Chapter 8: The Key Beneath the Piano
Richard Lawson looked completely different without his usual confident smile.
His jacket was wrinkled.
His hair was disheveled.
And the brass key in his hand was trembling.
One of the officers stepped forward.
“Put the key on the table, sir.””
Richard hesitated.
“I found it downstairs.””
“Then you won't mind explaining why you entered a private residence without permission.””
“I was invited.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“By whom?””
Richard looked toward the staircase.
Nobody answered for him.
The officer took the key.
“Mr. Lawson, we're going to need you to explain your presence here.””
Richard glanced at Vanessa.
“You shouldn't be involved in this.””
Vanessa stared at him.
“You destroyed my future.””
“I didn't destroy anything.””
“You helped Tiana break my violin.””
Richard's jaw tightened.
“That was a mistake.””
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“A mistake? You gave her the tool.””
He looked away.
Margaret approached him.
“Mr. Lawson, why were you carrying a key to a room that has been locked for seven years?””
Richard didn't answer.
The officer moved closer.
“Sir?””
Finally, Richard sighed.
“Tiana asked me to retrieve some papers.””
Daniel's expression hardened.
“What papers?””
“I don't know exactly.””
“Then why did you come here?””
Richard looked at Margaret.
“Because she told me the documents were worth a lot of money.””
Margaret folded her arms.
“Which documents?””
“The trust agreement.””
Vanessa felt her stomach tighten.
“Why does everyone want that agreement?””
Richard glanced at her.
“Because it contains information your father hasn't told you.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Enough.””
Richard gave a humorless laugh.
“You still think you can control what she knows?””
Vanessa turned toward her father.
“What does he mean?””
Daniel's face was pale.
Margaret intervened.
“We need to let the police handle this.””
Richard shook his head.
“You can keep pretending. But the agreement isn't the only document that matters.””
He looked directly at Vanessa.
“Your mother left a letter.””
Vanessa's breath caught.
“What letter?””
“A letter explaining what happened before the accident.””
Daniel grabbed the edge of the table.
“Where is it?””
Richard smiled weakly.
“That's the problem. I don't know.””
The officer stepped between them.
“Mr. Lawson, you're coming downstairs with us.””
As Richard was escorted away, he turned one last time.
“Ask your father about the night he visited the garage.””
Then he disappeared down the staircase.
Vanessa slowly turned toward Daniel.
“What garage?””
Daniel closed his eyes.
Margaret looked at him.
“Daniel?””
He sat on the edge of the piano bench.
“I went there the night before the accident.””
Vanessa's voice was barely audible.
“Why?””
“Your mother called me. She said someone had been following her. She wanted me to meet her at the garage where her car had been inspected.””
“What happened?””
“When I arrived, she was arguing with the mechanic. Thomas Reed.””
Daniel rubbed his hands together.
“Your mother accused him of changing the inspection records. He denied everything.””
“Was Tiana there?””
Daniel nodded.
Vanessa felt her stomach twist.
“She was standing near the office.””
“What was she doing?””
“She said she had come to collect some paperwork for her former employer.””
Margaret looked surprised.
“Why haven't you mentioned that before?””
Daniel's eyes filled.
“Because I was afraid.””
“Afraid of what?””
He looked at Vanessa.
“Your mother asked me to take you and leave town that night. She believed someone was planning to hurt her.””
Vanessa stopped breathing.
“You left?””
Daniel nodded slowly.
“I took you home. I thought I would return the next morning and sort everything out.””
“And Mom?””
“She said she needed to finish something first.””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“Why didn't you stay with her?””
Daniel covered his face.
“I should have.””
The room fell silent.
Vanessa looked at the piano.
Her mother had been afraid.
She had asked for help.
And her father had left her there.
“Did you see her again?””
“No.””
“Not even before the accident?””
Daniel shook his head.
Vanessa backed away.
“I need some air.””
She walked downstairs, ignoring Brielle's attempt to speak to her.
Outside, the afternoon sun was beginning to disappear.
She sat on the front steps and held her mother's note.
If anything happens, trust Margaret.
A few minutes later, Margaret joined her.
“Vanessa?””
She didn't look up.
“Was my mother afraid of Tiana?””
Margaret sat beside her.
“I believe she was afraid of what Tiana knew.””
“What did she know?””
Margaret opened her handbag and removed an old photograph.
It showed Vanessa's mother standing in front of a building with a group of children.
On the back was a date.
Seven years earlier.
And a handwritten sentence.
The original records are not where they think they are.
Margaret turned the photograph over.
“Your mother was investigating the disappearance of funds from her charitable foundation.””
Vanessa frowned.
“Someone stole money?””
“Yes. A substantial amount. But your mother discovered that the theft was connected to a company that had been receiving payments through false invoices.””
“Who owned the company?””
Margaret hesitated.
“That's what we were trying to establish.””
She opened a second envelope.
Inside was a copy of an old company registration.
The director's name was clearly printed.
*Daniel Hayes.*
Vanessa stared at the document.
Her father.
The man who had just told her that he had done everything he could to protect her.
Her hands began shaking.
“Why is Dad's name on this?””
Margaret looked uncomfortable.
“He claims he never authorized the company.””
“Does he know about this?””
“Yes.””
Vanessa stood.
“Then why didn't he tell me?””
Margaret looked toward the house.
“Because he believed the records were forged.””
Vanessa looked back at the document.
“Do you believe him?””
Margaret didn't answer.
Instead, she handed Vanessa another page.
It was an email printed seven years earlier.
The sender's address belonged to her mother.
The recipient was Daniel.
The subject line read:
*WE NEED TO TALK BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.*
The email contained only three sentences.
I found the real owner of the company.
It isn't Tiana.
It's someone much closer to you.
Vanessa read it twice.
Then she looked through the window.
Her father was standing beside the piano.
May you like
He was staring at a photograph of her mother.
And he was crying.
