Chapter 2 - The Secret Maria Had Buried for YearsThe next morning, Robert sat in his study with Maria, Elizabeth and the sleeping boy upstairs.
He couldn't stop looking at the photograph.
Daniel Reyes.
He remembered the name.
Eight years earlier, Daniel had worked in the financial department of Ellington Industries.
He had accused several senior executives of manipulating company accounts.
Then he disappeared.
The board had called him unstable.
Robert had believed them.
Daniel's disappearance had been buried beneath a larger corporate expansion.
Robert had never questioned it.
Now he felt sick.
"Tell me everything."
Maria looked terrified.
"I can't."
"You have to."
"If they know Sam is here, they'll come."
"Who?"
Maria shook her head.
"The same people who killed my son."
Elizabeth stared.
"Killed?"
Maria nodded.
"They said it was an accident."
Robert leaned forward.
"Police?"
"They called it a robbery."
"And you don't believe them."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because Daniel was terrified for weeks before he died."
She pulled a folded piece of paper from her purse.
"He left this with me."
Robert opened it.
Three names.
Daniel had circled one.
WALTER VANE.
Robert recognized him immediately.
Walter Vane was his chief operating officer.
The man who had been with Ellington Industries for twenty-five years.
The man Robert trusted.
The man who had supported him during every difficult period.
Robert's stomach tightened.
"Why is Vane on this list?"
Maria whispered:
"Daniel believed Walter was stealing from the company."
Robert stared.
That was impossible.
Yet something inside him remembered every strange discrepancy he'd ignored.
Every missing report.
Every rushed acquisition.
Every time Walter had said:
"Don't worry, Robert. I've handled it."
Robert stood.
"I'll investigate."
Maria grabbed his arm.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because that's what killed Daniel."
Elizabeth looked at Robert.
"She's right."
Robert sat down.
For the first time in twenty years, he felt afraid of his own company.
That afternoon, Sam woke.
He wandered into the study wearing an oversized sweater.
"Mr. Ellington?"
Robert smiled.
"Call me Robert."
Sam nodded.
"Robert."
"How do you feel?"
"Better."
"Hungry?"
Sam nodded.
They went to the kitchen.
Robert watched him eat pancakes.
Afterward, Sam asked:
"Do I have to leave today?"
Robert hesitated.
"What do you mean?"
"I can go."
"Where?"
Sam shrugged.
"Anywhere."
Robert looked at Elizabeth.
She nodded.
"You're staying tonight."
Sam blinked.
"What about tomorrow?"
"We'll figure out tomorrow."
That evening, Robert bought clothing for him.
Sam stood awkwardly in the guest bedroom.
He looked at the new shoes.
"I don't need all this."
"I know."
"Then why?"
Robert smiled.
"Because sometimes people give you things because they want to."
Sam studied him.
"Why do you want to?"
Robert's throat tightened.
"I don't know yet."
Sam nodded.
That night, Robert sat alone in his office.
He researched Daniel Reyes.
The more he found, the worse it became.
Daniel had not merely accused Walter Vane of fraud.
He had discovered a secret account.
Money had been moved through a subsidiary called Northstar Holdings.
Millions.
Robert pulled up the transaction history.
One destination appeared repeatedly.
A private foundation.
The Ellington Family Foundation.
Robert stared.
Someone had been laundering money through his own charitable foundation.
Then he found another name.
Elizabeth Ellington.
Authorized beneficiary.
His wife.
Robert's hands went cold.
He rushed upstairs.
Elizabeth was reading.
"Did you authorize payments through Northstar?"
She looked confused.
"No."
"Someone used your name."
Her face changed.
"Robert..."
He sat beside her.
"Tell me everything."
Elizabeth closed the book.
"I knew Daniel."
Robert stared.
"What?"
"He came to me once."
"When?"
"Before he disappeared."
"What did he say?"
"He told me your company had been compromised."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was afraid."
"Of what?"
Elizabeth looked away.
"Of the people he said were behind it."
Robert's heart broke.
"You should have told me."
"I thought I was protecting you."
They stared at each other.
Then Sam appeared in the doorway.
"Why are you fighting?"
Robert immediately softened.
"We aren't."
Sam looked at Elizabeth.
"Are you sick?"
She nodded.
"Sometimes."
"Does it hurt?"
"Sometimes."
Sam thought.
Then walked over and took her hand.
"My grandma says people can be sick and still be strong."
Elizabeth smiled.
"Your grandma is right."
Sam looked at Robert.
"Is my dad strong?"
Robert swallowed.
"He was."
Sam nodded.
"I remember him."
Robert sat down.
"What do you remember?"
"His voice."
"What did he say?"
Sam stared at the floor.
"He told me not to trust men in expensive suits."
Robert almost laughed.
Then stopped.
Because his eyes went to the window.
A black SUV was parked outside the gate.
Watching.
Robert stood.
"Sam, go upstairs."
"Why?"
"Now."
The security alarm sounded.
Marcus, Robert's head of security, rushed in.
"Sir."
"What?"
"We have a problem."
"What?"
"Someone breached the east gate."
Robert looked toward Sam.
Then toward the garden.
The same place where he had found the boy.
The place was no longer simply a garden.
It was now evidence.
Someone had known Sam would come there.
Someone had expected Robert to find him.
That realization chilled him.
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Because it meant the boy had not accidentally wandered onto his property.
He had been sent there.
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