Chapter 7 - THE FIRE THAT ERASED NOTHINGVincent arrived at the storage facility twenty minutes after the fire department.
Flames had already consumed the roof of the old warehouse, and smoke rolled across the industrial district. Firefighters moved through the loading bay while police officers kept the crowd behind a barrier.
Vincent stepped out of the car, his expression unreadable.
Daniel caught up with him.
“Sir, the fire started in the office section. The alarm was disabled before the first call.”
“Any casualties?”
“None confirmed.”
“Any sign of Richard?”
“Not yet.”
Vincent stared at the burning building.
Richard had known they were coming.
The storage facility was supposed to contain the original contracts, bank records, and the evidence Daniel had hidden. If the files were destroyed, the forged documents might never be enough to prove the entire scheme.
Then a firefighter emerged carrying a metal case.
“Found this in a fireproof cabinet,” he called.
Vincent approached.
The case was scorched but intact.
Inside lay a blue coat, a stack of old photographs, and a sealed envelope addressed to him.
His hands went still when he recognized Elena's handwriting.
He opened the envelope.
Vincent,
If you are reading this, I have failed to return home. I need you to know that I never stopped loving you. I never surrendered our daughter. I never signed the papers Richard showed me.
There is something else I could not tell you before I disappeared.
Your mother's death was not what the family was told.
Vincent stopped reading.
Daniel stood beside him, watching his face.
He continued.
Three months before she died, your mother discovered that Richard was moving money through companies connected to your father's business. She confronted him. A week later, she changed her will and asked me to keep a copy of the original.
She told me that if anything happened to her, I should find the one person in the family who had never benefited from her death.
Vincent's throat tightened.
His mother had died when he was thirty-four. He had been told she suffered a sudden cardiac event while traveling. The family doctor had signed the report. The funeral had been held within two days.
He had never questioned it.
He had been grieving his father at the time and struggling to stabilize the family business.
Richard had handled the legal arrangements.
“Who signed the medical report?” Vincent asked.
Daniel checked his tablet.
“Dr. Samuel Price. He's retired. He lives in Wisconsin.”
“Find him.”
Vincent unfolded the rest of the letter.
I hid the original will inside the lining of the blue coat. If the coat is gone, Richard has it. If he has it, then he knows the truth.
Please find Grace. Please don't let our daughter grow up believing her father abandoned her.
And Vincent, if you ever meet Clara Bennett, trust her. Daniel risked everything because he believed the truth belonged to both of you.
Vincent lowered the letter.
He looked across the street at the fire.
The warehouse had been meant to destroy the evidence.
Instead, it had exposed a deeper crime.
Back at the mansion, I was sitting with Rebecca when a nurse entered to check my blood pressure. My stomach had tightened twice during the afternoon, and the doctor had ordered me to rest.
I was frightened, but the baby's heartbeat remained steady.
Rebecca sat beside me.
“Daniel spoke about you often,” she said softly.
I looked up.
“He did?”
“He said you were the first person who made him believe he could have an ordinary life.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“I wish he'd told me the truth.”
“So do I.”
She hesitated.
“He was afraid Richard would use you against him.”
I pressed a hand to my stomach.
“Then why did he leave me the recording?”
“Because he knew he might not survive. He wanted you to have something Richard couldn't take away.”
A guard appeared in the doorway.
“Ms. Bennett, Mr. Moretti is on his way back.”
He looked uncomfortable.
“There is also someone here asking for you.”
My heart pounded.
“Who?”
The guard swallowed.
“A priest. He says he married you and Daniel.”
I stared at him.
“That isn't possible. We were married at the courthouse.”
The guard shook his head.
“He says Daniel had another ceremony before yours. And he says he has a document proving your marriage was never legally valid.”
Rebecca went pale.
I stood too quickly and felt a sharp pull in my abdomen.
The nurse immediately steadied me.
“Sit down.”
I obeyed, breathing through the discomfort.
May you like
Then the guard added the words that made my blood run cold.
“He says Daniel Bennett wasn't his real name.”
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