Chapter 6: The Blood on My Father's Shirt
I felt the floor disappear beneath me.
“My father came home covered in blood?””
My mother nodded.
She looked as though she had been carrying those words inside her for twenty years.
Richard pulled his chair closer.
“Mrs. Hayes, I need you to tell us exactly what happened.””
My mother sat down.
Her hands were shaking so badly that I took them in mine.
“It was November 18,” she began.
“Daniel had told me he was meeting Thomas at a warehouse near the old harbor. He said they needed to settle their disagreement once and for all.””
Richard opened his notebook.
“Did he say why they were meeting there?””
“No.””
“Did he go alone?””
My mother hesitated.
“He said he was going alone.””
I looked at her.
“But?””
She closed her eyes.
“But I saw another car following him.””
My stomach tightened.
“Whose car?””
“I didn't know at the time. A dark blue sedan. It stayed behind him all the way to the harbor road.””
Richard wrote something down.
“What happened after that?””
“Daniel came home shortly after four. He was pale. His hands were shaking. There was blood on his shirt.””
I swallowed.
“Did he explain?””
“He said there had been an accident.””
“What kind of accident?””
“He wouldn't tell me.””
My mother looked at the floor.
“I tried to call the police. He stopped me.””
“Why?””
“He said if I called, someone would come after us.””
Richard looked up.
“Did he mention Thomas?””
My mother nodded.
“He said Thomas was gone.””
“Gone where?””
“He wouldn't say.””
I felt tears burning behind my eyes.
“Mom, why didn't you tell me any of this?””
She squeezed my hand.
“Because your father made me promise. He said someone had been watching our family. He said if I told anyone, they might use you to get to him.””
I looked at Richard.
“Did the police ever investigate?””
“According to the original records, Thomas Reed was reported missing, but the case was eventually closed after evidence suggested he had voluntarily left the country.””
“Was his body ever found?””
“No.””
The answer made my stomach turn.
Marcus stood near the door, watching.
He hadn't spoken in several minutes.
I looked at him.
“Did your father ever tell you what happened?””
Marcus's expression was unreadable.
“He told me Daniel was responsible.””
“Responsible for what?””
“For making sure he never came home.””
My mother gasped.
Marcus continued.
“He said he went to meet Daniel that night because Daniel had promised to return the money. Instead, Daniel threatened him. There was a fight. My father was injured.””
I stared at him.
“Then why was there no police report?””
“Because Daniel paid people to make it disappear.””
Richard interrupted.
“That's a serious allegation. Do you have evidence?””
Marcus smiled bitterly.
“I have the recording.””
Richard placed a hand on his briefcase.
“We have the USB drive. We'll examine it.””
Marcus shook his head.
“You won't find anything useful.””
“Why?””
“Because the important part isn't on that drive.””
I stared at him.
“Where is it?””
Marcus looked at me.
“Your father's office.””
My mother stood abruptly.
“No.””
He turned toward her.
“Ask her about the safe.””
I looked at my mother.
“What's in the safe?””
She shook her head.
“Nothing. We already checked.””
Marcus smiled.
“Not the little one. The one behind the wall.””
Richard immediately stopped writing.
I looked at him.
“There's another safe?””
He nodded slowly.
“Your father mentioned a concealed archive when we discussed the estate. He never gave me the location.””
My mother covered her face.
“Daniel.””
I felt a new wave of anger.
My father had hidden an entire part of his life from us.
And now, years after his death, those secrets were being used against our family.
I turned toward Richard.
“I want to go to the house.””
He checked his watch.
“We should wait for the trustees.””
“I've waited long enough.””
Marcus laughed.
“You're not going anywhere.””
I looked at him.
“You don't get to decide that anymore.””
He stepped into the doorway.
Robert moved beside him.
“Mr. Reed, I think it's time you left the dressing area.””
Marcus looked at Robert.
“You're going to regret this.””
Robert didn't move.
“I've already made my decision.””
Marcus glanced at me one final time.
“You think you can take everything away from me?””
I looked at the woman sitting behind me.
At the uneven silver hair falling over her shoulders.
At the mother who had spent decades protecting me.
Then I looked at the man who had tried to steal our family business.
“You took enough from us.””
He stormed out.
Vanessa remained behind.
She stood near the vanity, holding the small bag that contained her personal belongings.
“Olivia?””
I didn't turn.
“Go.””
“I need to explain something.””
“Not today.””
She stepped closer.
“Marcus told me your father had a hidden archive because he wanted me to find it.””
I turned around.
“What?””
“He asked me to look through the old house when you were away. He said there was a document that could prove Thomas had been murdered.””
My mother went rigid.
“You went into Daniel's office?””
Vanessa nodded.
“Three weeks ago.””
“What did you find?””
“Nothing. I couldn't find the second safe.””
I stared at her.
“Then why did you give him the files?””
“Because he threatened me.””
“With what?””
She looked at Marcus's empty doorway.
“He said if I didn't help him, he'd release something about me.””
I folded my arms.
“What?””
Vanessa began crying.
“He had photographs.””
I looked at the phone in my hand.
“The photographs of you and him?””
She nodded.
“He said he'd send them to my parents and my employer. He said he'd destroy my life if I walked away.””
I felt no sympathy.
“You could have told me.””
“I was ashamed.””
“You could have stopped cutting my mother's hair.””
She lowered her head.
“I know.””
My mother spoke quietly.
“You don't get to call yourself a victim after what you did to me.””
Vanessa looked at her.
For the first time, she seemed to understand that her tears weren't going to repair anything.
She left without another word.
Richard and I arranged for a security team to accompany us to my father's old house.
The journey took forty minutes.
Rain began falling as we approached the property.
The house looked exactly as it had when my father was alive. White stone walls. Dark wooden shutters. A wide front porch with two old rocking chairs.
Mom stood in the doorway for a long moment.
“Daniel used to sit there every Sunday morning,” she whispered.
I put my arm around her.
“We'll find out what happened.””
Inside, the air smelled faintly of cedar and old books.
My father's study was at the end of the hallway.
The door was still locked.
Richard used the spare key from his briefcase.
When it opened, I saw the desk, the bookshelves, and the framed photographs exactly where I'd left them.
There was a picture of my father and me on graduation day.
Another of him holding my newborn photograph.
I swallowed hard.
I walked toward the desk.
“Where would he hide something important?””
Richard examined the shelves.
“Your father was meticulous. If he concealed an archive, he probably chose somewhere that wouldn't attract attention.””
My mother approached the bookshelf.
She ran her fingers over the wooden panels.
Then she stopped.
“Here.””
She pressed against a small section beneath the middle shelf.
A soft click sounded.
One panel moved inward.
Behind it was a narrow steel door.
I stared.
“That's it.””
Richard examined the lock.
It required a six-digit code.
My mother looked at me.
“Try your birthday.””
I entered it.
The lock flashed red.
“Your father's birthday?”” Richard suggested.
I tried.
Red again.
I looked around the room.
Then I remembered something.
My father had once told me that the happiest day of his life wasn't the day he got married or the day he became successful.
It was the day I was born.
I entered my birth date in a different format.
The lock clicked.
The steel door opened.
Inside were three folders, a small tape recorder, and a sealed envelope.
The first folder contained financial records.
The second contained photographs.
The third was marked:
*THOMAS REED — ORIGINAL EVIDENCE.*
My mother covered her mouth.
Richard opened the folder carefully.
Inside were bank statements, handwritten notes, and several photographs taken near the harbor.
One photograph showed my father standing beside Thomas Reed.
They were arguing.
Another showed a dark blue sedan parked behind them.
Then Richard pulled out a final photograph.
It showed a man lying on the ground.
His face was partially obscured.
My mother let out a cry.
I grabbed her arm.
“Mom?””
She pointed at the photograph.
“That's Daniel's shirt.””
I looked closer.
The man on the ground wasn't wearing my father's shirt.
But the figure standing above him was.
And there was something else.
A third person stood beside the warehouse entrance.
A woman.
Her face was turned toward the camera.
I recognized her immediately.
So did my mother.
She whispered the name.
“Margaret.””
I looked at Richard.
“Who is Margaret?””
He slowly turned the photograph over.
Written on the back in my father's handwriting were the words:
*MARGARET COLE — WITNESS TO EVERYTHING.*
My blood ran cold.
Cole.
Vanessa Cole.
I stared at the photograph again.
Then at my mother.
“Is she related to Vanessa?””
Mom nodded slowly.
“Margaret was her grandmother.””
Richard looked at the date.
Then he opened the sealed envelope.
A handwritten note slipped out.
It contained only one sentence.
*If Margaret's granddaughter ever comes near Olivia, the truth is already closer than we think.*
My phone began ringing.
It was Richard's office.
He answered.
I watched his expression change.
“What do you mean the USB has been opened?””
He listened.
Then he slowly lowered the phone.
I stepped toward him.
“What happened?””
Richard looked at the photograph.
“Someone accessed the original recording remotely.””
“Who?””
He swallowed.
“The login came from an account registered to Marcus Reed.””
My mother grabbed my hand.
Richard continued.
“And there's something else. The recording contains a second voice.””
“Whose?””
He looked directly at me.
“Your father's.””
Then he turned the tablet toward us.
A new audio file had appeared.
Its title was:
*DANIEL HAYES — FINAL CONFESSION.*
I pressed play.
My father's voice filled the study.
“If my daughter ever discovers what happened at the harbor, she must know one thing.””
There was a pause.
Then he said:
“I didn't kill Thomas Reed.””
My mother began crying.
But the next sentence was even more shocking.
“I helped him disappear.””
And before I could process those words, another voice entered the recording.
A woman's voice.
A voice I had heard only moments earlier.
Margaret Cole.
“Daniel, if you ever tell Olivia what we did, I'll make sure she never finds out who her real father is.””
I froze.
My mother stopped crying.
Richard slowly turned toward her.
May you like
And my mother whispered:
“Olivia, please don't believe what you're about to hear.””
