Chương 8
His hands tightened.
"Where did you get these?"
"From Claire."
"When?"
"Two weeks before she died."
Daniel looked up.
"She gave these to you?"
"Some of them."
"Some?"
Mara nodded.
"She was still gathering information."
Daniel looked back at the pages.
There was something about the wording that bothered him.
Still gathering information.
Not investigating.
Not accusing.
Claire had always been careful with language.
She believed words created consequences.
"Why didn't she tell me?"
Mara's expression changed slightly.
"That is a question you should ask yourself."
Daniel looked at her.
"What does that mean?"
"It means Claire knew you loved your brother."
The answer irritated him because it was true.
"She knew I loved you too?"
Mara looked away.
"Yes."
The room became quiet.
Daniel picked up the documents.
He hated how much they looked like evidence.
Because evidence meant possibility.
And possibility was dangerous when it involved family.
"Maybe Thomas was helping her."
Mara did not respond.
"Maybe he was trying to find something too."
"He might have been."
Daniel looked at her.
The answer surprised him.
"You think so?"
"I think people are complicated."
That was not what he expected from Mara Bellandi.
He expected certainty.
Judgment.
Control.
Instead, she sounded tired.
"Then why show me this?"
"Because you need to decide what you are willing to lose."
Daniel frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Mara looked directly at him.
"Finding the truth may not bring your wife back."
"I know."
"It may not give you peace."
"I know."
"It may take away the people you still have."
Daniel looked down.
The sentence stayed with him.
Because Lily was upstairs in his apartment.
Because Thomas was still his brother.
Because every answer seemed to come with another person standing on the other side of it.
He placed the documents back on the desk.
"I need to talk to him."
Mara nodded.
"I assumed you would."
"You knew?"
"Claire would have done the same thing."
Daniel looked at her.
"You really knew her."
Mara looked toward the window.
"More than I deserved."
The admission was quiet.
Before Daniel could ask what that meant, his phone rang.
Thomas.
The name appeared on the screen.
Daniel stared at it.
Mara noticed.
"Answer it."
Daniel hesitated.
Then he did.
"Hello?"
For a moment, there was only breathing.
Then Thomas spoke.
"Where are you?"
Daniel's grip tightened.
"Why?"
"Because someone told me you went to Bellandi."
The way he said it was not a question.
It was concern.
Or fear.
Daniel could not tell.
"Who told you?"
"Daniel."
His brother sounded exhausted.
"Come meet me."
"Why?"
"Because there are things you need to know."
Daniel looked at Mara.
She did not react.
That worried him.
"Where?"
Thomas gave him an address.
A small diner near the edge of town.
The same place Thomas used to take him when they were younger.
Daniel remembered sitting in the corner booth after his first breakup, eating pancakes at midnight while Thomas told him that heartbreak was embarrassing but survivable.
The memory almost made him trust him.
Almost.
He ended the call.
Mara watched him.
"You should not go alone."
Daniel looked at her.
"You think my brother is dangerous?"
"I think desperate people are dangerous."
"Are you saying Thomas is desperate?"
"I'm saying someone is."
Daniel left before she could say more.
The diner looked exactly the same.
The same cracked sign above the entrance.
The same faded booths.
The same waitress who had been there so long she probably knew customers' orders better than their families did.
Thomas sat in the back corner.
He looked older than Daniel remembered.
Not older in years.
Older in exhaustion.
His hair had more gray.
His face looked thinner.
His jacket hung loosely from his shoulders.
When Daniel sat down, Thomas looked at him for several seconds.
"You look like Dad."
Daniel frowned.
"What?"
"When you're angry."
The comment almost sounded normal.
That made it worse.
"Tell me why Claire was investigating you."
Thomas looked down.
The hesitation was immediate.
Daniel noticed.
"Say something."
Thomas rubbed his hands together.
"I didn't know she told you."
"She didn't."
Thomas looked up.
"What?"
"Mara did."
The name changed everything.
Thomas leaned back.
"Of course she did."
Daniel studied him.
"You sound like you expected this."
"I expected Mara to protect herself."
"Did Claire accuse you?"
Thomas looked away.
"No."
"Then what happened?"
Thomas was silent.
The waitress came by and asked if they wanted coffee.
Neither answered immediately.
She looked between them.
"Bad time?"
Thomas gave a weak smile.
"Something like that."
She walked away.
The ordinary interruption somehow made the moment feel more real.
Daniel lowered his voice.
"Thomas."
His brother looked at him.
"I didn't hurt Claire."
Daniel waited.
"I didn't say you did."
"I know."
Thomas swallowed.
"But you were thinking it."
Daniel hated that he was.
"Then explain."
Thomas stared at the table.
"I was helping her."
"With what?"
"Finding out who was moving money through Bellandi."
Daniel went still.
"You knew?"
Thomas nodded.
"I knew something was wrong."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Thomas laughed quietly.
A sad sound.
"Because Claire told me not to."
Daniel stared.
"My wife told you not to tell me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Thomas looked up.
"Because she was afraid you would do exactly what you are doing now."
"What?"
"Go looking for answers before you knew who was safe."
Daniel felt anger rising.
"So she trusted you more than me?"
Thomas flinched.
"No."
The answer came instantly.
"She trusted you enough to know you would never stop."
Daniel looked away.
Traffic moved outside the window.
People walked past carrying shopping bags.
The world continued like nothing had changed.
"Then why is there a meeting with my name on it?"
Thomas went completely still.
"What meeting?"
Daniel watched his reaction carefully.
"You don't know?"
"No."
Thomas leaned forward.
"Daniel, what meeting?"
Daniel did not answer.
May you like
Because for the first time since entering the diner, he believed his brother might truly not know.
Thomas lowered his voice.
