Chapter 2 - The Grave With No Body
Twenty minutes later, the guests were gone.
Roman had personally ordered every member of the household staff to remain available.
Security shut the gates.
Phones belonging to senior staff were temporarily collected and placed in sealed envelopes.
Helena sat in the library.
Nora and Sophie were in Roman’s private study.
Roman stood between both rooms.
He had never felt more divided.
Part of him wanted answers immediately.
Another part wanted to walk into his study, kneel in front of Sophie, and never let her out of his sight again.
He chose Sophie.
When Roman entered, she was sitting at the far end of the leather sofa.
Nora sat beside her.
The girl looked exhausted.
Her hands were folded tightly in her lap.
Roman stayed near the door.
He didn’t want to frighten her.
“Are you hungry?”
Sophie shook her head.
“Thirsty?”
Another shake.
Roman nodded.
“All right.”
Silence filled the study.
There were photographs everywhere.
Roman with business partners.
Roman with politicians.
Roman with his late father.
Roman and Claire on their wedding day.
Sophie was staring at that photograph.
“You look younger.”
Roman almost smiled.
“I was.”
“Mom looks happy.”
“She was.”
Sophie studied him.
“Do you remember her?”
The question nearly broke him.
“Every day.”
Sophie’s chin trembled.
Roman sat in the chair opposite her.
“What happened to your mom?”
Nora placed one hand over Sophie’s.
“You don’t have to answer anything tonight.”
Sophie nodded.
Then she spoke anyway.
“We moved a lot.”
Roman waited.
“Grandma said people were looking for us.”
“What people?”
“She never told me.”
“Did you live with Helena?”
“Sometimes.”
Roman’s jaw tightened.
Sophie continued.
“Mostly I lived with Mom.”
“Where?”
“A house near a lake.”
Nora answered quietly.
“Lake Briar.”
Roman looked at her.
Lake Briar was less than ninety miles from the Vale estate.
For seven years, Claire had been alive ninety miles away.
Roman rubbed a hand across his mouth.
“How did you meet them?”
Nora looked toward Sophie before answering.
“I was hired five years ago.”
“By Helena?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“To take care of Sophie.”
Roman leaned back.
Helena had hired a caretaker for the daughter she told him was dead.
“How much did you know?”
“Almost nothing at first.”
“You never searched my name?”
“I did.”
“When?”
“Two years after I started.”
Roman’s eyes hardened.
“And?”
“I confronted Helena.”
“What happened?”
“She told me Claire had kidnapped Sophie from you.”
Roman glanced at his daughter.
Nora continued.
“She said there were custody issues.”
“There were no custody issues.”
“I know that now.”
Roman stood.
Anger was easier than grief.
“Five years, Nora.”
Her expression tightened.
“I know.”
“You lived with my daughter for five years.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my name for three.”
“Yes.”
“And you said nothing.”
Sophie suddenly stood.
“Stop.”
Roman froze.
The little girl moved in front of Nora.
“She saved us.”
Roman’s anger vanished.
Sophie’s eyes filled.
“Grandma fired her last month because Nora found Mom’s box.”
Nora closed her eyes briefly.
Roman sat again.
“What box?”
Nora spoke.
“Documents.”
“What kind?”
“Copies of medical records.”
Roman’s pulse quickened.
“Whose records?”
“Sophie’s.”
“What did they show?”
“That Sophie never died.”
Roman stared at her.
“The death certificate?”
“False.”
A cold silence fell over the room.
Roman had suspected it.
Hearing it was different.
“Do you have the documents?”
“No.”
“Where are they?”
“Claire took them.”
Roman looked at Sophie.
“And Claire?”
Sophie began crying.
Nora pulled her close.
Roman immediately regretted the question.
He lowered his voice.
“I’m sorry.”
Sophie wiped her face.
“She left three weeks ago.”
Roman looked at Nora.
“Left?”
Nora nodded.
“Claire contacted me after almost two years without seeing me.”
“You hadn’t seen her?”
“Helena kept us separated.”
“Why?”
“I think Claire realized I was starting to ask too many questions.”
Roman’s hand closed around the silver key in his pocket.
“What happened three weeks ago?”
Nora took a breath.
“Claire came to my apartment.”
“She told me Helena was moving Sophie again.”
“She said this time we couldn’t let it happen.”
“She gave me the photograph.”
“She told me to take Sophie to you if anything happened to her.”
Roman leaned forward.
“What happened to Claire?”
“I don’t know.”
“She disappeared the next morning.”
“Her phone went dead.”
“Her car was found abandoned near a train station.”
Roman’s eyes narrowed.
“Did you call police?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“The missing-person report disappeared from the system.”
Roman stared at her.
“That’s not possible.”
“It happened.”
Roman knew powerful people.
He knew judges.
Commissioners.
Federal investigators.
More importantly, Helena knew many of the same people.
He looked toward the library.
His mother was sitting less than forty feet away.
For the first time in his life, Roman wondered what she was capable of.
Sophie spoke softly.
“Dad?”
The word hit him again.
Roman turned.
“Yes?”
“Did you really think I was dead?”
He moved closer but stopped several feet away.
“Yes.”
“How?”
Roman searched for an answer an eight-year-old could survive.
“There was an accident.”
“Mine?”
“That’s what I was told.”
“By Grandma?”
“Yes.”
Sophie looked at Nora.
Then back at Roman.
“Did you cry?”
Roman’s throat tightened.
“Every day for a very long time.”
Sophie watched him.
Then she slowly crossed the space between them.
Roman did not move.
She stopped in front of him.
Her fingers touched the sleeve of his jacket.
He looked down.
Sophie whispered.
“I cried too.”
Roman’s face collapsed.
He pulled her gently against him.
For one second Sophie remained stiff.
Then her arms wrapped around his neck.
Roman closed his eyes.
Eight years disappeared.
He remembered the weight of her as a baby.
The smell of her hair.
The way Claire laughed whenever Sophie grabbed his tie.
He held her tighter.
“I’m sorry.”
Sophie pressed her face against his shoulder.
“I thought you left me.”
“Never.”
He pulled back enough to look at her.
“I would never leave you.”
A knock interrupted them.
Roman stood.
His security chief, Daniel Cross, entered.
Daniel had worked for the Vale family for sixteen years.
Normally nothing changed his expression.
Tonight he looked disturbed.
“What?”
Daniel glanced at Sophie.
Then at Roman.
“You asked me to verify the cemetery records.”
Roman’s stomach tightened.
“Yes.”
Daniel held out a folder.
“Sophie’s grave was opened three years ago.”
Roman stared at him.
“By whom?”
“We don’t know.”
“What was inside?”
Daniel hesitated.
Roman’s voice hardened.
“Tell me.”
“Nothing.”
Roman felt the room become cold.
Daniel continued.
“No remains.”
“No clothing.”
“No blanket.”
“No coffin.”
Roman looked toward the wall separating his study from the library.
Helena had known there was never a body.
Sophie moved closer to him.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“The order to open the grave was signed by your mother.”
Roman’s face became expressionless.
He looked at Nora.
Then at Sophie.
Finally he turned toward the door.
“Stay here.”
Sophie caught his hand.
Roman stopped.
“Don’t let her send me away again.”
He bent down.
“She won’t.”
Then he left the room.
Helena was still sitting beside the fireplace when Roman entered the library.
She looked almost composed again.
Almost.
Roman dropped the cemetery file onto the table.
Helena glanced at it.
“What is this?”
“You tell me.”
“I don’t know.”
“Three years ago you opened Sophie’s grave.”
Helena said nothing.
Roman moved closer.
“There was no coffin.”
Silence.
“No body.”
Helena looked at the fire.
Roman’s voice became quieter.
“You knew.”
Still nothing.
“You knew she was alive.”
Helena finally looked up.
“Yes.”
Roman’s entire body went rigid.
One word.
Eight years destroyed by one word.
He whispered.
“Why?”
Helena stared at her son.
“Because keeping Sophie away from you was the only way to keep you alive.”
Roman almost laughed.
It came out broken.
“What?”
Helena leaned forward.
“You think I did this for money.”
“I don’t know what to think.”
“You think Claire was innocent.”
Roman’s expression changed.
Helena lowered her voice.
“She wasn’t protecting Sophie from me.”
“She was protecting Sophie from you.”
Roman stared at her.
“You have ten seconds to explain that sentence.”
Helena reached into her handbag.
Roman immediately stepped closer.
She removed an envelope.
Old.
Yellowed.
Sealed.
She placed it on the table.
Roman recognized Claire’s handwriting.
His name was written across the front.
ROMAN.
His fingers went cold.
“Where did you get this?”
“Claire gave it to me the night she disappeared.”
Roman looked up sharply.
“Three weeks ago?”
Helena nodded.
Roman ripped the envelope open.
Inside was a single page.
The first sentence stopped his heart.
Roman, if Sophie has found you, then Helena failed.
He read the next line.
And if Helena failed, you need to know why I begged her to make our daughter believe you were dead.
May you like
Roman’s hand began shaking.
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