Chapter 4 - The House at Briar Ridge
The farmhouse looked painfully ordinary.
White siding.
Green shutters.
A porch light glowing through the rain.
I couldn't get out of the car.
Adrian waited.
Marcus waited.
Nobody rushed me.
Finally I whispered, “What if it's not him?”
Adrian looked toward the house.
“Then we keep searching.”
“And if it is?”
“That part belongs to you.”
I opened the door.
The porch boards creaked beneath my shoes.
I knocked.
Footsteps approached.
The door opened.
The man standing there had more gray in his hair.
A scar crossed his jaw.
He was thinner.
Older.
But I knew his eyes.
The world stopped.
“Rosie?”
I hit him.
Hard.
He stumbled backward.
“Grace—”
I hit his chest again.
“You're alive.”
“I know.”
“You're alive!”
He didn't defend himself.
“Six years!”
“I know.”
“You let me bury you!”
“I know.”
I shoved him.
Then my strength disappeared.
My father caught me.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then I heard him whisper.
“I'm sorry.”
I pulled away.
“No. Explain.”
Daniel looked behind me.
He saw Adrian.
His face hardened.
“Moretti.”
“Daniel.”
“You brought her here?”
“She brought herself.”
My father almost smiled.
“That sounds right.”
Inside, Daniel made coffee nobody drank.
I sat across from him.
“Why?”
“Cole.”
“He's finished.”
“Not just Cole.”
Daniel looked at Adrian.
“There was someone above him.”
Adrian became still.
“Who?”
“Your uncle.”
Adrian's face changed.
“Victor?”
Daniel nodded.
“Victor Moretti recruited Cole. Cole sold information. Victor protected him.”
Marcus swore softly.
Adrian stood.
“My uncle has been sitting beside me for twelve years.”
“That's why I disappeared,” Daniel said. “I couldn't tell who was loyal.”
I asked, “Why stay gone after you learned Adrian was in charge?”
“Because Victor was still there.”
Daniel looked at me.
“I watched from a distance.”
“That doesn't make it better.”
“I know.”
“You watched me struggle?”
His eyes dropped.
“I sent money.”
“The anonymous deposits?”
He nodded.
I laughed bitterly.
“I thought the bank made a mistake.”
“I wanted to come home every day.”
“But you didn't.”
“No.”
“Because you were protecting me?”
“Yes.”
I shook my head.
“You protected me so well I spent six years thinking you were dead.”
Daniel had no answer.
Adrian's phone rang.
Marcus checked his own.
“Boss.”
Adrian answered.
His expression darkened.
“When?”
He hung up.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Victor knows.”
Daniel stood.
“How?”
Adrian looked at Marcus.
“Whitman made one call before the warehouse.”
Daniel opened a cabinet.
“Then Victor will run.”
“No,” Adrian said.
“He'll destroy evidence first.”
I stood.
“And where is the evidence?”
Daniel looked at me.
“The Moretti estate.”
Adrian frowned.
“Where?”
“Your father's old study.”
“There is nothing there.”
“There is.”
Daniel looked directly at him.
May you like
“Because I put it there twelve years ago.”
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