Chapter 8 - The Driver Who Refused to Forget|
Daniel Rivera arrived at the mansion the following afternoon.
He didn't come alone.
Gideon Shaw accompanied him through the front doors, carrying a small leather folder.
Daniel looked exhausted.
He was in his fifties, with tired brown eyes and a face that seemed older than the photograph in his former personnel file.
When Rosa saw him, she immediately rose from her chair.
"Daniel."
His eyes filled with tears.
"Mrs. Moretti."
She reached for him.
He approached hesitantly.
Then Rosa wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm so sorry."
Daniel shook his head.
"No, ma'am."
His voice broke.
"You're the one I should have protected."
I stood beside Olivia near the fireplace.
Luca waited until his mother was seated again before speaking.
"Daniel, I need to know what happened the night my father died."
Daniel looked down at his hands.
"I've been trying to forget that night for eighteen months."
Gideon sat beside him.
"Take your time."
Daniel nodded.
Then he began.
He had been preparing the garage for the following morning when he heard Rosa calling for help.
He hurried into the hallway outside Frank's study.
The door was locked.
Rosa was crying.
And from somewhere inside the room, he heard a weak voice calling her name.
"My father was conscious?" Luca asked.
Daniel nodded.
"At first."
Luca's face tightened.
Daniel continued.
He had immediately reached for the telephone on the hallway table.
But Vanessa appeared before he could finish dialing.
She told him Frank's private physician had already been contacted.
She ordered Daniel to return to the garage.
"I told her we needed an ambulance."
Daniel swallowed.
"She said if I called anyone, I'd be fired."
Matteo cursed under his breath.
Daniel looked toward Rosa.
"You kept asking me to help him."
Rosa began crying.
"I remember."
"And I should have ignored her."
Luca leaned forward.
"What happened next?"
Daniel rubbed his palms against his trousers.
"I went toward the garage, but I couldn't leave it alone."
He explained that he used his personal phone to contact emergency services from outside the house.
By the time the ambulance arrived, Frank was unconscious.
Daniel had tried to explain the delay to the paramedics.
But Vanessa insisted the family had already contacted a private doctor.
"Nobody listened to me."
His eyes filled with tears.
"Mr. Frank died before they could get him to the hospital."
Luca pressed a hand against his mouth.
For a long moment, nobody spoke.
Then he asked the question that had been haunting all of us.
"Who locked the door?"
Daniel hesitated.
"I didn't see anyone turn the lock."
Luca's shoulders fell slightly.
"But I saw something else."
Daniel opened his leather folder.
Inside was a faded printed photograph.
He placed it on the table.
The image showed Vanessa and Julian Cross standing near the entrance to Frank's private study.
Vanessa held a black leather document case.
Cross appeared to be carrying a stack of papers.
The photograph was slightly blurred, but their faces were recognizable.
A timestamp appeared in one corner.
10:24 p.m.
Luca stared at it.
"How did you get this?"
Daniel explained that he had taken the photograph from the end of the hallway.
He had been frightened by Vanessa's instructions and wanted evidence that Cross had been present.
The original image had automatically backed up to an old laptop.
Vanessa later demanded his phone.
By then, the photograph had already been saved elsewhere.
"Why didn't you bring this to me?" Luca asked.
Daniel lowered his head.
"Because the next morning, I received a warning."
"What warning?"
He pulled out a second document.
It was a termination notice.
At the bottom was Julian Cross's signature.
Daniel's employment had been terminated for misconduct.
He had been accused of abandoning his responsibilities during a family medical emergency.
"I was told that if I challenged it, they would accuse me of neglecting your father."
Rosa gasped.
Daniel's voice shook.
"I have a wife who was recovering from surgery and a daughter still in college."
He looked directly at Luca.
"I was scared."
Luca took the letter.
His expression hardened.
"Who threatened you?"
"Cross."
Daniel swallowed.
"He said there were consequences for people who remembered things incorrectly."
Luca closed his eyes.
I could almost see the battle taking place inside him.
The Luca Moretti everyone feared might have answered such a threat with another threat.
But the man standing in front of us had promised his mother that he would become someone different.
He opened his eyes.
"Daniel, I'm sorry."
The older man looked stunned.
"What?"
"I was responsible for this house."
Luca's voice was hoarse.
"And I allowed people to use my name to hurt someone who tried to save my father."
Daniel shook his head.
"You didn't know."
"I should have asked."
Rosa began crying softly.
Luca turned toward Gideon.
"Can we verify the emergency call?"
Gideon nodded.
"I've already begun working through the proper channels."
He looked at Daniel.
"Your phone records and contemporaneous photograph can help establish the timeline."
Then he turned back to Luca.
"But there's something else."
He opened another folder.
"Daniel told me your father's security system had a separate archival connection."
Luca frowned.
"At Ash Street."
"Exactly."
Gideon nodded.
"The main household recordings may have been deleted, but the backup system might have retained copies."
Olivia leaned forward.
"Then why haven't we checked it?"
Anthony answered from the doorway.
"The workshop has been closed for years."
He hesitated.
"And Julian Cross's office currently controls the maintenance contracts."
Matteo stared at him.
"Since when?"
"Shortly after Mr. Frank died."
Luca's expression darkened.
Daniel suddenly spoke.
"Mr. Moretti?"
Luca turned.
"Yes?"
"There's one more thing I need to tell you."
Daniel looked toward Rosa.
"I heard your father say something before the door went quiet."
Rosa gripped my hand.
"What did he say?"
Daniel swallowed.
"He sounded angry."
Luca leaned closer.
"Tell me."
May you like
Daniel's voice became barely audible.
"He said, 'You forged my wife's name, and I'm going to make sure everyone knows it.'"
