Chapter 9 - The Truth My Father Had Kept for Three Years|
For a moment, I could only stare at my father's name.
Thomas Brooks.
The man who taught me how to change a tire before I learned how to parallel park.
The man who used to leave handwritten notes inside my lunchbox.
The man who worked through back pain, long shifts, and bitter New York winters without ever complaining.
What could he possibly have to do with Elena Romano's death?
Gabriel studied my face.
"Natalie?"
I looked up.
"I don't understand."
He took the card from Daniel.
"Did your father know Elena?"
I shook my head.
"Not that I know of."
I tried to remember every conversation I'd had with my father about the Romano family.
When I first accepted the housekeeping position, he had asked whether the mansion was safe.
When I mentioned Gabriel's name, he had gone quiet.
I remembered that now.
At the time, I thought he was worried because of Gabriel's reputation.
But maybe it had been something else.
Gabriel noticed my expression.
"What is it?"
I swallowed.
"My father asked me not to take this job."
Gabriel frowned.
"Why?"
"He said wealthy families sometimes have dangerous secrets."
Daniel exchanged a glance with him.
I looked back at the card.
"But he never mentioned Elena."
Gabriel's expression softened.
"Then we should speak to him."
I nodded.
But my stomach was twisting.
What if my father had been hiding something terrible?
What if he knew more about Elena's death than he had ever admitted?
And what if discovering the truth destroyed the one relationship I had always believed was unbreakable?
Gabriel seemed to understand.
"We don't have to confront him."
I looked up.
"We can ask him."
The difference mattered.
I nodded slowly.
"Okay."
We left the greenhouse after Daniel carefully secured the card and documented where it had been found.
The fire marshal continued examining the damaged structure.
By the time we returned to the mansion, the sun was high enough to illuminate every marble column in the entrance hall.
Everything looked beautiful.
Everything looked normal.
And nothing felt normal at all.
Lily was waiting near the staircase.
She wore blue jeans and a yellow sweater.
Her hair had been brushed into a ponytail.
When she saw Gabriel, she hurried toward him.
"Daddy!"
He immediately knelt.
"Hey, sweetheart."
She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Did you find Mommy's letter?"
Gabriel hesitated.
"Not yet."
Her face fell.
"Was it burned?"
"We don't know."
Lily looked toward me.
I shook my head gently.
"We're still looking."
She nodded.
Then she asked, "Are you leaving again?"
Gabriel looked surprised.
"No."
She stared at him.
"Not even for work?"
He smiled sadly.
"Not today."
Lily considered that.
"Can we have lunch together?"
Gabriel's expression softened.
"I'd like that."
She smiled.
"And Natalie?"
Gabriel looked at me.
"If she'd like to join us."
I nodded.
"I'd love to."
Lily beamed.
For a brief moment, the dark events of the previous night seemed far away.
But then Daniel approached.
"Mr. Romano, Thomas Brooks has agreed to speak with us."
My heart jumped.
"He's coming here?"
Daniel nodded.
"He requested to meet somewhere secure."
I felt a wave of dread.
My father had agreed too quickly.
Almost as though he had been expecting this conversation for years.
An hour later, a black sedan pulled into the driveway.
I watched from the entrance hall as the driver opened the rear door.
My father stepped out carefully.
His left leg remained weak after the stroke.
He used a cane.
His shoulders were slightly stooped.
But he still wore his favorite brown jacket.
And when he saw me standing at the top of the steps, his face softened.
"Nat."
I ran toward him.
He opened his arms.
I hugged him carefully.
"Dad."
He kissed my forehead.
"Are you okay?"
I nodded against his shoulder.
"Are you?"
"I'm fine."
His voice became serious.
"Now tell me what's going on."
I stepped back.
Gabriel approached.
"Mr. Brooks."
My father looked at him.
And his expression changed.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
Gabriel noticed.
"Have we met?"
My father hesitated.
"Not properly."
Gabriel frowned.
My father looked toward the mansion.
Then toward me.
"I think we should sit down."
We gathered in the private library.
Victor Hale joined us.
Daniel remained near the door.
Gabriel asked whether I wanted to stay.
I almost laughed.
Of course I wanted to stay.
Whatever my father knew, I needed to hear it.
My father sat in a leather armchair and placed his cane beside him.
For a moment, he studied the bookshelves.
Then he looked at Gabriel.
"Your wife was a good woman."
Gabriel went completely still.
"You knew Elena?"
My father nodded.
"Only briefly."
I stared.
"Dad?"
He looked at me.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart."
My throat tightened.
"For what?"
He took a slow breath.
"For not telling you."
Gabriel leaned forward.
"Please start at the beginning."
My father nodded.
"Three years ago, I was still working at the garage in Midtown."
He paused.
"Mostly luxury vehicles."
I remembered those years.
He had worked long hours.
Sometimes he didn't return home until midnight.
My father continued.
"One morning, a woman brought in a dark sedan."
Gabriel's expression sharpened.
"Elena?"
"Yes."
He nodded.
"She said the brakes felt strange."
Victor opened his notebook.
My father looked down at his hands.
"I inspected the vehicle."
His voice grew heavier.
"And I found something that worried me."
Gabriel leaned forward.
"What?"
"Signs that the hydraulic braking system had been tampered with."
The room went silent.
I gripped the arm of my chair.
Gabriel stared.
"Are you certain?"
My father nodded.
"I was then."
Victor spoke carefully.
"Did you document the condition?"
"Yes."
My father looked at him.
"I took photographs and wrote an inspection report."
Gabriel's eyes filled with a terrible kind of hope.
"Do you still have it?"
My father shook his head.
"The original report disappeared."
Gabriel's expression darkened.
"What happened?"
My father swallowed.
"The garage manager told me to forget the inspection."
"Why?"
"He said the customer had withdrawn the complaint."
My father looked at Gabriel.
"But I knew something was wrong."
I felt sick.
"Dad, did you tell Elena?"
He nodded.
"I called the number she left."
Gabriel's breathing changed.
"And?"
"She came back."
My father stared toward the fireplace.
"She was frightened."
He paused.
"She asked me whether someone could have damaged the brakes deliberately."
Gabriel closed his eyes.
My father continued.
"I told her it was possible."
Victor asked, "Did she mention anyone by name?"
My father nodded slowly.
"Raymond Romano."
Gabriel looked as though someone had struck him.
My father continued.
"She said she had discovered money missing from a charitable fund."
He looked down.
"And that Raymond had threatened her when she confronted him."
A terrible silence settled over the library.
I covered my mouth.
My father looked at Gabriel.
"I told her not to drive the car."
Gabriel swallowed.
"Then why was she driving it the day she died?"
My father shook his head.
"She wasn't supposed to be."
He looked devastated.
"I arranged for the car to remain at the garage while I prepared a full report."
Victor frowned.
"What happened?"
"Someone collected it."
Gabriel leaned forward.
"Who?"
My father closed his eyes.
"The release paperwork carried Elena's signature."
He swallowed.
"But I later believed it had been forged."
Gabriel stared.
"Who collected it?"
My father opened his eyes.
"A woman."
My heart began pounding.
"Cassandra?"
He looked at me.
Then nodded.
Gabriel stood abruptly.
For a moment, he seemed unable to speak.
My father continued.
"She told the manager she was Elena's personal assistant."
Victor wrote rapidly.
"Did you see her identification?"
"No."
"Did you speak to her?"
"Only briefly."
My father looked at Gabriel.
"She said Elena needed the car immediately."
I stared at my father.
"And you let her take it?"
His face crumpled.
"I tried to stop her."
His voice shook.
"But the manager had already authorized the release."
I felt tears burning my eyes.
Gabriel slowly sat again.
"What happened next?"
My father looked down.
"Two days later, Elena died."
Nobody spoke.
"I went to the police."
Gabriel looked up sharply.
"You reported it?"
"Yes."
My father nodded.
"I told them about the brake system."
Victor leaned forward.
"Who took your statement?"
My father named an officer.
Daniel immediately wrote it down.
My father continued.
"I never heard anything afterward."
He swallowed.
"Then my manager told me the inspection report had been misplaced."
I looked at him.
"What did you do?"
"I kept asking questions."
His eyes filled.
"Until someone called our home."
I felt cold.
"What did they say?"
My father looked directly at me.
"They knew where you attended college."
I stopped breathing.
He continued.
"They knew your class schedule."
I pressed a hand against my mouth.
"And they told me accidents happen to young women who don't mind their own business."
Gabriel's face hardened.
My father looked at me.
"I was terrified, Natalie."
A tear rolled down his cheek.
"Not for myself."
His voice broke.
"For you."
I moved toward him.
He grabbed my hand.
"I should have told you."
I knelt.
"Dad."
"I thought if I stayed quiet, you'd be safe."
I wrapped my arms around him.
He began crying.
And suddenly, I wasn't thinking about secrets.
Or business empires.
Or forged documents.
I was thinking about a father who had carried fear alone for three years because he loved his daughter.
Gabriel quietly approached.
"Mr. Brooks."
My father looked up.
"Did you keep any copies of the photographs?"
My father hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Yes."
Victor straightened.
"Where?"
My father reached inside his jacket.
He removed an old leather wallet.
From behind a faded photograph of my mother, he took a tiny memory card wrapped in tissue.
I stared.
He placed it on the table.
"I kept the pictures."
Gabriel looked at the card.
My father whispered, "I couldn't prove who damaged the brakes."
He swallowed.
"But I knew someday someone might need to know what I saw."
Victor carefully secured the card for examination.
Gabriel turned toward my father.
"Thank you."
My father lowered his eyes.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save her."
Gabriel knelt in front of him.
"Listen to me."
His voice trembled.
"You tried."
My father's face twisted.
Gabriel continued.
"You tried to protect Elena."
He paused.
"And when someone threatened your daughter, you protected her."
My father began crying again.
Gabriel placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I won't forget that."
For several seconds, the two men sat in silence.
Then Daniel's phone rang.
He stepped into the hallway.
When he returned, his expression was grave.
"Mr. Romano."
Gabriel turned.
"What?"
Daniel looked toward my father.
"Investigators have identified the person who entered the greenhouse before the fire."
My heart jumped.
"Who?"
Daniel swallowed.
"It wasn't Raymond."
Gabriel frowned.
"And it wasn't Cassandra."
The room went silent.
Daniel looked directly at Gabriel.
"It was someone who has worked inside this house for twenty-two years."
I felt my stomach drop.
Because there was only one person I knew who had been here that long.
Margaret Ellis.
The housekeeper who had helped raise Lily.
May you like
The woman who had worked for Elena.
And the woman who had sent Lily upstairs to change clothes that very morning.
Related Stories
