Chapter 5 - the night michael died)
Daniel did remember.
Not everything.
But enough.
Seven years earlier, Hale Biomedical had been preparing to announce a neurological treatment developed under Michael Hale's supervision.
The company had been founded by Daniel and Michael's father.
After their father's death, Michael became chief executive.
Daniel ran research.
Their work centered on recovery after traumatic brain injury.
At least, that was what Daniel believed.
On the night of the fire, Michael asked Daniel to come to his office.
"You need to see this."
Michael locked the door behind him.
A gray folder sat on the desk.
Inside were reports from a program Daniel had never authorized.
Subjects identified only by numbers.
Dosages.
Behavioral responses.
Memory recall tests.
Daniel had felt sick.
"What is this?"
Michael replied, "Something they buried inside our clinical partnerships."
"Who is they?"
Michael pointed to a symbol printed at the bottom of one page.
A narrow bridge surrounded by a gray circle.
GRAYBRIDGE BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH INITIATIVE.
Daniel remembered saying, "We've never worked with them."
Michael looked at him.
"Apparently we have."
"How?"
"Through shell contracts."
Daniel turned pages.
Subjects had been given compounds designed to produce temporary memory loss.
Some had been exposed repeatedly.
A few had developed permanent cognitive damage.
"This is illegal."
"Yes."
"Who approved it?"
Michael's face had been gray.
"My signature is on three authorizations."
Daniel stared at him.
"You signed these?"
"No."
The office door opened.
A man stepped inside without knocking.
Silver-haired.
Forties.
Dark suit.
Scar near his jaw.
Michael stood.
"You shouldn't be here."
The man replied, "Neither should that file."
Daniel stepped between them.
"Who are you?"
The stranger looked at him calmly.
"Victor Caine."
The memory fragmented after that.
An argument.
Michael refusing to hand over the folder.
Victor saying, "You misunderstand the scale of what you inherited."
Michael shouting.
An alarm.
Smoke.
Daniel running.
A blast.
Then darkness.
At the hospital, Daniel told Rachel and Quinn everything he remembered.
Quinn listened without interruption.
"Why didn't you remember Victor before?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I don't know."
Rachel looked at him.
"Maybe because you were injured."
Vanessa had claimed Graybridge worked with memory-altering compounds.
The possibility settled over the room.
Daniel looked at Quinn.
"Could someone have drugged me that night?"
"We would need medical records."
"My records should exist."
"Then I'll obtain them."
Rachel squeezed Daniel's hand.
"Lily."
He looked at her.
"What?"
"If they could erase part of your memory, maybe the threats aren't only about what happened seven years ago."
"What else would they want?"
Rachel stared at him.
"Something Michael gave you."
Daniel almost laughed.
"He didn't give me anything."
"Are you sure?"
The question haunted him.
Are you sure?
For the next several hours, Detective Quinn coordinated a search of the mansion.
A hidden camera was discovered inside the upstairs hallway smoke detector exactly where Rachel said it had been.
Another was found inside a decorative speaker in Daniel's study.
A third was embedded in a hallway clock.
All transmitted wirelessly.
To where, nobody yet knew.
The delivery man's missing box was found empty behind the garage.
Daniel's entire home had become a crime scene.
By evening, Rachel's condition stabilized.
Lily slept curled against Daniel.
Vanessa remained in custody pending further investigation.
Daniel wanted her charged.
Quinn refused to promise anything.
"Her story is being tested."
"She admitted putting something in the milk."
"Yes."
"Why is she not under arrest?"
"Because the toxicology doesn't fit the substance she says she used."
Daniel stared at her.
"Meaning?"
"The powder she claims she added appears to be a counteragent."
"Appears?"
"We recovered residue from a folded packet in her handbag."
"The same bag as the pills?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"The residue does not match the sedative in Rachel's blood."
Daniel looked toward his wife.
"Then where did the sedative come from?"
"Most likely the milk before Vanessa touched it."
Rachel whispered, "She may actually have been trying to help me."
Daniel hated the possibility.
Because anger was simple.
Anger gave him somewhere to stand.
If Vanessa was not the attacker, then the real attacker had been inside the house and may still have been unknown.
Daniel's phone rang.
His mother.
He had not spoken to Evelyn Hale in almost two days.
She sounded frantic.
"I just heard about Rachel."
"Where are you?"
"At home."
"Stay there."
"Daniel, what happened?"
"I can't explain everything."
"Is Lily safe?"
"For now."
His mother went silent.
Daniel noticed the wording.
"What do you mean, for now?"
"I didn't say that."
"You asked if Lily was safe."
"Of course I did."
"Mom, do you know the name Graybridge?"
Silence.
Too long.
Daniel stood.
"Mom?"
Evelyn's breathing became audible.
"Where did you hear that name?"
Every muscle in Daniel's body tightened.
"You know it."
"Daniel."
"What is Graybridge?"
"Not on the phone."
"Tell me now."
"I said not on the phone."
He stepped into the hallway.
"Did Michael tell you about it?"
Another pause.
His mother's voice cracked.
"Michael tried to destroy it."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"You knew."
"I knew enough."
"Seven years."
"I was trying to protect you."
"By letting me believe my brother died in an accident?"
"Daniel, please."
"Who is Victor Caine?"
His mother whispered.
"You remember him?"
"Yes."
"Then listen to me very carefully."
Daniel waited.
"Do not go back to the mansion."
"Why?"
"Because if Victor knows you remember him, he will assume you remember where Michael hid the archive."
"What archive?"
"The original Graybridge files."
Daniel's pulse surged.
"I don't know anything about files."
"Then pray he believes you."
The line went dead.
Daniel immediately called back.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
He looked through the hospital window at Rachel and Lily.
Then at Detective Quinn.
"My mother knows Graybridge."
Quinn stood.
"Where is she?"
"At her house."
"We'll send officers."
Daniel was already moving.
"I'm going too."
Quinn blocked him.
"No."
"She's my mother."
"And somebody may be waiting for you to do exactly this."
Daniel wanted to argue.
Then his phone vibrated.
A video arrived.
He opened it.
The image showed Evelyn Hale sitting in her living room.
She appeared unharmed.
Then a man's hand entered the frame and placed a gray folder on the table in front of her.
Victor's voice came from behind the camera.
"Ask your mother what Michael put inside the white horse."
Evelyn began crying.
The video ended.
Daniel looked at Quinn.
"The white horse."
"What is that?"
Daniel whispered, "I don't know."
Then from inside the hospital room came Lily's sleepy voice.
"Daddy?"
Daniel turned.
Lily sat up on the sofa.
She rubbed one eye.
"Grandma has a white horse."
Daniel stopped.
Rachel stared at her daughter.
"What did you say?"
Lily pointed toward Daniel.
"Grandma's house."
Daniel knelt.
"What white horse, sweetheart?"
May you like
Lily smiled faintly.
"The one Uncle Michael gave Daddy."
