Chapter 7: The Father Who Ordered the Murder
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The music continued across the rooftop. Sunlight shimmered on the swimming pool. Somewhere behind Maya, a waiter collected broken glass from the tiles.
But Maya heard none of it.
She stared at Samuel's phone as though the voice coming through it belonged to someone standing directly behind her.
“Mom,” she whispered, “what did you just say?””
Denise sobbed softly.
“I'm sorry, baby.””
“Don't call me baby. Tell me what you mean.””
“I should have told you years ago.””
“Then tell me now!””
Maya's voice cracked so sharply that two nearby guests turned toward her.
Samuel reached for her shoulder, but she stepped away.
“No,” she said.
“Everyone keeps touching me like I'm going to fall apart. I'm standing right here. I need the truth.””
On the phone, Denise struggled to steady her breathing.
“Your biological father was a man named Raymond Cole.””
Marcus's expression changed immediately.
Victor stopped moving.
Maya noticed both reactions.
“You know that name,” she said to Marcus.
He slowly nodded.
“Raymond Cole was Daniel's business partner.””
“Was?””
Marcus looked toward the pool.
“He was the company's chief financial officer before Daniel died.””
Victor abruptly snatched Samuel's phone.
“Denise, you need to stop talking.””
“Give it back!”” Maya shouted.
She grabbed the device from Victor's hand and stepped away from him.
On the phone, Denise's voice grew sharper.
“Victor? Is that you?””
Victor reached for the phone again.
Maya moved behind Marcus.
“Don't touch me!””
Victor's face twisted with anger.
“You have no idea what you're interfering with.””
“Then explain it!””
“Your mother is confused. She's been carrying this fantasy for decades.””
Denise heard him.
“I am not confused, Victor.””
Her voice was suddenly clear.
“I remember the night Raymond came to my apartment. I remember the blood on his shirt. I remember him telling me that Daniel was dead, and that if I ever wanted my daughter to live long enough to grow up, I would disappear.””
Maya pressed the phone closer to her ear.
“Why would my father kill Daniel?””
“Because Daniel discovered what they were doing with the company's money.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
Victor looked at him.
“Don't you dare.””
Denise continued.
“Raymond and Victor had been moving money through companies Daniel didn't know existed. When Daniel found the records, he confronted them. He told Raymond he was going to the authorities.””
Samuel slowly sat down on the edge of a cocktail table.
Maya looked at him.
“You knew?””
“I knew Daniel suspected fraud,” Samuel said.
“I never knew how far it went.””
Denise's voice trembled again.
“Daniel called me that evening. He said he had something important to tell me about you. He wanted us to meet him the following morning.””
“What did he want to tell you?””
“I never found out. Raymond came before dawn. He told me Daniel had died in a car accident. Then he said the police would eventually discover that Daniel had been planning to expose the company.””
Maya's stomach tightened.
“And he blamed you?””
“No. He told me he'd make sure I was blamed if I spoke.””
Victor gave a bitter laugh.
“This is absurd. Raymond is dead. You're accusing a dead man of murder because you've spent twenty-two years inventing stories.””
Denise answered immediately.
“Raymond isn't dead.””
The words silenced the rooftop.
Marcus turned sharply.
“What?””
Denise was crying again.
“Raymond Cole is alive. He's been alive all these years.””
Marcus stared at the phone.
“That's impossible. The company received a death certificate.””
“You received a document Raymond paid someone to create,” Denise said.
“He left the country under another name.””
Maya felt dizzy.
“My father is alive?””
“Yes.””
“Where is he?””
“I don't know.””
“Mom!””
“I swear to you, Maya, I don't know. I haven't seen him since the night he threatened me.””
Victor shook his head.
“Lies. Every word.””
Maya looked directly at him.
“Then why are you frightened?””
For the first time, Victor had no immediate answer.
Marcus walked toward him.
“Did you know Raymond was alive?””
Victor straightened his jacket.
“I knew he left the country.””
“Did you know about the forged death certificate?””
“I never saw one.””
Marcus studied him.
“Then perhaps you'd like to explain why your name appears on the financial transfers Daniel discovered.””
Victor's face changed.
Samuel stood up.
“What transfers?””
Marcus reached into his jacket and removed a folded sheet of paper.
“I've been reviewing archived company records for the last six months. Several transfers were approved in the weeks before Daniel died. The authorization signatures include Raymond Cole's and Victor's.””
Victor stared at the paper.
“Those documents are confidential.””
“Not anymore.””
“You have no idea what you're doing.””
“I know enough to understand that Daniel's death was followed by the disappearance of millions of dollars.””
Guests nearby had begun whispering. A man in a charcoal suit slowly lowered his champagne glass.
Victor glanced at the gathering crowd.
Then he smiled.
It was the same polished smile he had used when humiliating Maya.
“You're making accusations in public without understanding the legal consequences.””
Marcus folded the paper.
“Then we can discuss them with investigators.””
Victor's smile vanished.
He turned toward the security guards.
“Get this man away from me.””
The guards exchanged uncertain looks.
Maya raised the phone.
“Mom, listen to me. You said Raymond threatened you. Did he tell you anything about Daniel's daughter?””
Denise went silent.
Maya's pulse quickened.
“Mom?””
Finally, Denise whispered, “Daniel believed you were his daughter.””
Maya looked toward Samuel.
He lowered his eyes.
“But you just said Raymond was my biological father,” Maya said.
“Yes.””
“Then why would Daniel think I was his?””
“Because Daniel knew I was pregnant before Raymond did. He believed the child was his. I never corrected him.””
“Why?””
“Because Raymond was dangerous. And because Daniel was the only man who ever offered to protect us without demanding anything in return.””
Maya couldn't speak.
For years, she had believed she simply came from a broken family with missing photographs and unanswered questions.
Now she was learning that her childhood had been shaped by men who had treated her existence as a secret to be managed.
A secret worth killing for.
“Mom,” she whispered, “what happened to the documents Daniel wanted you to have?””
Denise inhaled sharply.
“I hid them.””
“Where?””
“In a place nobody would think to look.””
Victor suddenly rushed toward the phone.
Maya pulled away, but he caught the edge of the device.
The call ended.
She stared at the screen.
“No!””
Victor stood breathing hard, the old man's phone in his hand.
Marcus seized his wrist.
“Give it back.””
Victor yanked free and threw the phone onto the tiles.
It struck the stone and cracked.
Maya dropped to her knees.
“Samuel's phone!””
Samuel knelt beside her, picking up the broken device.
Victor straightened his bow tie.
“Now perhaps we can return to the event.””
Maya slowly rose.
Her tears had stopped.
“You just destroyed the only connection I had to my mother.””
Victor shrugged.
“She can call you from another phone.””
Maya looked at the cracked screen, then at the man who had pushed her into the pool.
“No,” she said.
“You destroyed it because she was about to tell me something else.””
Victor's expression tightened.
Before he could respond, Marcus's phone vibrated.
He glanced at the incoming message.
Then he turned the screen toward Maya.
It was a photograph of a sealed envelope resting on a wooden table.
Beneath it was a handwritten note.
*If Maya is finally asking questions, tell her to come alone.*
At the bottom was a signature.
*Raymond Cole.*
And beneath the signature was an address.
May you like
Maya recognized it immediately.
It was her mother's home.
