Chapter 9: What Daniel Hid
Marcus slammed his shoulder against the vault door.
Nothing.
“Move!””
He hit it again.
The steel didn't budge.
The family friend grabbed the handle.
“It's locked from outside.””
Vanessa stared at Daniel.
“You knew.””
Daniel didn't move.
“You knew he would say that.””
Daniel's eyes remained fixed on the recorder.
“Yes.””
My voice shook.
“Where is my mother?””
He closed his eyes.
“I don't know.””
“That's not good enough.””
“I haven't seen her in nineteen years.””
“Then why did Dad say he saw you with her?””
Daniel swallowed.
“Because I was.””
The words hit me like another fall into the pool.
Marcus turned toward him.
“Start talking.””
Daniel leaned against the wall.
“The night your mother disappeared, your father asked me to take her somewhere safe.””
“Where?””
“An apartment outside the city.””
“Then what happened?””
“She left.””
“By herself?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Daniel looked at me.
“She believed someone was following her.””
“Who?””
“The same man who later killed your father.””
The family friend stepped forward.
“You don't know that.””
Daniel looked at him.
“I know exactly what happened.””
“You weren't there.””
“I was closer than you think.””
The family friend clenched his fists.
Marcus watched both men.
“You're both hiding something.””
Nobody disagreed.
I looked at Daniel.
“Did my mother know Dad was going to die?””
“Yes.””
“Did she know about the will?””
“Yes.””
“Did she know he was leaving everything to me?””
Daniel nodded.
“Then why didn't she come back?””
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
“Because she thought you would be killed if she did.””
I stared at him.
“You expect me to believe she stayed away for twenty years to protect me?””
“She believed it was the only way.””
“Then why didn't she send me a letter?””
“She did.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
Daniel looked toward the black box.
“There are twenty-three letters.””
I opened the box again.
Underneath the documents was a bundle tied with blue ribbon.
Each envelope had my name.
*Maya.*
Twenty-three envelopes.
My hands trembled.
The first was dated twenty years ago.
The second, nineteen years ago.
Then eighteen.
Seventeen.
Every year.
A letter.
My mother had written to me.
And someone had kept them from me.
I looked at Daniel.
“You had these.””
“Yes.””
“You never gave them to me.””
“I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
“Of being watched.””
I tore open the oldest envelope.
Inside was a single page.
My mother's handwriting.
*My baby girl,*
*If you ever read this, I need you to know I didn't leave because I stopped loving you. I left because someone promised me that if I stayed, you would die.*
I couldn't read the rest.
My vision blurred.
Marcus gently took my arm.
“You don't have to.””
“Yes, I do.””
I forced myself to continue.
*Your father believes the person closest to our family is responsible. He doesn't know who yet. But I do.*
I stopped.
“What?””
The family friend stared at me.
“What does it say?””
I looked at the final line.
*It's someone we have trusted for years.*
Daniel whispered, “Keep reading.””
I did.
*If Daniel ever gives you these letters, it means he finally chose you over his fear.*
I looked at Daniel.
He started crying.
“I should have given them to you years ago.””
“Why didn't you?””
“Because your mother told me to wait.””
“Wait for what?””
“For the day the people hunting her were gone.””
I shook my head.
“They're not gone.””
“No.””
“Then why give them to me now?””
Daniel looked at the locked vault door.
“Because tonight changed everything.””
Marcus frowned.
“What changed?””
Daniel pointed toward the recorder.
“Your father left one final instruction.””
I pressed play again.
Static.
Then my father's voice.
“Maya, the person who betrayed our family has always believed you inherited the property.””
The recording paused.
“They are wrong.””
I looked at the documents.
My father's voice continued.
“The property is only the key.””
Marcus leaned closer.
“Key to what?””
My father answered.
“The real inheritance.””
The recording clicked.
Then one final sentence played.
“And if you're hearing this, it means Vanessa has already tried to kill you.””
Vanessa burst into tears.
“I didn't want to!””
My father's voice continued.
“But she's not the one you should fear.””
A metallic sound came from somewhere inside the vault.
Click.
A hidden compartment opened beneath the floor.
Inside was a passport.
A recent photograph.
And an address.
I picked up the photograph.
My hands stopped shaking.
Because the woman staring back at me had my mother's eyes.
But the photograph had been taken only two weeks ago.
Marcus looked at the address.
“She’s alive.””
Daniel whispered, “Yes.””
I looked at him.
“You knew.””
He nodded.
“I found her two weeks ago.””
“Then why didn't you tell me?””
Daniel looked toward Vanessa.
“Because she was the one who gave our location away.””
Vanessa stared at him in horror.
“I didn't know.””
Daniel shook his head.
“You knew exactly who you were talking to.””
Vanessa's lips parted.
Before she could answer, the vault door suddenly unlocked.
It swung open.
A man stood outside.
He was holding a gun.
And behind him stood the woman from the photograph.
My mother.
She looked directly at me.
May you like
And whispered,
“Maya, don't trust Daniel.””
