Chapter 9 - The Groom’s Secret
Emma did not confront Daniel immediately.
She investigated him.
Daniel Cole had grown up in Connecticut, attended Princeton, and worked as a corporate restructuring attorney before joining Cole International.
His public history was clean.
His private history contained one unusual detail.
Three years earlier, Daniel had requested access to archived records from the Beaumont Grand Hall.
The request concerned an employee event held on the night Catherine Bell disappeared.
Emma invited him to meet at the Beaumont under the pretense of reviewing final wedding security.
Daniel arrived alone.
They stood in the empty east gallery while staff prepared the ballroom below.
Emma placed the photograph on a table.
Daniel looked at it.
His face changed.
“Where did you get this?”
“Deposit box 417.”
He sat down slowly.
“You opened it.”
“It was empty.”
Daniel rubbed one hand across his jaw.
“Emma, there are things Vanessa does not know.”
“That sentence is becoming popular.”
“I did not begin dating her because of you.”
“I had not accused you.”
“But you were going to.”
Emma remained silent.
Daniel looked toward the windows.
“My father knew Catherine Bell.”
“How?”
“She worked briefly for Cole International before Eleanor hired her.”
“What did she discover?”
“Payments between my father, Richard, and several public officials.”
Emma’s stomach tightened.
“What kind of payments?”
“Bribes connected to waterfront development contracts.”
“Why were you investigating the Beaumont?”
“My father kept a calendar. The night Catherine disappeared, he met Richard here.”
“Was Catherine present?”
“Yes.”
Emma sat opposite him.
“Who is my father?”
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
“I do not know for certain.”
“You know enough to circle yourself in a photograph?”
“I did not leave that message.”
“Who did?”
“My father, possibly.”
“Why?”
“To make you distrust me.”
“Should I?”
Daniel met her gaze.
“I found evidence that Catherine had been involved with someone connected to Cole International. I believed it might have been my uncle.”
“Name.”
“Jonathan Cole.”
Emma knew the name. Jonathan had died in a boating accident before she was born.
“Was he married?”
“Yes.”
“Children?”
“One son.”
“Who?”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“My father.”
Emma stared at him.
“That makes no sense.”
“Jonathan was my grandfather’s older son. My father was born from his first marriage. The family structure is complicated.”
“Was Catherine involved with Jonathan?”
“I found letters, but they were unsigned.”
“Then why investigate me?”
“Because one letter mentioned a child and Eleanor’s intention to protect her.”
Emma leaned forward.
“When did you learn Vanessa was my sister?”
“Two months after we started dating.”
“Did you continue dating her to get close to me?”
“No.”
“Did your father encourage the relationship?”
Daniel did not answer quickly enough.
Emma stood.
“Unbelievable.”
“I love Vanessa.”
“You also used her.”
“At first, I thought your family might possess the records that could clear my father.”
“Clear him of what?”
“Catherine’s murder.”
The words settled between them.
Emma had assumed Richard was the primary suspect.
Daniel’s father had been there too.
“Why would someone leave a message saying you know who my father is?”
“Because I found a blood type record.”
Emma stopped.
He opened his phone and displayed an old medical form.
“Catherine was O negative. You are A positive.”
“Yes.”
“Jonathan was AB positive. Richard is O positive.”
“That excludes Richard.”
“It does.”
“And Daniel’s father?”
“A positive.”
Emma looked at him.
“Your father could be my father.”
“It is possible.”
The gallery seemed to tilt.
Daniel stood.
“I ordered a private DNA comparison using a sample from a glass you left at the engagement dinner.”
Emma’s shock turned instantly to fury.
“You stole my DNA?”
“I needed to know.”
“You had no right.”
“I know.”
“What did the result say?”
Daniel took a slow breath.
“The sample indicates a close biological relationship between you and my father.”
Emma stepped backward.
“How close?”
“The laboratory could not determine whether he was your father or your half-brother without a direct comparison.”
“Half-brother?”
“If Jonathan was your father, my father would be your half-brother. If my father was your father, then you would be my aunt.”
Emma stared at the man preparing to marry Vanessa.
“This wedding could unite two families connected to a murder, hidden money, and my birth.”
“Yes.”
“And you still intend to proceed?”
Daniel’s expression filled with pain.
“I intended to tell Vanessa after I had proof.”
“After the wedding.”
“I was afraid she would leave.”
“You were afraid she would know who she was marrying.”
Daniel looked away.
Emma gathered the photograph.
“The wedding should be postponed.”
“No.”
“Daniel.”
“If I postpone now, Richard will know we found the box.”
“It was already empty.”
“Which means someone reached it first.”
Emma studied him.
“Who knew about the deposit box?”
“My father. Eleanor. Possibly Richard.”
“And you?”
“I discovered it in Eleanor’s archived correspondence.”
Emma placed the photograph in her folder.
“Tell Vanessa tonight.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“I will tell her when I understand the truth.”
“That is how every lie in my family began.”
Emma walked toward the door.
Daniel called after her.
“There is something else.”
She stopped.
“The DNA laboratory retained your sample.”
“Why?”
“Someone paid them to transfer it.”
“To whom?”
“They would not say.”
Emma turned.
May you like
Daniel’s expression was grim.
“But the payment came from a Whitmore Holdings account.”
