Chapter 9 - THE WOMAN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH|
Gabriel stared at the photograph until his knuckles turned white.
I stood beside him, unable to understand how Isabella's mother could have been connected to a tragedy that happened eighteen years earlier.
Daniel looked from one face to another.
"Who is she?"
Gabriel didn't answer immediately.
Finally, he pointed toward the dark-haired woman standing beside Eleanor Romano.
"Her name was Sofia Varela."
I frowned.
"Isabella's mother?"
He nodded.
"Yes."
Daniel studied the photograph.
"Why was she with Mom?"
"That's what I want to know."
Detective Brooks pulled a chair toward the hospital bed.
"Before we discuss the photograph, there's something you need to understand."
Gabriel looked at her.
"We've been reviewing archived financial records."
"And?"
"Richard Holloway wasn't simply your father's business partner."
She opened a folder.
"For several years, he controlled a substantial portion of the family's outside investments."
Gabriel nodded.
"I know."
"But Eleanor discovered irregularities."
"How serious?"
"Millions of dollars had been diverted through shell companies."
Gabriel's expression hardened.
"And she confronted him."
"Yes."
Detective Brooks placed another document on the table.
"She also met Sofia Varela."
I looked at the photograph again.
"Why?"
"Because Sofia was employed by one of Richard's companies."
Gabriel frowned.
"Doing what?"
"Accounting."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Detective Brooks continued.
"According to the records we've recovered, Sofia was responsible for preparing certain financial statements."
Gabriel looked down.
"She knew where the money was going."
"Possibly."
"And Isabella?"
"She was seventeen at the time."
Gabriel shook his head.
"Then she was a child."
"Yes," Detective Brooks agreed.
"But she later gained access to her mother's files."
I stared at the woman's face.
Sofia Varela looked nothing like the cruel, polished Isabella I knew.
She appeared exhausted.
Her dark hair was loosely tied back.
One hand rested against her coat.
And her expression suggested she was afraid of the man standing beside her.
"Was she helping Richard?" I asked.
Detective Brooks considered the question.
"That's what we initially believed."
"Initially?"
She nodded.
"Then we found a letter Sofia sent to Eleanor."
Gabriel stepped closer.
"What letter?"
The detective removed a photocopy.
It was dated six days before Eleanor's death.
Gabriel read it aloud.
"Eleanor, I cannot continue covering for Richard."
His voice tightened.
"I have copies of the accounts."
He stopped.
Detective Brooks nodded toward the next paragraph.
Gabriel continued.
"If anything happens to me, please make certain my daughter knows I tried to do the right thing."
The room fell silent.
Gabriel lowered the paper.
"Sofia wanted to expose him."
"It appears so."
"What happened to her?"
Detective Brooks closed the folder.
"She died three months after Eleanor."
Daniel moved toward the window.
"Another accident?"
The detective hesitated.
"Her death was reported as an accidental fall."
Gabriel laughed bitterly.
"Of course it was."
Detective Brooks looked at him sharply.
"We can't assume those deaths were homicides without evidence."
"I understand."
But his face said something different.
Daniel turned from the window.
"I remember Sofia."
Everyone looked at him.
His expression became distant.
"She came to Willowbrook."
Gabriel stepped forward.
"When?"
"Not long after I arrived."
"What did she say?"
Daniel frowned.
"I'm trying to remember."
My mother approached slowly.
"Take your time, Daniel."
He nodded.
"She came into my room."
He looked toward the ceiling.
"She was crying."
Gabriel said nothing.
"She told me she was sorry."
"For what?"
Daniel shook his head.
"She said she hadn't known what Richard was going to do."
Gabriel looked toward Detective Brooks.
Daniel continued.
"She gave me something."
My pulse quickened.
"What?" I asked.
"A small envelope."
"Where is it?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
"I hid it."
"At Willowbrook?"
He nodded.
"Under the window."
My mother suddenly made a sound.
I turned.
She was staring at Daniel.
"Your room had a loose windowsill."
He nodded.
"Yes."
My mother pressed a hand to her mouth.
"I remember you telling me you kept your treasures there."
Daniel smiled sadly.
"You said everyone deserved a place for their treasures."
Tears filled my mother's eyes.
Detective Brooks immediately took out her phone.
"We need a search authorization for that room."
Gabriel leaned toward Daniel.
"Do you remember what was inside the envelope?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I never opened it."
"Why not?"
"She told me it would be dangerous if anyone found out."
His eyes filled.
"And after she died, I was afraid."
Gabriel rested a hand on his shoulder.
"You don't have to be afraid of telling us now."
Daniel looked at him.
"I've spent eighteen years being afraid."
Gabriel's expression softened.
"I know."
For a moment, the brothers simply stood together.
Then Daniel asked a question.
"Does Dad know I'm alive?"
Gabriel smiled through his tears.
"Yes."
"Can I see him?"
"Of course."
Daniel looked frightened.
"Will he recognize me?"
Gabriel pulled out his phone.
He showed Daniel a recent photograph of Vincent sitting beside the garden fountain.
Daniel stared at the elderly man.
His expression slowly changed.
"Dad?"
Gabriel nodded.
Daniel touched the screen.
"He looks so old."
"He's eighty-one."
Daniel's lips trembled.
"The last time I saw him, his hair was black."
Gabriel smiled painfully.
"Mine used to be black too."
Daniel laughed.
It was a small sound.
But the entire room seemed warmer because of it.
A few hours later, we traveled back to New York.
Daniel sat beside Gabriel in the SUV.
My mother and I sat opposite them.
Occasionally, Daniel asked a question about the years he'd missed.
Gabriel answered as gently as he could.
He explained that their father had suffered a stroke.
He talked about the family's businesses.
He described how much the city had changed.
Then Daniel asked about Isabella.
Gabriel's expression hardened.
"She was my fiancée."
"Was?"
"Yes."
Daniel studied him.
"Do you love her?"
Gabriel looked toward the window.
"I thought I did."
"What happened?"
Gabriel glanced at me.
Then looked back at his brother.
"I discovered she'd been hurting Dad."
Daniel frowned.
"Why?"
"I wish I knew."
He paused.
"And she'd been helping the people who kept you hidden."
Daniel lowered his head.
"Then she doesn't love you."
Gabriel didn't answer.
Daniel continued quietly.
"People who love you don't make you afraid of losing everyone else."
I looked at him.
For a man who had spent eighteen years isolated, Daniel understood something Isabella never had.
Love wasn't control.
It was freedom.
When we reached Vincent's hospital, Gabriel asked everyone to wait outside while he prepared his father.
I stood beside Daniel near the hallway window.
His hands were trembling.
"Nervous?" I asked.
He nodded.
"I don't know what to say."
I smiled.
"You don't need a speech."
"What if he cries?"
"He probably will."
Daniel looked at me.
"And what if I cry?"
"Then you'll both be crying."
He laughed softly.
I continued.
"Your father has been trying to bring you home."
Daniel stared at the floor.
"Did he really look for me?"
"Yes."
"For all those years?"
I thought about the blue cabinet.
The hidden letters.
The note that said DON'T LET HER.
"He never stopped loving you."
Daniel's face crumpled.
A moment later, Gabriel opened the door.
"He's ready."
Daniel took a shaky breath.
Then walked inside.
Vincent was sitting upright against his pillows.
When he saw the man entering, his entire body became still.
Daniel stopped near the doorway.
"Dad?"
Vincent's lips parted.
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Then he lifted both arms.
"Danny."
Daniel crossed the room.
He dropped to his knees beside the bed.
Vincent wrapped his trembling arms around his son's shoulders.
Both men began crying.
Gabriel stood beside them, one hand covering his mouth.
And I watched an elderly father hold the son he'd been told was dead.
No amount of money could have purchased that moment.
No expensive engagement party could have made it more beautiful.
Vincent pressed his cheek against Daniel's hair.
"My boy," he whispered.
Daniel held on tighter.
"I'm home, Dad."
For the first time since I'd met him, Vincent's face looked peaceful.
But our happiness lasted only until Detective Brooks entered the room.
She was holding a small evidence bag.
Inside was an envelope covered in dust.
"We found it," she said.
Gabriel turned.
"At Willowbrook?"
She nodded.
"Behind the windowsill."
Daniel rose slowly.
"Is it Sofia's?"
"Yes."
The detective opened the evidence bag with careful hands.
She removed a letter and several photographs.
Gabriel studied them.
His expression changed.
"What is it?" I asked.
He handed me the first photograph.
It showed Eleanor Romano standing beside Sofia Varela.
Between them was a little girl with dark hair.
Isabella.
On the back, Eleanor had written a sentence.
"FOR ISABELLA, WHEN SHE IS OLD ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND."
Gabriel picked up the letter.
He read the first paragraph.
Then stared at the page.
"Richard didn't just steal from the family."
Detective Brooks nodded gravely.
Gabriel looked toward Daniel.
"He used Isabella's mother to do it."
He turned to the last page.
"And when she threatened to expose him, he made Isabella believe our family was responsible for her death."
I looked at the photograph of the little girl.
For eighteen years, Isabella had been raised on a lie.
But Gabriel wasn't finished reading.
His expression darkened.
"There's more."
He held up a financial statement.
"Richard has been transferring money into an account under Isabella's name since she was seventeen."
Detective Brooks nodded.
"He's been paying her for nearly two decades."
May you like
Gabriel slowly looked up.
"And she knew exactly what he was doing."
