Chapter 7 - The Name Elena Never Expected
By sunrise, Maya was safe.
Sebastian Vale was in police custody.
Two of his men had been arrested.
And Elena had learned enough in ten hours to destroy ten ordinary lives.
Yet when she sat beside Maya in the emergency room, the only thing she could think about was a name.
Richard Carter.
Daniel’s father.
A mild, quiet man who had taught high school history.
Or so Elena had always believed.
He had died of pancreatic cancer three years before she married Daniel.
Daniel rarely spoke about him.
When he did, the stories were ordinary.
Camping trips.
Baseball games.
A father who demanded good grades and polished shoes.
Nothing about organized crime.
Nothing about Arthur Vale.
Nothing about secret ledgers.
Maya squeezed Elena’s hand.
“You’re doing that thing.”
“What thing?”
“Staring at the wall while thinking twenty thoughts at once.”
Elena smiled faintly.
“You almost got killed tonight.”
“So did you.”
“No.”
“Elena.”
Maya pointed at her.
“You walked into an abandoned slaughterhouse holding fake evidence in your coat.”
“That sounds worse when you say it.”
“It should.”
Elena laughed despite herself.
The sound turned into something dangerously close to crying.
Maya leaned against her.
For several minutes neither spoke.
Then Maya said, “Daniel did this?”
“Not exactly.”
“He caused it.”
Elena looked down.
“Yes.”
“Are you going back to him?”
Elena turned.
Maya looked horrified.
“That was a stupid question.”
“Yes.”
“Sorry.”
“No.”
Elena squeezed her hand.
“It’s nice that at least one decision is easy.”
The door opened.
Adrien entered.
He had changed clothes.
Dark sweater.
Fresh bandage at his neck.
Without the tailored suit, he looked younger.
More tired.
More human.
Maya sat straighter.
“You’re the scary one.”
Adrien raised an eyebrow.
“Elena described you that way?”
“No.”
Maya smiled.
“Everybody describes you that way.”
Elena almost laughed.
Adrien looked at Maya.
“How are you?”
“Concussion.”
“Anything else?”
“Bruised dignity.”
“You still have more than Sebastian.”
Maya grinned.
“I like him.”
Elena shook her head.
Adrien’s eyes moved to her.
“We need to talk.”
She stood.
The hallway was quiet.
“Daniel?”
“Still at the studio.”
“Under guard?”
“Observation.”
“You mean guard.”
“Yes.”
She leaned against the wall.
“What did Sebastian mean?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“You know something.”
Adrien sighed.
“You’re getting very good at that.”
“I had a good teacher.”
The bitterness in her voice landed.
Adrien nodded.
“Fair.”
He handed her a photocopy.
Part of page three.
Not the whole page.
One line had been enlarged.
R. CARTER - ARCHIVE ACCESS - 1998-2007.
Elena stared.
“Archive access.”
“My father’s records.”
“What was Richard doing for him?”
“We’re checking.”
“Daniel knew?”
“I don’t know.”
She gave him a look.
Adrien corrected himself.
“I don’t know yet.”
Better.
Elena studied the line.
“He died in 2011.”
“Yes.”
“So he worked for your father until four years before that.”
“Apparently.”
“Could Daniel have known?”
“He would have been in his early twenties.”
She shook her head.
“Richard told him he worked for the state.”
“Which department?”
“Records administration.”
Adrien’s mouth tightened.
“That might even have been true.”
Elena looked at him.
“What?”
“My father had people inside state records.”
Her stomach turned.
“Why?”
“To make things disappear.”
“Criminal records?”
“Ownership records.”
“Witness identities?”
“Yes.”
Elena looked down again.
Richard Carter had not been a harmless history teacher.
Or perhaps he had been that too.
That was becoming the worst lesson of the night.
People could be more than one thing.
Victim and accomplice.
Husband and betrayer.
Criminal and father.
Adrien and Sebastian.
Arthur Vale.
Even Vanessa.
“What happens now?”
Adrien’s answer came immediately.
“You sleep.”
She laughed.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
“The police will question you later.”
“I know.”
“Evelyn froze the accounts connected to your identity.”
“Can she do that?”
“With the banks’ fraud divisions and probable cause, yes.”
Elena nodded.
“Your attorneys?”
“They’re already working.”
“My attorneys?”
“I arranged—”
“No.”
Adrien stopped.
Elena looked at him.
“I appreciate what you’ve done.”
“But.”
“But I need my own lawyer.”
His expression changed.
Then he nodded.
“Good.”
She was surprised.
“You’re not offended?”
“No.”
“Daniel would be.”
“I’m not Daniel.”
The sentence lingered.
Neither looked away.
Finally Adrien said, “I can give you three names.”
“That’s fine.”
“They don’t work for me.”
“Even better.”
He turned to leave.
“Adrien.”
He looked back.
“Why did you lie about page four?”
He went still.
Elena waited.
“I didn’t want Sebastian using my mother with you.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“No.”
Adrien leaned against the opposite wall.
“My father gave me page four the night before he died.”
She stared.
“He knew he was going to die?”
“I think he knew something might happen.”
“Why you?”
“Because Sebastian hated him.”
“And you didn’t?”
Adrien looked at the floor.
“I did.”
The honesty surprised her.
“After the fire?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Adrien exhaled.
“My father ordered one of our warehouses burned.”
“Insurance?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“To destroy records.”
Adrien looked at her.
“The fire spread.”
“To your house?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“The house fire happened years later.”
Elena frowned.
“Then why did Sebastian connect them?”
“Because the same man set both fires.”
“On your father’s orders?”
“The first.”
“And the second?”
Adrien’s eyes darkened.
“Sebastian believes Dad ordered it.”
“You don’t.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because my father was inside the house too.”
Elena froze.
“He survived?”
“Barely.”
“And your mother?”
“She went back inside.”
“For what?”
Adrien looked away.
“My baby sister.”
Elena’s heart tightened.
“You had a sister?”
“Isabelle.”
“What happened?”
“They both died.”
Silence.
“Sebastian was twenty.”
“You were seventeen.”
“Yes.”
“He blamed your father.”
“I blamed everybody.”
Adrien rubbed the bandage at his neck.
“For years.”
“And page four?”
“My father confessed that his earlier crimes created the enemy who ordered the house burned.”
Elena understood.
“Indirect responsibility.”
“Yes.”
“Not that he personally started it.”
“No.”
“Why would Sebastian say otherwise?”
“Because hatred is easier when the story is simple.”
Elena thought about Daniel.
That sentence applied too well.
She had every reason to hate him.
But even now part of her wanted to understand when greed had become betrayal.
Understanding would not forgive him.
But truth mattered.
Adrien’s phone rang.
Marcus.
He answered.
Listened.
Then his expression sharpened.
“When?”
A pause.
“Who authorized it?”
Another pause.
“I’ll be there.”
He ended the call.
“What happened?” Elena asked.
“Sebastian’s gone.”
She stared.
“What do you mean gone?”
“Transport vehicle was intercepted.”
“By whom?”
“We don’t know.”
“He escaped?”
“Yes.”
Elena immediately looked toward Maya’s room.
Adrien understood.
“He doesn’t know she’s here.”
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
That answer frightened her more than reassurance would have.
“We move Maya.”
“Yes.”
“And Daniel?”
Adrien’s expression hardened.
“We move him too.”
“Why protect him?”
“Because Sebastian wanted him dead before police could question him.”
Elena frowned.
“How do you know?”
“Because the vehicle carrying Sebastian wasn’t the only one attacked.”
Her stomach dropped.
“What happened at my studio?”
May you like
Adrien looked at her.
“Someone tried to kill Daniel.”
