed.
“Your father isn't here.””
“Then why did Brielle receive a message from him?””
“Because she's frightened and desperate.””
“Did you arrange Elisa's accident?””
Martin looked at Brielle.
“You told him?””
She backed away.
“He was going to find out.””
Martin shook his head with quiet disappointment.
“You were always weak, Brielle. You couldn't keep a single secret without turning it into a tragedy.””
Daniel stepped between them.
“Answer me.””
Martin's expression hardened.
“Your wife was never supposed to die.””
“Then why did I bury her?””
“Because someone wanted you to believe she was dead.””
“Who?””
Martin looked at the gun.
“Lower it, and I'll tell you.””
“No.””
“Daniel, I was your father's closest friend. I held your hand when your mother died. I stood beside you at your wedding. I watched you become a man.””
“You watched me bury an empty coffin.””
Martin's mouth tightened.
“Yes.””
The admission landed with the weight of a hammer.
Lily began crying behind Clara, who had moved to shield the child.
Daniel felt the gun tremble in his hands.
“You helped me mourn her.””
“I helped you survive.””
“You helped me become the man you wanted me to be.””
Martin tilted his head.
“Your father believed you were too emotional to lead the family business. He thought grief would make you easier to manage.””
“Manage what?””
“The Whitmore estate. The accounts. The investments. Your father's private arrangements.””
Daniel thought of the missing financial records, the unexplained transfers, the properties his father had purchased through companies that no longer existed.
“How much money?””
Martin didn't answer.
“How much?””
“Enough to make several powerful people very uncomfortable.””
“And Elisa knew?””
Martin's eyes flickered.
“She discovered the accounts while she was pregnant. She threatened to take everything to the authorities.””
“So you tried to kill her.””
“We tried to contain the situation.””
Daniel took a step forward.
“Say that again.””
Martin raised both hands.
“Your wife was driving in terrible weather. The accident was unfortunate. When we learned she survived, your father insisted that her disappearance was the only way to protect the family.””
“And the baby?””
Martin glanced at Lily.
“Your first daughter was supposed to be placed with a family who could give her a normal life.””
“Rose.””
“Yes.””
“Why was she taken from Elisa?””
“Because Elisa refused to cooperate.””
Daniel felt sick.
“So you threatened her with the child.””
Martin said nothing.
The silence was enough.
Lily pressed herself against Clara's side.
“Daddy,” she whispered, “I want Mommy.””
Daniel turned his head.
“I know, sweetheart.””
Martin watched the exchange with a strange expression.
“You should be grateful, Daniel. Your daughters are alive. Your wife is alive. You have everything you thought you'd lost.””
“You took seven years from me.””
“And you still have the rest of your life.””
Daniel laughed once, without humor.
“Do you hear yourself?””
Martin's face hardened.
“Your father made difficult decisions to protect this family. One day, you'll understand.””
“I understand perfectly.””
Daniel raised the gun again.
“You're a criminal who used my wife and children as leverage.””
Martin's two men moved forward.
“Don't,” Daniel warned.
Martin lifted a hand to stop them.
“Let's not make this worse.””
“Where is my father?””
Martin looked toward the ceiling, as though considering how much truth he could afford to reveal.
Then he reached into his coat and removed a photograph.
He held it up.
The picture showed an older man standing beside a hospital bed. His hair was white. His face was thinner, but his eyes were unmistakable.
Daniel's father.
Alive.
Behind him, a woman lay in the bed.
Elisa.
Daniel's vision narrowed.
“Where was this taken?””
“Three days ago.””
“Where?””
Martin lowered the photograph.
“An abandoned private hospital outside Hartford.””
“Why are they together?””
“Because your father has been trying to repair the damage he caused.””
Daniel stared at him.
“Where is Elisa now?””
Martin's jaw tightened.
“That's complicated.””
“Make it simple.””
“Your father took her from the summer estate two nights ago.””
Clara gasped.
Brielle covered her face.
Daniel felt as though someone had driven a blade through his chest.
“Why?””
“Because he believes Rose is the key to settling the matter.””
“What matter?””
Martin looked toward Lily.
“Your father has been diagnosed with a degenerative illness. He doesn't have much time left. Before he dies, he wants to recover certain documents that Elisa took from him.””
Daniel's fingers tightened around the weapon.
“What documents?””
Martin smiled faintly.
“The ones that prove where the family fortune came from.””
For a moment, Daniel forgot the wedding, the lies, the seven years of grief.
He thought only of Elisa.
She was alive.
She was somewhere with his father.
And the people who had stolen their children were still moving around the world as though they owned it.
“Give me the address,” Daniel said.
Martin shook his head.
“Not until you understand something.””
Daniel took another step forward.
“I'm finished listening to you.””
“Your father isn't the only person who knows where Elisa is. Brielle does, too.””
Daniel turned toward her.
Brielle's face was white.
“Is it true?””
She looked down.
“Yes.””
“Where?””
Her lips trembled.
“The old chapel.””
Daniel felt the room tilt.
The chapel where he had been about to marry Brielle stood less than twenty miles away.
“What is she doing there?””
Brielle looked at him, and for the first time, there was no calculation in her expression.
Only fear.
“Your father arranged to meet someone there tonight. He said he was going to return Elisa to you.””
Daniel stared at her.
“Then why are you here?””
Brielle's voice broke.
“Because the meeting isn't meant to reunite you.””
She swallowed hard.
“It's meant to decide which one of you gets to live.””
Martin lunged.
Daniel reacted instinctively, swinging the weapon toward him as the two security men rushed forward.
A gunshot exploded through the drawing room.
Lily screamed.
Glass shattered above the fireplace.
Clara dragged the child to the floor while Daniel tackled Martin against the wall. One of the security men grabbed Daniel's wrist, and the gun skidded across the hardwood.
Brielle ran.
She disappeared through the side door as Martin's men pulled him free.
Daniel fought them until a blow struck the back of his head.
The room flashed white.
He fell to one knee.
Through the ringing in his ears, he heard Martin speaking.
“Take the girl.””
A man seized Lily.
She screamed Daniel's name.
“Daddy!””
Daniel lunged, but another blow sent him crashing against the desk.
He watched helplessly as Lily was carried through the doorway.
Clara clung to the stair railing, shouting for the police.
Then everything went dark.
When Daniel opened his eyes, he was lying on the floor.
The house was silent.
Clara knelt beside him, pressing a towel to the back of his head.
“Daniel? Can you hear me?””
He pushed himself upright.
“Lily.””
Clara's face crumpled.
“They took her.””
Daniel staggered to his feet.
“Which way?””
“Martin's men went toward the main road. Brielle ran out the back.””
He grabbed his phone.
The screen was cracked, but it still worked.
Three missed calls.
One new message.
The sender was unknown.
*IF YOU WANT YOUR DAUGHTER BACK, COME TO THE CHAPEL ALONE. BRING THE BRASS KEY.*
Beneath the message was a photograph.
Lily sat on a wooden chair in a dim room, her hands tied in front of her.
She was crying.
Daniel's breath stopped.
Another message arrived.
*YOU HAVE ONE HOUR.*
Then a third.
*AND DANIEL? DON'T TRUST THE WOMAN WHO OPENS THE DOOR.*
He stared at the screen.
Because the photograph showed something else.
A silver locket lay on the table beside Lily.
The locket Elisa had given her.
May you like
And behind the child, hanging on the wall, was a portrait of Daniel's mother.
Alive.
