Chapter 13: The Woman Who Drove the Car
The message remained on my screen.
*VALERIA, DON'T BELIEVE CAMILA.*
*SHE WAS THE ONE WHO DROVE GRACE'S CAR.*
I read it again.
Then a third time.
Across the room, paramedics were working on Camila. Her white blouse was soaked with blood, and an oxygen mask covered her mouth.
Daniel stood beside me.
"What's wrong?""
I showed him the message.
He read it without speaking.
"Who sent it?""
"I don't know.""
"Don't answer.""
I looked toward the ambulance crew.
"Camila said Arthur ordered the car to be sabotaged.""
Daniel's expression darkened.
"And someone wants you to believe she was responsible.""
"Was she?""
He hesitated.
That hesitation frightened me more than any answer.
"Daniel.""
"I don't know.""
The police officers were taking Richard outside. He had stopped resisting, but his expression was almost amused.
As he passed me, he leaned close enough to whisper.
"You still don't understand, do you?""
I stepped away.
"Understand what?""
"Your family has been protecting the same secret for twenty-eight years. You keep mistaking the people who reveal pieces of it for the people who want to save you.""
An officer pulled him forward.
"Keep moving.""
Richard smiled over his shoulder.
"Ask Daniel what happened to your mother after the accident.""
Then he disappeared into the night.
At the hospital, Camila was taken into emergency surgery.
I sat outside the operating room with Daniel, holding the photograph I had found in her coat.
Arthur.
Alejandro.
A garage.
And the words:
*THE ORIGINAL PLAN — APPROVED BY ARTHUR.*
Daniel studied it.
"Where did you get this?""
"Camila dropped it.""
He looked uncomfortable.
"That photograph doesn't prove what you think.""
"Then tell me what it proves.""
He rubbed his forehead.
"Arthur was investigating the financial fraud before Grace died. He met Alejandro several times.""
"Why?""
"Because he suspected Richard had returned.""
I stared at him.
"You're defending Arthur again.""
"No. I'm telling you what I know.""
"You told me not to trust him. Now you're telling me he was investigating Richard?""
Daniel looked toward the operating room.
"People can do terrible things for reasons they believe are good.""
I stood.
"That sounds like something Richard would say.""
Daniel didn't respond.
My phone rang.
Rebecca Collins.
I answered immediately.
"Where are you?""
"At St. Gabriel. Arthur is awake.""
My stomach tightened.
"How bad is he?""
"He's recovering. But Valeria, there's something you need to see.""
"What?""
"Someone accessed Grace's old personnel file. The person used Arthur's credentials.""
I looked at Daniel.
"Did you find anything?""
"Yes. A recorded statement Grace made two days before her death. I recovered it from a backup server.""
"Where are you?""
"Outside Room 512.""
I ended the call.
Daniel stood.
"You're not going alone.""
I looked at him.
"Are you sure I should trust you?""
He didn't answer.
So I walked toward the elevator without him.
Rebecca was waiting outside Room 512 with a tablet.
Her face was pale.
"Arthur is inside," she said.
"He asked to speak with you.""
"Did he know about the recording?""
"Yes.""
"Then why didn't he tell us?""
Rebecca lowered her voice.
"Because the recording names him.""
I looked through the glass.
Arthur lay in bed, his shoulder bandaged. His face was bruised, but his eyes were alert.
I entered.
He looked at me.
"Valeria.""
"Don't.""
He closed his mouth.
I placed the photograph on his blanket.
"Explain.""
Arthur studied it.
Then he shut his eyes.
"I was afraid this day would come.""
"Did you help Alejandro kill Grace?""
"No.""
"Did you order her car to be sabotaged?""
"No.""
"Did you approve the original plan?""
Arthur looked at the photograph again.
"Yes.""
My heart dropped.
"What plan?""
"To move Grace out of the country before Richard found her.""
I stared at him.
"Why would you need to move her?""
"She had discovered the truth about the company. Richard knew she had the original ledger. He wanted it destroyed.""
"And the car?""
Arthur swallowed.
"The car was supposed to be driven to a private airfield. Someone changed the instructions.""
"Who?""
He looked at me.
"Alejandro.""
I shook my head.
"That's convenient.""
"I know how it sounds.""
"You were her father. You arranged her disappearance.""
Arthur's eyes filled with tears.
"I was trying to save her.""
I wanted to believe him.
But I had believed him before.
And Grace was dead.
Rebecca stepped forward.
"Play the recording.""
Arthur shook his head.
"Not here.""
"Why?"" I asked.
"Because the recording contains something that will change everything.""
Rebecca connected the tablet to the hospital television.
A video appeared.
Grace sat at a desk, wearing the same dark blue jacket she had worn in the photograph with Camila.
She looked exhausted.
"If this recording is being watched, it means I failed.""
She took a breath.
"Arthur thinks he can protect me. Daniel thinks he can protect Valeria. But neither of them understands that Richard has already won.""
She leaned toward the camera.
"The original trust was never created to give Valeria the land. It was created to protect something buried beneath it.""
I frowned.
"What?""
Grace continued.
"Twenty-seven years ago, Richard used the property to conceal the proceeds of a criminal transaction. Elena discovered it. She demanded that the land be transferred out of his control.""
She held up a document.
"The deed is not the treasure. It's the evidence.""
Arthur whispered, "Grace...""
The recording continued.
"Richard needed someone with a clean identity to hold the property. He chose Valeria because she was his daughter, but he couldn't publicly acknowledge her.""
I looked at Daniel.
He stood in the doorway, pale.
Grace's voice became quieter.
"And there's another person who knows where the evidence is hidden.""
She looked directly into the camera.
"Sebastian.""
The video ended.
I turned to Arthur.
"Where is he?""
Arthur looked away.
"He's been released.""
"Released?""
"His lawyer secured bail.""
Rebecca checked her phone.
"His last known location is the old Bennett estate.""
I picked up my bag.
Arthur reached for my hand.
"Valeria, wait.""
I looked down at him.
"What?""
He struggled to speak.
"Grace didn't trust me because I had already betrayed her once.""
My throat tightened.
"What did you do?""
Arthur's eyes filled.
"I told Richard where she was hiding.""
The room went silent.
"Why?""
"Because he threatened you.""
I stepped backward.
Arthur began crying.
"I thought I could negotiate. I thought I could get her out safely.""
I looked at the man who had introduced himself to me as a protector.
"Did she know?""
He nodded.
"She found out.""
My voice broke.
"Then she died knowing her own father had betrayed her.""
Arthur covered his face.
I walked out.
In the corridor, Daniel was waiting.
"Where are you going?""
"To find Sebastian.""
He followed me.
"Valeria, there's something else you need to know.""
I stopped.
He looked toward the hospital entrance.
"Richard wasn't the only person who disappeared twelve years ago.""
I frowned.
"What do you mean?""
Daniel took a folded document from his jacket.
It was an old birth certificate.
My name.
My mother's name.
And beneath the father's details was a handwritten amendment.
I read it twice.
Then I looked at Daniel.
"Who changed this?""
He whispered:
"Your mother did.""
I stared at the final line.
The name had been crossed out.
But underneath it, the original entry was still visible.
*FATHER: RICHARD BENNETT.*
May you like
And beside it, in my mother's handwriting:
*DO NOT LET HIM TAKE HER.*
