Chương 3
A stack of unopened mail leaned against the coffee maker.
Claire's old mug still sat in the cabinet because Daniel could not decide whether keeping it was love or avoidance.
He poured himself water and stared at the envelope.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Claire had written his name thousands of times.
On grocery lists.
Birthday cards.
Notes left beside the coffee machine when she had to leave early for work.
This was different.
The letters were careful.
Measured.
Like she had taken time before every line.
Daniel opened it.
Inside was a single sheet of paper and a small flash drive.
The note was short.
Daniel,
If Mara gives this to you, it means I was right to be afraid.
Do not trust anyone who tells you this is about money.
It is bigger than that.
I am sorry I kept things from you.
I was trying to keep you and Lily safe.
Please do not make the same mistake I made.
Claire.
Daniel read it three times.
Each time, the words became heavier.
He hated the sentence about keeping him safe.
Not because it was wrong.
Because he knew Claire.
When she believed something was dangerous, she did not run.
She investigated.
She stayed too long.
She convinced herself she could fix things before they reached the people she loved.
It was one of the things he admired about her.
It was also one of the things that terrified him.
He picked up the flash drive.
A normal person would have plugged it into a computer immediately.
Daniel had learned enough from watching crime shows with Claire to know that normal decisions were not always smart ones.
He grabbed an old laptop from the closet that he had not used since Claire died.
The battery was dead.
He plugged it in and waited.
The waiting bothered him.
It gave his imagination too much space.
He thought about Claire sitting somewhere alone, writing that note.
He thought about her deciding that the only person she could trust was a woman Daniel had spent years avoiding.
He thought about Mara saying Claire had been afraid.
The laptop finally turned on.
The desktop still showed Claire's old background image.
A picture of Lily asleep on the couch with a book covering her face.
Daniel looked away quickly.
He connected the flash drive.
There were only three files.
One was labeled numbers.
One was labeled meetings.
The third had no name.
His phone rang before he could open any of them.
The sound made him jump.
He looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
He almost ignored it.
Then the phone rang again.
"Hello?"
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Daniel stood up.
"Who is this?"
A man's voice finally answered.
"Where did you get that?"
Daniel froze.
The apartment suddenly felt too quiet.
"Who are you?"
"Daniel, listen carefully."
The voice was calm.
Too calm.
"You need to put that drive somewhere safe and forget you ever saw it."
Daniel looked toward the laptop.
"How do you know I have it?"
The man did not answer.
That was answer enough.
Daniel tightened his grip on the phone.
"Did you know my wife?"
A pause followed.
A very small pause.
"Your wife knew things she shouldn't have known."
Daniel felt anger rise through the fear.
"Who are you?"
"You don't want that answer yet."
"Try me."
The man exhaled softly.
"You sound like Claire."
The call ended.
Daniel stood there staring at the phone.
He wanted to call back.
He wanted to throw the device across the room.
Instead, he locked the front door.
Then he checked it again.
A few minutes later, there was a knock.
His body reacted before his mind did.
He grabbed the kitchen knife from the counter.
Then he felt ridiculous.
He was standing in his own apartment holding a knife while wearing the same shirt he had worn to a rich family's birthday party.
The knock came again.
"Dad?"
He lowered the knife immediately.
Lily stood halfway down the stairs rubbing her eyes.
"You scared me."
Daniel put the knife away.
"Sorry."
She looked toward the table.
The envelope was still there.
"You found out what happened to Mom?"
Daniel looked at his daughter.
Children always seemed to find the exact question adults spent hours avoiding.
"Not yet."
"Is she in trouble?"
The question almost broke him.
Daniel sat on the bottom step.
"Lily."
She came closer.
"Sometimes adults find problems and they think they can fix them alone."
"Did Mom do that?"
He looked at the floor.
"Yeah."
"Did she fix it?"
Daniel did not answer quickly enough.
Lily saw the answer before he spoke.
She sat beside him.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Outside, a car passed slowly on the street.
Daniel watched the headlights move across the wall.
He wondered if he was becoming paranoid or if paranoia was simply what people called fear after it became reasonable.
The next morning, Daniel drove to the Bellandi corporate office without telling anyone.
He told himself he was going there because he needed information.
He knew the truth was more complicated.
Part of him wanted to confront Mara.
Part of him wanted to know whether she had been protecting Claire or protecting herself.
The Bellandi headquarters looked nothing like the estate.
It was a modern glass building downtown with employees carrying coffee cups, answering phones, and rushing between meetings.
That almost made Daniel more uncomfortable.
Danger was easier to understand when it looked dangerous.
A receptionist looked up as he entered.
"Can I help you?"
"I need to see Mara Bellandi."
The receptionist hesitated.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No."
She gave him a polite smile.
"Ms. Bellandi is very busy."
Daniel almost turned around.
Then he remembered Claire's handwriting.
Please do not make the same mistake I made.
"Tell her Daniel Carver is here."
The receptionist typed something into her computer.
May you like
Her expression changed slightly.
That was the first sign that his name meant something in this building.
