Chapter 2 - the man who was supposed to speak)
Elena had spent three years believing Gabriel died because another driver lost control in heavy rain.
That was what the police report said.
That was what the insurance company said.
That was what everyone had told her.
Damian's sentence shattered that certainty in less than ten seconds.
"What do you mean he was supposed to meet your father?"
Damian did not immediately answer.
The hospital corridor suddenly seemed too quiet.
"My father was Daniel Cross," he said. "He founded Cross Meridian."
"I know who your father was."
Daniel Cross had died two years earlier.
His obituary had described him as a visionary businessman and philanthropist.
Damian rubbed a hand over his face.
"Near the end of his life, my father became obsessed with an internal investigation. He believed someone inside the company was manipulating inspection reports on construction projects."
Elena's heartbeat changed.
"Gabriel was a structural engineer."
"I know."
"Then why have you never said anything?"
"Because I didn't know you were his wife."
Damian reached for his phone.
He opened an encrypted company archive.
"I saw his name once. Maybe twice. My father kept a handwritten list of employees he wanted to interview privately."
Damian turned the phone.
Gabriel Reyes appeared halfway down the list.
Next to his name were two words.
Original survey.
Elena stared.
"What survey?"
"I don't know."
Damian lowered his voice.
"My father died before I found out."
A doctor emerged.
Elena immediately stood.
Mia was stable.
She would need observation for several hours.
Elena hurried inside.
Damian remained in the corridor.
His phone rang.
Vanessa.
He answered.
"What?"
Her voice was soft.
"Please come home."
"No."
"We need to talk."
"You assaulted a three year old."
"It wasn't like that."
"I heard you."
Silence.
Then Vanessa said, "There are things about Elena you don't understand."
Damian almost laughed.
"You think attacking her daughter is going to become Elena's fault?"
"I'm telling you that family is dangerous."
The sentence was so absurd that Damian stopped.
"Mia is three."
"I'm not talking about the child."
Damian's eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about?"
Vanessa breathed slowly.
"Ask Elena why Gabriel was fired."
Damian said nothing.
"Ask her what he stole."
Then Vanessa hung up.
Damian immediately called Marcus Lane, Cross Meridian's general counsel.
"I need every employment record on Gabriel Reyes."
Marcus paused.
"Why?"
"Because his daughter was assaulted in my house today."
Another pause.
"His daughter?"
"Three years old."
Marcus's voice became careful.
"Damian, Gabriel Reyes is not someone I would dig into casually."
That was the second warning within minutes.
Damian felt cold.
"Why?"
"Because the records were sealed."
"By whom?"
"Your father."
Damian stared through the glass door at Elena sitting beside Mia's hospital bed.
"Unseal them."
"I don't know if I can."
"You can."
"Damian."
"Marcus."
The lawyer sighed.
"I'll see what exists."
When Damian entered Mia's room again, the little girl was awake.
A white bandage covered the cut near her eyebrow.
She held the dollar tightly.
"Mr. Damian?"
He sat beside the bed.
"Yes?"
"Is Vanessa mad at me?"
Elena looked away.
Damian leaned forward.
"No."
Mia considered this.
"She looked mad."
"You didn't do anything wrong."
"I touched the cake."
"That doesn't matter."
"It was Mommy's birthday."
Damian looked at Elena.
She shook her head slightly, embarrassed by the attention.
Mia held up the dollar.
"Daddy gave us money."
Damian gently touched the edge of the bill.
"Did your daddy write these numbers?"
Mia nodded confidently.
Elena frowned.
"How would she know?"
Mia pointed at the bill.
"Daddy secret."
Elena's breath caught.
"What secret?"
Mia looked confused.
"In Mommy box."
Elena understood.
Gabriel's memory box.
There were several things inside it besides the dollar.
She suddenly remembered something she had forgotten.
A small brass key.
She had assumed it belonged to an old toolbox.
Gabriel used to carry it on the same key ring as his car keys.
After his death, Elena had placed it in the box.
Damian saw the realization on her face.
"What?"
"There is a key."
"What kind?"
"I don't know."
"Where?"
"At the staff apartment."
They left the hospital two hours later after doctors approved Mia's discharge.
Damian sent a security vehicle ahead.
But when they reached the estate, Elena knew something was wrong before the car stopped.
The door to her apartment was open.
She ran inside.
Drawers had been emptied.
Cabinets stood open.
Mattresses had been lifted.
Gabriel's wooden box lay shattered on the floor.
The photograph was there.
The wedding ring was there.
The hospital bracelet was there.
The brass key was gone.
Elena covered her mouth.
Damian looked toward his security chief.
"Who entered this apartment?"
"No one authorized."
"Check cameras."
The security chief hesitated.
"Sir, the cameras covering the staff wing went offline forty minutes ago."
Damian's face hardened.
"How?"
"We don't know."
A voice came from the doorway.
"I do."
Everyone turned.
It was Rosa.
The kitchen assistant looked terrified.
She held her phone against her chest.
"I saw someone leaving."
Damian stepped toward her.
"Who?"
Rosa looked at Elena.
Then at Damian.
"It was Mr. Crosswell."
Vanessa's father.
Malcolm.
And according to the wedding schedule, Malcolm Crosswell had supposedly been in Manhattan all afternoon.
Damian looked toward the mansion.
The wedding was less than twenty four hours away.
But suddenly the question was no longer whether he would marry Vanessa.
May you like
The question was what Vanessa's family had been searching for.
And what Gabriel Reyes had hidden before he died.
