Chapter 11: The Second Car
“Marcus!””
I dropped beside my husband.
His forehead was bleeding, but his eyes were open.
“Claire?””
“I'm here.””
He tried to sit up.
I pressed a hand against his shoulder.
“Don't move.””
Daniel was leaning against the workbench, clutching his injured arm.
Richard rushed into the hangar with two security officers.
“Call an ambulance!”” he shouted.
One of the officers ran toward Daniel.
The other checked the entrance.
David had disappeared.
But I couldn't think about him.
I was staring at the note.
Tell her who was driving the second car.
Marcus noticed it in my hand.
“What is that?””
I showed him.
His expression changed.
“Where did you find that?””
“Beside the folder.””
He read it twice.
Then he closed his eyes.
“Claire, I need to tell you something.””
My stomach tightened.
“What?””
Richard approached.
“Perhaps we should wait until the paramedics arrive.””
Marcus shook his head.
“No. She needs to know.””
He struggled to sit up.
I helped him.
“Eleven years ago, after I left the restaurant, I saw Dad's car on the road.””
I nodded.
“You told me.””
“There was another car behind it.””
I stared at him.
“What car?””
“A dark blue sedan. It was following Dad.””
Daniel looked up.
“Marcus, you never told me that.””
“I didn't know it mattered.””
Marcus took a breath.
“When I stopped, I saw someone standing beside the driver's door. I thought it was a witness.””
My heart pounded.
“Who?””
Marcus looked at me.
“David.””
I felt sick.
“He was at the accident?””
Marcus nodded.
“He told me Dad had lost control of the car. He said the police were already coming and that I should leave before anyone saw me.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Why would you listen?””
“Because he said Dad was dead.””
Marcus covered his face.
“I was terrified. I thought I'd been too late.””
I took his hand.
“Why didn't you tell the police?””
“David said there was another car involved, and if I spoke, they'd blame me for the accident. He said he had witnesses who would testify that I'd been driving recklessly.””
Daniel stared at his brother.
“You were protecting yourself.””
Marcus looked devastated.
“I was twenty-seven. I didn't know what to do.””
I looked at the note.
“Why would David write your name?””
Richard examined it.
“Because he wants to create doubt about who was responsible.””
Marcus shook his head.
“I didn't hurt Dad.””
“I believe you,” I said.
But even as I spoke, I wondered whether Marcus had told us everything.
The paramedics arrived.
Daniel was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Marcus refused to leave until he knew his brother would survive.
Richard arranged for the security officers to preserve the hangar.
Then he handed me a sealed envelope.
“This is your father's statement.””
I opened it.
The first paragraph explained that he had discovered David's identity theft and financial fraud. The second described his adoption of me.
But the final section made my hands shake.
Claire, I need you to understand why I chose to raise you as my own.
David wanted to acknowledge you only after he learned that your birth mother had left a substantial inheritance. He believed you would eventually become useful to him.
I refused to let you become a financial instrument in his hands.
I loved you before you could speak. I loved you before you could walk. You were my daughter long before any court recognized it.
Tears blurred the page.
I pressed it against my chest.
My father had known.
He had always known.
And he had chosen me.
Richard waited until I looked up.
“There's another page.””
I turned it over.
I have reason to believe David did not act alone. Someone inside our household provided him with access to the records.
My eyes moved to the final sentence.
If the second car is ever identified, the investigation must begin with the person who arranged the funeral.
I looked at Richard.
“Who arranged the funeral?””
He hesitated.
“Your mother.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Claire, I'm not accusing her. I'm telling you what the document says.””
I called Mom.
She answered immediately.
“Claire? Where are you?””
“I'm safe. Marcus is safe.””
“Oh, thank God.””
“Mom, I need to ask you something.””
“What?””
“Who arranged Dad's funeral?””
There was a long silence.
Then she whispered, “Why?””
“Dad left a note.””
Mom began crying.
“Claire, please don't.””
“Don't what?””
“Don't reopen that night.””
I closed my eyes.
“Mom, I need the truth.””
She took a shaky breath.
“Your father was still alive when I arrived at the hospital. He was conscious, but barely. He asked me to call Richard.””
“Did you?””
“Yes.””
“What happened next?””
Mom hesitated.
“David arrived.””
I felt my blood run cold.
“He came to the hospital?””
“Yes.””
“What did he do?””
“He told me Richard wasn't coming. He said your father had already signed the documents transferring the company.””
I stared at the phone.
“Did you believe him?””
“No.””
“Then?””
Mom began sobbing.
“Your father asked me to protect you. He told me not to let David near you.””
I gripped the edge of the table.
“Mom, who arranged the funeral?””
She whispered, “David did.””
The line went silent.
Then she added something else.
“He told me the body had already been identified. He said there was no reason to delay the funeral.””
“Did you see Dad's body?””
Another silence.
“No.””
My knees weakened.
“Mom?””
“I was told not to open the casket.””
I sat down.
For eleven years, we had mourned a man whose body my mother had never seen.
I looked at Richard.
He had heard everything.
“Claire,” he said quietly, “I think we need to investigate the funeral records.””
My phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph of an old cemetery.
Underneath it was a sentence.
*Your father's grave is empty.*
I showed Richard.
He read it twice.
Then he picked up his phone.
“I'm calling the police.””
At midnight, Marcus and I met Richard at the cemetery.
A police detective named Laura Bennett accompanied us.
She had been briefed on the financial fraud and the suspicious circumstances surrounding my father's accident.
The cemetery caretaker unlocked the gates.
We walked toward the Harper family plot.
My father's name was engraved on a black granite headstone.
*Richard James Harper. Beloved Husband and Father.*
Detective Bennett examined the burial records.
“According to this, the coffin was sealed and delivered by a private funeral company.””
“Which company?”” I asked.
She read the name.
“Evergreen Memorial Services.””
Richard frowned.
“That company dissolved twelve years ago.””
The detective looked at him.
“Do you know why?””
“Because its owner disappeared.””
Marcus stared at the grave.
“Are you saying Dad might not be buried here?””
Detective Bennett nodded.
“We need authorization to examine the records and determine whether an exhumation is necessary.””
I looked at the headstone.
I had brought flowers here every birthday.
Every Father's Day.
Every Christmas.
I had spoken to the stone when life became unbearable.
And now someone was telling me that my father might never have been beneath it.
A cemetery worker approached.
“Detective?””
She turned.
“What is it?””
The man handed her a folded paper.
“I found this under the cemetery office door.””
Detective Bennett opened it.
Her expression hardened.
“What does it say?”” Marcus asked.
She handed it to him.
There was one sentence.
Stop searching for Richard Harper.
Beneath it was a second line.
He's closer to home than you think.
Marcus looked at me.
I felt my heart stop.
Because beneath the message was a photograph.
An old picture of our family.
My father.
My mother.
Marcus.
Me.
May you like
And standing behind us, smiling at the camera, was the man who had supposedly arranged my father's funeral.
David Harper.
