Chapter 3 - The Letter My Dead Father Left Behind
Claire had not died.
That was what Luca needed to believe.
Everything else could wait.
He replayed the recording until midnight.
Every word.
Every expression.
Every movement.
He watched Vivienne tell Claire that Luca didn't know.
Who your father really was.
But which father?
Luca's?
Claire's?
The possibility made no sense.
Claire's father, Patrick Donovan, was a retired electrician.
A quiet man from Worcester.
He had no connection to the Ferraro family.
At least none Luca knew about.
Yet Claire had somehow become involved in something that had begun before she and Luca were even born.
At 2:18 in the morning, investigators recovered Claire's phone.
It had been found in a drain several streets from the train station.
Luca watched the forensic technician open the device.
Most data was deleted.
One message remained.
From an unknown number.
You don't know the whole story.
Another message.
Ask your father what happened in 1998.
Luca stared at the screen.
Claire's father.
Patrick Donovan.
The next morning, Luca drove to Worcester with Nora.
They found Patrick sitting in his garage repairing an old electrical panel.
He looked up when Luca walked in.
“What happened?”
Luca said nothing.
Patrick saw his face.
“Claire?”
“She's missing.”
Patrick dropped the screwdriver.
“What?”
“Vivienne Russo is dead.”
Patrick became completely still.
Then he said something that made Luca's blood go cold.
“I knew this day would come.”
Nora looked at him.
“What day?”
Patrick closed the garage door.
“Come inside.”
They followed him into the house.
Patrick led them to a small study filled with old photographs and books.
He opened a locked cabinet.
Inside was a metal box.
He took out a photograph.
It showed four men standing near a harbor.
One was Luca's father.
One was Patrick.
One was a younger Teresa.
And one was Vivienne's father.
Luca stared.
“My father knew yours.”
Patrick nodded.
“They were partners.”
“In what?”
Patrick sat down.
“Shipping.”
“I thought you were an electrician.”
“I was.”
“Then why?”
Patrick rubbed his face.
“Because when I was thirty-one, I helped your father solve a problem.”
“What problem?”
“A missing container.”
Luca waited.
Patrick continued.
“There was supposed to be electronics inside.”
“There wasn't?”
“No.”
“What was inside?”
Patrick looked at him.
“People.”
Silence.
Nora's face drained.
“People?”
“Undocumented workers. Men and women who had been promised jobs and transported illegally.”
Luca's hands curled into fists.
“My father was involved in human trafficking?”
Patrick shook his head.
“He was involved in one shipment. That's all I know.”
“One shipment?”
“That's what he told me.”
“But you don't believe him.”
“No.”
Patrick opened the metal box.
Inside were newspaper clippings.
Court records.
Photographs.
And a letter.
Luca recognized the handwriting.
His father's.
The letter was dated 1998.
Patrick read aloud.
“If anyone asks about the final shipment, tell them it never existed.”
Luca stared.
“What happened?”
Patrick's voice broke.
“Five people disappeared.”
“Five?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Three men. One woman. One little girl.”
Nora whispered, “A child?”
Patrick nodded.
“The little girl was maybe six.”
Luca looked at the photograph.
“Who found out?”
“Vivienne's father.”
“What did he do?”
“He threatened to expose everyone.”
“And my father paid him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because one of the people on that shipment had a name.”
“What name?”
Patrick looked at him.
“Donovan.”
Luca's heart stopped.
“My family?”
“No.”
Patrick looked toward the stairs.
“Claire.”
Luca could barely speak.
“What?”
“Claire's mother was one of the people involved.”
“That's impossible.”
“Her name was Elise Donovan.”
Patrick pulled another photograph from the box.
A young woman stood beside a cargo truck.
Luca had seen that face before.
In Claire's childhood photographs.
Her mother.
Patrick continued.
“She was not a trafficked passenger.”
“She was an investigator.”
“What?”
“She had infiltrated the operation.”
Luca sat down.
His mind raced.
“Why didn't Claire know?”
“Because her mother disappeared when Claire was little.”
“What happened to her?”
Patrick swallowed.
“She died.”
“How?”
“Your father said it was an accident.”
Luca stared at him.
“You don't believe that.”
“No.”
“Then what do you believe?”
Patrick looked toward the metal box.
“I believe Elise got too close to the truth.”
A car pulled up outside.
Everyone turned.
Patrick's face changed.
“Someone followed you.”
Luca stood immediately.
The front door rattled.
Then stopped.
Nora looked at him.
“What do we do?”
Patrick whispered,
“There is a tunnel behind the basement wall.”
Luca stared.
“A tunnel?”
“Old properties around here have them.”
“Where does it lead?”
“Three houses away.”
They moved quickly.
Minutes later, the front door burst open.
Luca's security team confronted two men.
The men fled before police arrived.
One left behind a black phone.
On it was a message.
Find the girl before Ferraro does.
Luca stared at the screen.
“What girl?”
Patrick answered.
“The child from the shipment.”
Silence.
“She's alive?”
Patrick looked at him.
“I don't know.”
Then he opened another file.
A recent photograph.
Claire.
Standing beside a little girl.
The child looked about six.
Luca recognized her face.
He had seen her before.
At the Ferraro estate.
During Claire's charity visits.
“She works at the children's shelter,” Nora whispered.
Patrick nodded.
“Claire found her.”
Luca felt the pieces collide.
Claire had discovered her mother's secret.
She had been investigating the shipment.
She had found the missing child.
Vivienne knew.
His father had known.
And someone wanted the girl dead.
Luca's phone rang.
Claire's number.
He answered immediately.
“Claire?”
No response.
Then a recording began.
Her voice.
Calm.
Controlled.
“Luca, if you hear this, please don't trust anyone at the estate.”
He closed his eyes.
“I'm sorry.”
Her breathing shook.
“I should have told you.”
A pause.
“But I was trying to protect you.”
Luca's eyes filled.
“Where are you?”
“I don't know how much time I have.”
Then Claire whispered:
“The girl is your sister.”
The call ended.
Luca dropped the phone.
Nora stared at him.
“What did she say?”
He looked at her.
May you like
His voice barely worked.
“She said the girl is my sister.”
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