Chapter 5 - THE SECRET HIS FATHER BURIED|
Graham didn't sleep that night.
He sat in his father's old library with the photograph spread across the desk.
Tabitha had gone downstairs, but the image of the little girl remained in his mind.
He had seen that photograph before.
It had been taken during the summer his mother disappeared from the family estate for several weeks.
His father had told him she was visiting relatives.
Now he understood that something far more complicated had happened.
At eight the next morning, Graham summoned his father's former attorney, Walter Hayes.
Walter arrived carrying a leather briefcase.
He was seventy-two, carefully dressed, and visibly nervous.
"Mr. Costa."
Graham placed the photograph on the desk.
"Explain this."
Walter looked down.
The color drained from his face.
"Where did you get that?"
"Answer me."
Walter removed his glasses.
"Your mother and Elizabeth Hayes were close friends. They met before your parents married."
"Who was Elizabeth?"
"A woman who worked for your grandfather."
"And Tabitha?"
Walter hesitated.
"She was born during a period when your family was involved in a serious legal dispute."
Graham's expression hardened.
"You're avoiding the question."
"Your grandfather had a secret."
Walter opened his briefcase and removed a sealed envelope.
Inside was a birth certificate and a handwritten statement.
The document suggested that Tabitha's mother had once been married to a man connected to the Costa family.
But the most shocking detail was a medical record.
It showed that Tabitha had been born with a rare blood condition.
Graham recognized the name.
His mother had suffered from the same condition.
"Was Tabitha related to my mother?"
Walter nodded.
"Your mother believed Elizabeth's child was being hunted because of an inheritance dispute. She helped Elizabeth escape."
"Who was hunting them?"
Walter looked toward the window.
"Your father."
Graham stood.
"My father protected that woman."
"He protected the family name. There is a difference."
Walter explained that Graham's grandfather had secretly transferred a substantial inheritance into a trust for Tabitha.
But when the old man died, the documents disappeared.
Graham's father had spent years trying to locate them.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Your father threatened my family."
Graham's jaw tightened.
"Where are the documents now?"
Walter looked toward the door.
"I believe Elizabeth hid them before she died."
"Where?"
"With her daughter."
Graham looked toward the staircase.
Tabitha's locket.
The photograph.
The missing inheritance.
Everything was connected.
Before he could ask another question, the library lights went out.
A gunshot shattered the window.
Walter fell to the floor.
Graham grabbed him and pulled him behind the desk.
"Stay down!"
Another shot struck the bookshelf.
Graham reached for his weapon.
But before he could move toward the window, he heard a scream from the hallway.
"Mr. Costa!"
Tabitha.
He ran outside.
She was standing at the top of the staircase, holding a silver tray.
A man in a dark uniform was behind her.
His arm was wrapped around her throat.
Graham raised his gun.
"Let her go."
The man laughed.
"Your father was right about you, Graham. You always did become sentimental."
Graham recognized the voice.
It was Anthony Russo.
But the security chief wasn't alone.
Two armed men appeared behind him.
Anthony pressed a knife against Tabitha's neck.
"Give me the inheritance documents."
Graham's expression turned murderous.
"You're making a mistake."
Anthony smiled.
"No, boss. I've been waiting twenty years to correct one."
May you like
Then he leaned toward Tabitha and whispered something that made her stop struggling.
"Your mother begged me to spare you."
