“What changed?”
“Our father found out.”
“And stopped him?”
“Not directly.”
“Our father sent men to bring him home.”
“Why?”
“Because Nico had taken documents.”
“What documents?”
“Records of payments, names, account numbers, favors owed.”
“Enough to expose the family?”
“Enough to expose the people who depended on it.”
A serious boy with dark hair, standing too straight beside Vincent. A child trying to look older than he was.
“What did Nico do with the documents?”
“He took them to a warehouse where one of Vincent’s associates kept records.”
“Why?”
“To trade them for his freedom.”
Rafe’s voice grew strained.
“He thought if he showed our father that the information could destroy everyone, Vincent would let him go.”
“And did he?”
“Our father followed him.”
“What happened at the warehouse?”
“The robbery began before Vincent arrived.”
“Nico had arranged for someone to help him retrieve the documents,” he continued.
“It was not supposed to be violent.”
“Who was the other person?”
“A frightened young man named Elias Venn.”
“He worked at the warehouse,” Rafe said.
“He knew the records were there and believed he could sell them to someone who would pay.”
“Did he betray Nico?”
“No.”
“The night guard surprised them.”
“What happened?”
“Elias panicked.”
His fingers tightened around the evidence pouch.
“He fired a weapon.”
“The guard died,” Rafe continued.
“Nico ran.”
“Vincent found him outside.”
“What did Vincent do?”
“He told Nico to go home and say nothing.”
“And then?”
“Vincent walked back into the warehouse.”
Rafe’s voice nearly broke.
“He called the authorities and told them he had planned the robbery.”
“He took the blame.”
“He was already involved in the family business.”
“His confession would not have protected Nico forever.”
“It protected him long enough.”
“Vincent had influence, lawyers, and a reputation people believed.”
“Nico was a frightened teenager.”
“And Vincent knew the system would treat them differently.”
“What happened to Vincent?”
“He served time.”
“How long?”
“Seven years.”
“And Nico?”
“He was sent away under another name.”
“To where?”
“First to relatives in Montreal.”
“Then?”
“Wherever Vincent could arrange.”
“You told me your father promised Vincent a way out,” I said.
“Our father made that promise before the robbery.”
“Then why would it matter afterward?”
“Because Vincent believed the robbery was his fault.”
“Was it?”
“He believed he should have protected Nico from ever reaching that warehouse.”
“That is not the same as causing the death.”
“No.”
“But he carried it as though it were.”
“For years, Vincent built everything around one purpose.”
“Keeping Nico alive?”
“Keeping him free.”
“And Nico believed?”
“That Vincent had stolen his life.”
Vincent hadn’t simply hidden Nico from prison. He had hidden the entire truth from him. He had built an empire in the name of protection, then used that empire to control the boy he believed he had saved.
“What did Nico think happened?” I asked.
“That Vincent wanted him gone.”
“And Vincent never explained?”
“He thought the truth would destroy Nico.”
“It may have destroyed him more not to know.”
“That was the mistake.”
I switched off the study lamp. The darkness closed around us, thickened by the cedar scent and the faint vibration of the house’s heating system. A legal pad lay open on the central table, though Rafe had left it in the former study. I recognized it from the note beneath Vincent’s hand.
Now tell Marcus what you did. Rafe came up behind me.
“What did you do?” I asked.
“Rafe.”
“I tried to stop the robbery.”
“Before it happened?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I found out Nico had taken the documents.”
“And you told Vincent?”
“I tried.”
“What stopped you?”
“Nico intercepted the message.”
“Your message?”
“I left it in Vincent’s office.”
“What did it say?”
“That Nico was going to the warehouse and that Vincent should not follow him alone.”
“Why did Nico take it?”
“Because he thought I was betraying him.”
“Did he?”
“No.”
“I was trying to bring him home without our father finding out.”
“Then why did Vincent go?”
“Because Nico sent him a different message.”
“What message?”
“One that used my name.”
The seal had remained broken, and the paper inside was yellowed with age.
“My brother was told I had arranged the meeting,” he said.
“Who told him?”
“Nico.”
“You’re certain?”
“I found the draft years later.”
“Why didn’t you expose him?”
“Because Vincent already knew.”
“Vincent knew Nico had altered the message?”
“He knew after the robbery.”
“Then why protect him?”
Rafe’s eyes filled, though no tears fell.
“Because Nico had already lost everything.”
“He had caused a death.”
“He was seventeen.”
“That does not erase what happened.”
“No.”
“But Vincent believed prison would turn fear into something permanent.”
“And instead?”
“Instead, he turned secrecy into something permanent.”
She had changed into a plain wool sweater, but her hair remained tied back from the long day. Her gaze shifted from me to Rafe then to the papers on the table.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” she asked.
“We found part of it,” I said.
“What happened?”
“Nico was at the warehouse.”
“You knew,” I said.
“I knew there had been a robbery.”
“You knew Nico was involved?”
“I knew he had come home that night with blood on his sleeve.”
“You saw him?”
“He came through the kitchen.”
“When?”
“After midnight.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“Because Vincent was behind him.”
“Vincent followed him home?”
“He stood in the doorway and told Nico to go upstairs.”
“What did Nico say?”
“He asked whether his father hated him.”
“And Vincent?”
“He said, ‘No.’”
“But he did not say anything else.”
“What happened afterward?” I asked.
“Vincent took Nico away before sunrise.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Nico know about the death?”
“I believe he did.”
“Did he know Vincent confessed?”
“Not then.”
“He learned later.”
“How?”
“Someone sent him newspaper clippings.”
“Who?”
“I never found out.”
“Perhaps he found them himself.”
“What are you saying?”
“Vincent kept records.”
“Not of that.”
“He kept everything.”
Camille’s gaze moved to the former study.
“Nico knew where the cedar room was.”
“He had been there before?”
“Many times.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you never asked.”
Camille folded her hands in front of her.
“Nico used to sit in that room when he wanted to understand his father.”
“He was a child,” Rafe said.
“He was a child who had learned that questions were dangerous.”
“You said you heard a familiar voice arguing with Vincent this morning.”
“Did you recognize it now?”
“Yes.”
“It was Nico,” she said.
“Are you certain?”
“I heard him ask Vincent why he had lied.”
“What did Vincent say?”
“He said he was sorry.”
“And Nico?”
“He said sorry was what Vincent always offered after deciding everyone else’s life for them.”
“Did you see Nico enter the office?” I asked.
“No.”
“Did you see him leave?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know he attacked Vincent?”
“I don’t.”
“What happened after the argument?” I asked.
“Vincent told him to take the documents and leave.”
“What documents?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then what did you hear?”
“A chair moved.”
“Then Nico said, ‘You promised me the truth.’”
I recalled the letter. If you come back, I will tell Marcus everything.
“What happened next?”
“I heard something fall.”
“Did you go inside?”
“I was afraid.”
“Of Nico?”
“Of what the truth might do to all of us.”
Then Rafe noticed the paper in my hand.
“Marcus.”
“What?”
“Look at the bottom.”
Ask Vincent who Elias Venn was. Rafe stepped back as though the name had struck him.
“Who is Elias Venn?” I asked.
Rafe looked at me, and for the first occasion since I had known him, he appeared completely unguarded.
“He was not the warehouse guard.”
“Then who was he?”
Rafe’s eyes shifted toward the hidden study.
“He was the man who died.”
“And he was Nico’s older brother.”
–END OF PART 4–CLICK “NEXT” AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE TO CONTINUE READING
PART 5: The Name Beneath His Hand 038
Part 5 – The Cost of Telling the Truth
“He was Nico’s older brother.”
Rafe’s words remained suspended in the cedar-scented room.
“Elias Venn was Nico’s brother?”
“Half brother,” Rafe said.
“But still his brother.”
“Yes.”
“And Vincent knew?”
“He knew everything.”
His face appeared older now, stripped of the composed expression he had worn as Vincent’s adviser.
“Elias was born before Vincent married Nico’s mother,” he continued.
“He lived with his own mother in another state, and for years no one in the family spoke about him.”
“Why not?”
“Because our father considered him a complication.”
“Nico found out when he was fourteen,” she said.
“How?”
“He found a photograph in the old study.”
“What photograph?”
“Elias standing beside their father.”
Rafe’s hand closed over the edge of the table.
“Nico asked Vincent about it.”
“And Vincent denied knowing him?”
“He said Elias was a distant relative.”
Camille’s voice held no anger, only the weariness of someone who had watched a lie grow roots.
“Nico knew he was lying.”
Ask Vincent who Elias Venn was.
“Why would Nico bring Elias into the warehouse robbery?” I asked.
“Because Elias knew about the records,” Rafe said.
“Or because Elias helped him obtain them.”
“That’s what I believe.”
“What happened after Elias died?”
“Vincent confessed.”
“And Nico disappeared.”
“Elias’s death became one more secret Vincent carried to keep Nico from being imprisoned.”
“Then why would Nico bring this up now?”
“Because Vincent promised to tell you everything,” Camille said.
Her gaze rested on the unfinished letter.
“Perhaps he believed the truth should come from Vincent, not from a file or a rumor.”
“That does not explain the attack,” I said.
“No,” Rafe replied.
“It explains the argument.”
“Guard at the library, report.”
“Marcus, the west corridor is empty.”
“Where is Camille?”
“In the east wing, I thought.”
Camille had gone pale.
“Adeline,” she whispered.
Rafe and I followed. A small green alligator lay on the floor near the threshold.
“Adeline never leaves this behind.”
“Camille, when did you last see her?”
“Ten minutes ago.”
“Where?”
“In the servants’ room.”
“Was she asleep?”
“Yes.”
“Did anyone have access?”
“The guard outside.”
“Where is he?”
“Mr. Ellery,” he said.
“Where is Camille’s daughter?”
“I thought she was with her mother.”
“She wasn’t.”
“I left the corridor for less than a minute.”
“Why?”
“I heard the side door open.”
Come to the disused greenhouse.
“Adeline is there.”
“I don’t know that,” I said.
“But someone wants us to think she is.”
Rafe read the note over my shoulder.
“Where is the greenhouse?”
“Beyond the east garden,” Camille said.
“Why would Nico take her there?”
“He may not have.”
“What should we do?”
“Lock the house down.”
“Marcus,” Camille said.
“I am not sending anyone into an unknown situation without knowing what waits there.”
“She is two years old.”
“I know.”
Camille’s face tightened, and I at once regretted them.
“I know you are trying to protect her,” she said.
“But if someone has taken my daughter, waiting is not protection.”
“She’s right.”
“We do not know whether Adeline is there.”
“We know someone used her absence to draw us outside.”
“That is exactly why we need a plan.”
“Then make one quickly.”
The greenhouse stood beyond a line of bare fruit trees, its glass walls dark against the pale morning sky. Rafe came with me. Camille remained beside the house, under protest, with Dr. Morales on the phone and the main doors secured. That meant either the person had approached from the garden wall or someone inside the estate had arranged the note.
The greenhouse door was unlocked. Then a child’s voice drifted from the far end.
“Uncle Marcus?”
Her green alligator rested in her lap. Beside her stood Nico. The ring from the surveillance camera image gleamed on his right hand. Camille’s name rose in my throat, but I stopped myself.
The child looked frightened but unharmed.
“Adeline,” I said gently.
“Come to me.”
Nico glanced at her.
“Go with him.”
Adeline slid from the bench and crossed the space between us.
“I waited,” she whispered.
“I know.”
“Uncle Nico said Mama was coming.”
“You did exactly the right thing.”
“I stayed awake.”
“Where is your mother?”
“At the house.”
“Can we go to her?”
“Why bring her here?” I asked.
“I didn’t.”
“Then why was she here?”
“She followed me.”
“I heard Uncle Nico talking.”
“With whom?”
“Someone was sad.”
“Who?”
“Uncle Vin.”
The greenhouse appeared to shrink around us.
“Vincent was here?” I asked.
“On the telephone.”
“Vincent called you?”
“He left a message.”
“Where is it?”
Nico took a little recording device from his pocket.
“I found it in the old study.”
He pressed a button. Vincent’s voice emerged, weakened but unmistakable.
“Nico, if you are listening to this, then you found the letter.”
“I know you believe I chose the family over you.”
“I did choose them.”
“But not because you mattered less.”
“I chose the lie because I was afraid the truth would take you away.”
“Elias deserved justice.”
Rafe took one step closer. The recording went on.
“So did you.”
Camille had remained right. Someone had remained speaking with Vincent.
“What did you promise him?” Nico whispered.
“I promised I would tell Marcus everything before I left.”
“Before you left what?”
“The business.”
The words sounded impossible coming from Vincent’s recorded voice.
“I planned to transfer the legitimate companies into a foundation.”
“And I promised you that no one would be punished for choosing a different life.”
“He was going to expose everything.”
“Yes.”
“He was going to walk away.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he keep lying?”
“Because he thought he could control the consequences.”
“That is what he always thought.”
“Was Uncle Vin sick?”
“He was hurt,” I said.
“I didn’t mean to hurt him.”
“What happened in the office?”
He removed the ring from his finger and held it in his palm.
“I went to confront him.”
“About Elias?” Rafe asked.
“About all of it.”
“Did you strike him?”
“No.”
“Did you touch him?”
“I pushed the chair.”
“Why?”
“Because he told me he was leaving again.”
“Leaving?”
“He said he was going to the hospital to meet a lawyer.”
Nico laughed once, without humor.
“He said he had to protect everyone before they found out what he had done.”
“What did you say?”
“I asked whether protecting me meant erasing me.”
“And then?”
“Someone came through the open door.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“You saw the person?”
“Only briefly.”
“What did they look like?”
“Dark coat.”
“Anything else?”
“They wore gloves.”
“Did they have the signet ring?”
“No.”
“Then why was it visible on the camera?”
“Because I was there earlier.”
“Earlier?”
“I entered through the old study.”
“You used the ring to open the family archive?”
“I used the key.”
“Then why wear Vincent’s ring?”
