Chapter 5 - The Man Clara Thought Was Dead Knew Why Adrian's Brother Was MurderedThe hospital was abandoned.
That was the first thing Adrian noticed.
The second was that the photograph was old.
Eight months old.
Someone had staged it.
The real Daniel Hayes was somewhere else.
Clara stood beside Adrian in the empty corridor.
“What now?”
“We find him.”
“How?”
He looked toward the building's records office.
“Your father used this hospital.”
“When?”
“Fourteen years ago.”
Clara stared.
“You knew that?”
“I know more than I should.”
“That's becoming a habit.”
They searched the archives.
At midnight, they found a patient file.
Daniel Hayes.
Admitted under an alias.
Treated for a gunshot wound.
Discharged three days later.
Signature:
Victor Moretti.
Clara's heart pounded.
“Your uncle saved him.”
“Or captured him.”
A voice came from behind them.
“Neither.”
They turned.
An old man stood in the doorway.
Gray hair.
Hollow cheeks.
Clara knew him immediately.
“Dad?”
Daniel Hayes looked at his daughter.
Neither moved.
Then Clara ran.
She crashed into him.
He held her like a man who had been waiting twelve years.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To keep you alive.”
She pulled away.
“You let me bury you.”
“I know.”
“You let Mom die believing you were dead.”
His face collapsed.
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice.”
Adrian remained silent.
Daniel looked at him.
“You're Adrian.”
“Yes.”
“Your father was a liar.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“I know.”
“Your uncle is worse.”
“I know.”
Daniel looked at Clara.
“You should never have been brought into this.”
“She wasn't.”
Adrian spoke.
“She found it herself.”
Daniel studied him.
“You love her.”
Clara stiffened.
Adrian didn't answer.
Daniel smiled sadly.
“That is unfortunate.”
“Why?”
“Because love is exactly what they use against you.”
Daniel explained everything.
Fourteen years earlier, he had discovered money being moved through the Marlowe.
He traced the payments to Halden.
Halden had ties to Victor Moretti.
Tobias discovered the same thing.
They worked together secretly.
Then someone learned about them.
Tobias was killed.
Victor blamed Daniel.
Daniel staged his death.
He disappeared.
Adrian had spent years believing Tobias had been killed by a rival gang.
Instead, the killer had been inside his own family.
“Who?”
Adrian demanded.
Daniel looked at him.
“Your father ordered the operation.”
Adrian stepped back.
“My father?”
“He believed Tobias was going to expose him.”
Adrian's face went empty.
“And Victor?”
“Victor organized it.”
Clara looked at her father.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because if you knew, you became a target.”
“I was already a target.”
“Yes.”
He looked at Adrian.
“Because he found you.”
Clara frowned.
“What?”
Daniel reached into his coat.
He removed a file.
Inside was a birth certificate.
Clara read it.
Her father's name.
Her mother's name.
Then another name appeared under guardian.
Victor Moretti.
She stared.
“What does this mean?”
Adrian looked over her shoulder.
His expression changed.
“Your mother was Victor's sister.”
Clara's hands went numb.
She looked at Daniel.
“I'm a Moretti?”
“Yes.”
Adrian stared at her.
The room seemed to lose oxygen.
Clara stepped away.
“You knew.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I found out after your mother died.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because the Moretti family would have used you.”
Adrian's voice was quiet.
“Which makes you the hidden heir.”
Clara stared at him.
“No.”
“The original family trust was written to include your mother's children.”
Clara shook her head.
“I don't want any of this.”
Daniel sighed.
“That doesn't matter.”
“Why?”
“Because they know now.”
The lights went out.
A gunshot shattered the corridor.
Daniel collapsed.
“Dad!”
Clara screamed.
Adrian caught her.
Marco rushed in.
Security returned fire.
The shooter disappeared.
Daniel was alive.
Barely.
As paramedics arrived, Adrian stayed beside Clara.
She was shaking.
He reached for her hand.
This time, she let him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“What for?”
“For bringing you into this.”
“You didn't.”
“I found you.”
“You found me because your family killed my father.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
She squeezed his hand.
“And because of that, maybe we finally get to stop them.”
He looked at her.
“You're not afraid?”
“I am.”
She swallowed.
“But I'm more afraid of spending my whole life running from them.”
May you like
Adrian nodded.
“Then we don't run.”
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