Chapter 17 - THE GRAVE THAT HELD NO BODYMaya could barely process the news.
Her father might have survived the fire.
Her mother had been held away from her for seventeen years.
And the man responsible for the entire conspiracy was still operating somewhere beyond the reach of the law.
Dominic called Samuel Whitmore.
The old accountant was shocked when he heard Catherine's name.
"She's alive?"
"Yes."
Samuel went silent.
Then he explained that Richard had been moved to a private medical facility after the fire.
The official records said he died six months later.
But Samuel had never seen a death certificate signed by an independent doctor.
He had always suspected the document was forged.
"Where was the facility?"
Samuel gave them an address.
It was located in northern New Jersey, near an old rehabilitation center.
Daniel arranged for investigators to check the records.
They discovered that a patient under the name Robert Hayes had been admitted there seventeen years earlier.
His medical photographs matched Richard Reed.
But the patient had been transferred.
The destination was a residential care facility in Pennsylvania.
Dominic ordered a vehicle.
Maya sat beside her mother during the drive.
Catherine held her hand.
"I don't know what we'll find."
Maya looked out the window.
"At least this time, we know we're looking."
The facility was quiet.
An administrator greeted them and checked the records.
She confirmed that Robert Hayes had lived there for nearly ten years.
He had been moved to another center after his condition deteriorated.
"Where is he now?" Maya asked.
The administrator consulted her computer.
"He's still alive."
Maya covered her mouth.
Daniel looked at Dominic.
"Can we see him?"
The administrator arranged a visit.
They entered a small room overlooking a garden.
An elderly man sat near the window, looking at a book.
His hair was gray.
His shoulders were thin.
But when he turned, Maya recognized the face from the photograph.
"Richard?"
The man blinked.
Then his eyes widened.
"Catherine?"
Maya stepped forward.
"Dad?"
Richard stared at her.
For a long moment, he seemed unable to speak.
Then he slowly raised his hand.
"My little girl."
Maya rushed to him.
She embraced him, crying against his shoulder.
Catherine knelt beside them.
Richard held both women.
"I thought I'd lost you."
Catherine shook her head.
"We're here."
The reunion lasted several minutes.
Daniel waited outside with Dominic.
When Richard finally felt strong enough to speak, he explained that Raymond had arranged the attack and then kept him hidden because he knew the original evidence could destroy the entire operation.
Richard had suffered serious injuries and memory problems.
For years, he could not remember where the documents were hidden.
But his memories had slowly returned.
"Where is the final record?" Dominic asked.
Richard looked toward him.
"Your grandfather's estate."
Dominic frowned.
"We searched the vault."
"Not the vault."
Richard reached for a notebook.
"Your grandfather built a small chapel behind the estate. He hid the final record beneath the altar."
Daniel examined the old photograph.
The chapel had been demolished years earlier.
Dominic looked at his father.
"How do we find it?"
Richard smiled faintly.
"Look beneath the stone engraved with our family promise."
Maya felt a chill.
They had finally found her father.
May you like
But the most important evidence was still hidden.
And Raymond Cross was already moving to destroy it.
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