Chapter 9 - The Truth Behind the Accident|
The accident report arrived two days later.
Adrian delivered it through Daniel, along with photographs of the wrecked vehicle and a copy of the original police interview.
Claire sat alone in the living room while Eleanor made tea. Grace slept in her bassinet, unaware that a few pieces of paper were about to change everything Claire remembered about her childhood.
The report stated that her father's car had left the road during heavy rain. There were no witnesses, no evidence of another vehicle, and no indication of foul play.
But one detail bothered Claire.
Her father had been driving home from a meeting with a company he had never mentioned to her.
The company was owned by a Moretti subsidiary.
She called Daniel.
“Can you find out what my father was doing at that meeting?”
“I'm already checking. Adrian provided the company records.”
“Did my father work for them?”
“According to the payroll documents, he was an independent consultant.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Her father had been an accountant. He had spent evenings at the kitchen table balancing figures while she did her homework beside him.
He had taught her that numbers did not lie.
People did.
When Daniel arrived that afternoon, he brought another document.
“Your father filed a complaint three days before the accident. He claimed someone had altered financial records and threatened him.”
Claire's hands began to tremble.
“Who did he name?”
“Richard Reynolds.”
Eleanor sat down heavily.
“I knew he was frightened,” she whispered. “I didn't know he had filed a complaint.”
“Why didn't you tell me?” Claire asked.
“Because after he died, someone came to our house. He said your father had made dangerous enemies and that I should never speak about his work.”
“Who?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“I never saw his face. He left a card with no name, only a telephone number. I destroyed it.”
Claire felt anger rise, followed by grief so sharp she could barely breathe.
For twelve years, she had believed her father died because of bad weather.
Now she wondered whether someone had forced him off the road.
That evening, Adrian called.
“Daniel told me you received the report.”
“Yes.”
“I am sorry.”
Claire stared at the photograph of her father's car.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
“Did your father know?”
A long silence followed.
“I don't know,” Adrian said. “But I will find out.”
Claire's voice cracked.
“You keep saying that. You keep promising to find out after someone else has already suffered.”
“I know.”
“Then stop making promises. Bring me evidence.”
He accepted the demand.
The following morning, Adrian met Marcus Bell and ordered a complete independent audit of every company connected to Richard Reynolds.
He also turned over the original financial records to investigators, despite his advisers warning him that doing so could expose the organization to criminal scrutiny.
“You could lose everything,” Marcus told him.
Adrian looked at the papers.
“If the money was stolen, I want it found. If someone used my family to hurt Claire's father, I want that exposed too.”
“And if the investigation reaches you?”
“Then I answer for what I've done.”
It was the first time Adrian had considered the possibility that protecting his name might be less important than telling the truth.
Meanwhile, Claire found an old birthday card in her mother's belongings. Her father had written a message inside.
If anything ever happens to me, remember this: the truth is not the same as the story powerful people tell.
Beneath the message was a name.
Richard Reynolds.
And a second line.
Ask Eleanor about the blue key.
Claire turned toward her mother.
“What blue key?”
May you like
Eleanor went pale.
Then she rose, crossed the room, and locked the front door.
