Chapter 12 - Victor's Confession|
Victor Lane had already agreed to cooperate with the investigation, but when Detective Hayes showed him the email, he became visibly distressed.
"I didn't send that message," he said.
"Your account accessed the system," the detective replied.
"Yes, but I wasn't the one using it."
"Who had access?"
Victor hesitated.
"Anthony. Richard. And Olivia."
Natalie watched him carefully.
"Why would Olivia ask Daniel to protect me?"
Victor lowered his head.
"Because she knew Daniel had a wife who wasn't connected to the business. She thought you might be the only person he trusted completely."
"Did she know where the original records were?"
"I don't know."
Victor looked toward Alessandro.
"But I know something else."
Detective Hayes asked him to continue.
Victor explained that Anthony had maintained a private office above Bellissimo. It was separate from the restaurant's ordinary business records and contained a locked cabinet.
Inside the cabinet, Anthony kept original contracts, photographs, and copies of payments.
"I saw him put Daniel's folder in there," Victor said.
Natalie felt her pulse quicken.
"The original evidence?"
"I think so."
"Why didn't you tell the police earlier?"
Victor looked ashamed.
"Because Anthony threatened my family. He said he knew where my daughter went to school. I thought if I stayed quiet, nobody would get hurt."
Alessandro's expression hardened.
"Did he threaten anyone else?"
Victor nodded.
"Margaret. Natalie. A few other employees. He kept copies of their personal information."
Detective Hayes wrote everything down.
"We need the location and access details for that office."
Victor described a private staircase behind the restaurant's wine storage area. He also gave them the name of a security contractor who had installed the cabinet lock.
The detective arranged for the information to be included in a formal evidence request.
Natalie felt something close to hope.
If the original folder was still there, they might finally understand what happened to Daniel.
But Victor was not finished.
"There's one more thing."
He looked directly at Natalie.
"The night Daniel died, Anthony called me. He asked whether I had seen a woman with a pale scarf."
Natalie's mouth went dry.
"Olivia?"
Victor nodded.
"He said she had taken something that belonged to him. He told me to call if she came back."
"Did you see her?"
"No. But I saw a car outside the restaurant the next morning. It belonged to Richard Bell."
"Was Richard inside?"
Victor shook his head.
"He spoke to Anthony in the parking area. They argued. Then Richard left."
Natalie leaned forward.
"Did you hear what they said?"
Victor closed his eyes.
"I heard Anthony say, 'Parker should have minded his own business.'"
The room went silent.
Natalie felt her stomach tighten.
Detective Hayes immediately clarified that the statement was an allegation and would need corroboration. She asked Victor to provide a sworn account.
He agreed.
Alessandro stood beside the window, his hands clenched.
"Anthony knew Daniel was investigating him."
"Yes," Victor replied.
"And he knew Daniel had evidence."
"Yes."
"Then why is he still running a restaurant?"
Detective Hayes looked at him.
"Because suspicion is not a conviction, Mr. Vitale. We'll build the case properly."
Alessandro nodded, though it was clear the answer frustrated him.
Natalie placed her hand over her belly.
Her daughter moved.
She took a slow breath.
"Daniel wanted the truth to come out," she said. "We're going to let the law do that."
That night, Natalie returned home with a police escort.
She checked the apartment door twice.
Then she went to the bedroom and opened Daniel's old laptop.
She had kept it for two years without turning it on.
She plugged it in.
The screen flickered.
A password prompt appeared.
Natalie tried Daniel's birthday.
Wrong.
Their wedding date.
Wrong.
Their daughter's expected due date, which he had once joked would be the most important date in their lives.
Wrong.
Then she remembered something.
Daniel had told her that his favorite place in the world was wherever she was.
She typed the name of the beach where he had proposed.
The laptop opened.
A single folder appeared on the desktop.
May you like
Its title was:
IF THEY FIND HER.
