Chapter 6 - THE DAUGHTER OF A DEAD MANMaya stared at the photograph.
The little girl had dark curls, a round face, and a familiar expression.
It was her.
She recognized the red coat she had worn as a child. She remembered the photograph from a family album, although Margaret had always claimed the man beside her was an old family friend.
"Richard Reed was my father?"
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
He looked at the picture, then at Maya.
"Apparently."
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Your aunt may have believed keeping it secret was the safest option."
Maya stepped away.
"My entire life has been a lie."
Daniel placed the photograph on the table.
"Not your entire life. The people who raised you loved you."
"That's not enough."
She sat on a cardboard box and covered her face.
Daniel remained nearby without touching her.
After several minutes, she looked up.
"Did your father know about me?"
"I don't know."
"Did he look for me?"
Daniel opened the letter again.
"Margaret wrote that Richard believed you had died in the fire."
Maya swallowed.
"What fire?"
He found another document.
It was an old newspaper clipping about a residential building fire in Brooklyn seventeen years earlier.
Three families had been displaced.
One child was reported missing.
Maya's name appeared in the article.
She remembered nothing about the incident.
Margaret had told her that her parents died in an accident when she was very young.
But the newspaper suggested something else.
Daniel called his attorney, who contacted the relevant archives.
Within an hour, they discovered that the fire investigation had been closed after the original building owner claimed the incident was caused by faulty wiring.
However, a later insurance inquiry had questioned the findings.
The building belonged to a company connected to Raymond Cross, a former Moretti associate.
Maya looked at Daniel.
"Was the fire deliberate?"
"We don't know yet."
A phone vibrated.
Thomas answered.
His expression changed.
"Boss, we've identified the second robber's employer."
Daniel stood.
"Who?"
"Victor Hail."
Daniel's face hardened.
"Dominic's security chief?"
Thomas nodded.
"He's been working for the Moretti organization for twenty years."
Maya looked confused.
"Then why would he send people after me?"
Thomas handed Daniel another report.
The robbers had been paid through a shell company registered to a property developer.
The same company had purchased the building containing the diner.
Maya suddenly understood.
"Someone wanted to scare us out of the diner."
Daniel nodded.
"Possibly. Or they wanted something in the basement."
He examined the old notebook.
A series of property addresses were written inside.
One was the diner.
Another was an abandoned warehouse.
The final address belonged to the Moretti family estate.
Maya looked at the last entry.
"Why would my aunt have information about their home?"
Daniel turned the page.
A sentence was written beneath the address.
THE ORIGINAL RECORDS ARE UNDER THE PLACE WHERE THE FAMILY FIRST MADE ITS PROMISE.
Before they could discuss it, the storage facility lights went out.
Thomas immediately moved toward the door.
"Nobody move."
A heavy impact sounded outside.
Then another.
Someone was trying to force the storage unit open.
Daniel reached for Maya.
"Stay behind me."
A voice came through the darkness.
May you like
"Mr. Reed. The Moretti family sends its regards."
Then the metal door began to rise.
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