Chapter 10 - The Place Noah Remembered
The drive to Richard Vale's country estate took thirty-eight minutes.
Daniel made it in twenty-nine.
Police followed.
Maya sat beside him.
Neither spoke.
"Noah went there once with Elena," Daniel finally said.
"When?"
"The summer before she died."
"Could he remember the route?"
"No."
"Then how did he get there?"
Daniel's grip tightened.
"That's what scares me."
Marcus called.
"A rideshare driver picked up a boy near the Hayes property."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
"Who ordered the car?"
"Account created this morning."
Daniel felt sick.
"Eric?"
"Unknown."
"Where did it drop him?"
"Two miles from Richard's estate."
Maya whispered, "Someone wanted him there."
Daniel accelerated.
When they reached the estate, the front gate stood open.
Richard's car was gone.
Police entered first.
They found Noah in the old greenhouse.
Alone.
Safe.
Daniel ran to him.
"Noah!"
He dropped to his knees and hugged him.
Noah started crying.
Daniel held him harder.
"Don't ever do that again."
"I'm sorry."
"No."
Daniel pulled back.
"I'm sorry. I should've been watching."
Maya crouched nearby.
"How did you get here?"
Noah looked at her.
"A man sent a car."
Daniel went still.
"What man?"
"I don't know."
"What did he say?"
Noah pulled a piece of paper from his pocket.
A typed message.
Your mother left something for you where the roses used to grow. Tell no one.
Maya's stomach twisted.
"Why did you go?"
Noah wiped his eyes.
"Mom brought me here."
"Where?"
He pointed toward the greenhouse floor.
"She buried something."
Daniel stared.
"What?"
"I don't know."
They searched.
Near an old rose bed, police discovered a weatherproof tin box buried beneath several inches of soil.
Inside was a flash drive.
And a letter.
Daniel recognized Elena's handwriting.
His hands began to shake.
The letter was addressed:
For Daniel, if I lose my courage.
He read silently first.
Then aloud.
"Daniel, I don't know if I'm being paranoid or careful. I hope it's the first. Something is wrong inside the company. Money has been moving through accounts connected to your father. Victor is involved, but I don't believe he controls it."
Daniel stopped.
Maya touched his arm.
He continued.
"Harold thinks the person responsible is someone close to us. I don't want to accuse anyone without proof."
Noah watched his father.
Daniel read on.
"If anything happens to me, please don't let grief become the reason you stop asking questions."
His voice broke.
He couldn't continue.
Maya took the letter.
"Do you want me to?"
Daniel nodded.
She read.
"And please don't let work become the safest place to hide. Noah needs you more than Hayes Development ever will."
Daniel covered his eyes.
Maya continued quietly.
"He notices everything. Even what we believe he doesn't understand."
Noah moved closer.
The last lines were simpler.
"Whatever happens, remember that kindness is not weakness. Money is only useful when it moves toward people who need it. If Noah remembers nothing else from me, let him remember that."
Maya stopped.
The words echoed what Noah had told her in the kitchen.
Daniel pulled his son close.
Noah whispered, "She buried it when we played outside."
"You saw?"
Noah nodded.
"She said it was treasure."
Daniel cried openly now.
Not dramatically.
No attempt to hide it.
Maya turned away until Noah reached for her.
Then she joined them.
Three people kneeling in an abandoned greenhouse around a box left by someone they all knew differently.
One as wife.
One as mother.
One only through the kindness she left behind.
Marcus returned from the house.
"Richard isn't here."
Daniel stood.
"Find him."
Police examined the flash drive.
It contained transaction records.
Emails.
Copies of authorizations.
One audio file.
And a video.
Elena sat in the same greenhouse.
Alive.
Tired.
Determined.
Daniel stared at the screen.
"If you're watching this," Elena said, "then either I lost my nerve or I was right to be afraid."
Noah grabbed Daniel's hand.
Elena continued.
"Richard has been using old family accounts to hide money."
Daniel's face hardened.
"He says he's protecting the company from Daniel's risky expansions. I don't believe him. Harold found transfers into offshore accounts."
Maya glanced at Daniel.
Elena looked directly into the camera.
"Victor helped Richard move some money. I confronted Victor. He broke down. He says Richard threatened to expose his gambling debts."
Daniel whispered, "Victor was trying to tell us."
The video continued.
"I don't know whether Richard would hurt me. I want to believe he wouldn't."
Elena paused.
Her expression became sad.
"He's family."
That sentence hurt more than any accusation.
"I plan to tell Daniel tomorrow."
The video ended.
Tomorrow.
Again.
The day that never arrived.
Marcus received a call.
"Richard's passport was used at the private airport forty minutes ago."
Daniel stood.
"Stop the plane."
"They're trying."
"Trying isn't enough."
Marcus nodded.
Then his expression changed.
"What?"
Daniel demanded.
"Richard isn't alone."
"Who is with him?"
Marcus looked at Noah.
"Eric Simmons."
Maya frowned.
"Eric has been threatening us."
"Apparently."
"Then why is he with Richard?"
Marcus answered.
"Maybe because we've been wrong about who was sending the messages."
Maya pulled out her phone.
The warnings had sounded threatening.
But read differently now.
Stay away.
Daniel can't protect you.
Ask about the money.
Maybe they weren't threats.
Maybe someone had been trying, badly, to warn her.
Maya said, "What if Eric isn't working with Richard?"
Daniel understood.
"What if he's following him?"
Marcus's phone rang again.
He answered.
His face changed.
"The airport police found Eric."
"Where?"
"In a service corridor."
"Richard?"
"Gone."
"Eric?"
"Alive."
Marcus paused.
"Richard stabbed him."
Noah pressed closer to Daniel.
Marcus continued.
"And before Eric lost consciousness, he told police Richard knows Maya is connected to the investigation."
Maya's stomach dropped.
Daniel looked at her.
"Why would that matter?"
Marcus answered grimly.
"Because Richard believes Maya has Elena's original letter."
Daniel stared at the envelope in Maya's hand.
Police had photographed it but hadn't yet bagged it because Daniel had been reading it.
Maya looked down.
Then at the open greenhouse doors.
A car engine roared somewhere beyond the trees.
Marcus shouted.
"Down!"
A black SUV tore across the property road.
It didn't come toward Daniel.
It came toward Maya.
Daniel grabbed her and pulled her behind a stone planter as the SUV sped past.
Police vehicles chased it.
When the noise faded, Maya realized Daniel was holding her against the ground.
His face was inches from hers.
"You okay?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
Neither moved.
For one strange second, the investigation disappeared.
The company disappeared.
Even the police disappeared.
Daniel's hand was still around hers.
Then Noah shouted, "Dad!"
Reality returned.
Daniel stood quickly.
Maya did too.
But the look between them remained.
And across the property, Richard Vale's abandoned phone began ringing.
The caller ID showed a name none of them expected.
May you like
Claire Whitmore.
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