Chapter 10 - The Name He Whispered in the Dark
Clara left the room.
Not dramatically.
No shouting.
No accusation.
She simply walked away.
I followed.
She made it halfway down the corridor before turning.
“Was my father the doctor?”
“I don't know.”
“You think he was.”
“I think Elena said something we don't understand.”
“Your friend lied for fourteen months.”
Dominic stood twenty feet behind us.
Clara pointed toward him.
“And you're still listening to him.”
“He saved Matteo.”
“So?”
The word shocked me.
She continued.
“People can save someone and still lie.”
I looked back at Dominic.
For the first time in twelve years, I didn't know what I saw.
Friend.
Brother.
Possible traitor.
“Why did you hide Elena's final words?”
I asked him.
Dominic answered quietly.
“Because three minutes later Samuel Hayes arrived at the scene.”
Clara froze.
“What?”
“He was there?”
Dominic nodded.
“He came in another vehicle.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“He disappeared three days later,” I said.
Dominic looked at me.
“And Elena warned me not to let you trust the doctor.”
Clara's face hardened.
“Then find my father.”
“We're trying.”
“No. You're waiting for him to appear on your screens like a ghost.”
She picked up her bag.
“I'm going to Maine.”
“To Rebecca?”
“Yes.”
“You aren't going alone.”
“Watch me.”
“Elias Vane was near the hospital.”
“That is exactly why I'm going.”
I had two choices.
Order her to stay.
Or respect that she was not mine to command.
I chose a third.
“I'm coming.”
She laughed without humor.
“Absolutely not.”
“Then Dominic goes.”
“No.”
“Clara.”
“Your son needs you.”
That stopped me.
She stepped closer.
“Matteo just started speaking. He remembers his mother dying. He believes you might be responsible. He does not need his father disappearing into another investigation.”
I hated how precisely she understood what mattered.
“You're not trained for this.”
“Neither was Elena.”
That hurt.
Clara softened.
“I'll take two guards if it makes you happy.”
“It doesn't.”
“That's the offer.”
She left that afternoon.
I stayed.
For once.
Matteo and I played chess.
He beat me.
I accused him of cheating.
He said, “You're just bad.”
A week earlier, I would have paid millions to hear that insult.
After dinner, he asked me about Elena.
“Did Mom know Clara?”
“I don't think they met.”
“Then why did she write her name?”
“I don't know.”
“Maybe she knew Clara would help.”
“Maybe.”
Matteo looked toward the window.
“Mom knew things.”
“Yes.”
“Like when you lied.”
I smiled faintly.
“She was excellent at that.”
Matteo became quiet.
“Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you going to kill whoever did it?”
The question stunned me.
I had spent his entire childhood pretending my world did not exist.
Children always know more than adults imagine.
“What do you think I should do?”
He looked at his legs.
“Mom used to say hurting people doesn't fix the first hurt.”
That sounded exactly like Elena.
I leaned back.
“What else did she say?”
“That you don't listen.”
I laughed despite myself.
“Also accurate.”
Matteo looked at me seriously.
“I don't want you to die too.”
There it was.
The real fear.
Not vengeance.
Abandonment.
I moved beside him.
“I'll do everything I can to stay.”
“Promise?”
“I promise to try.”
He accepted that.
Maybe because it was honest.
At 10:42 p.m., Clara called.
Rebecca was safe.
Elias had not been there.
But Rebecca remembered something.
“What?”
I asked.
Clara put the phone on speaker.
Her sister's voice was soft and uncertain.
“During the hospital months, Dad had a friend who visited.”
“Name?”
“She called him Doctor Vale.”
My blood went cold.
“First name?”
“Marcus.”
I knew him.
Dr. Marcus Vale had been my personal physician for nine years.
He had treated Elena.
He had treated Matteo.
He had access to my house without being searched.
He still lived in the guest wing twice a month when conducting medical follow-ups.
And he was sleeping under my roof that very night.
I turned toward the security monitors.
Guest Wing Camera Three showed an empty bed.
Marcus Vale was gone.
Then Monitor Four flickered.
A figure entered Matteo's old bedroom.
Not Marcus.
Someone wearing a hood.
He crossed to the wheelchair.
Reached underneath.
Removed something.
Before the figure left, he turned toward the camera.
May you like
It was Dr. Marcus Vale.
And in his hand was a second envelope Elena had hidden inside the chair.
