Chapter 3: The Photograph That Shouldn't Exist
For almost a minute, I couldn't move.
My phone rested in my palm.
The photograph showed my father, Daniel Hayes, standing outside a courthouse. His hair was darker than I remembered, and he looked thinner than in the photograph on Mom's dresser.
But it was him.
I knew the shape of his smile.
I knew the small scar above his left eyebrow.
I had seen that face in my dreams for twenty-five years.
"Who sent this?"" I whispered.
Mom looked at the screen.
Her lips trembled.
"Where did you get that?""
"Someone texted it to me.""
She took the phone and enlarged the image.
Then she covered her mouth.
"Oh, Daniel.""
I leaned forward.
"Mom, you said he died when I was four.""
"I know.""
"You said there was an accident.""
"I know what I told you.""
"Then explain this!""
Mom lowered the phone.
"I thought they had killed him.""
"Who?""
She looked toward the window.
"Richard Cole.""
I stood so abruptly that the chair scraped against the floor.
"Brandon's father?""
Mom nodded.
I shook my head.
"No. That doesn't make sense.""
"Your father worked for a company that Richard owned.""
"What company?""
"Westbridge Development.""
The name sounded familiar.
I'd heard Brandon mention it during our relationship. His father had built the company from a small construction business into a regional development corporation.
Brandon occasionally joked that his family had been rich before he was born.
But I'd never connected that company to my father.
Mom continued.
"Daniel was an accountant. He discovered that Richard was moving money through fake construction contracts. Millions of dollars were disappearing.""
I sat down again.
"Why didn't Dad report him?""
"He did.""
"And?""
"Richard found out.""
Mom's fingers trembled against the blanket.
"Your father came home one night and told me we had to leave. He said he had copied documents that could send several powerful people to prison.""
"What happened?""
"Two days later, he disappeared.""
I stared at her.
"You said he died.""
"Because a police officer came to our house and told me they'd found his car near the coast. They said there had been an accident. They showed me a damaged vehicle and a report with his name.""
"Was there a body?""
Mom shook her head.
"No.""
I felt nauseated.
"You never told me that.""
"I was twenty-nine, Naomi. I had a little girl, no money, and a man who had just vanished after accusing a wealthy businessman of corruption.""
She wiped her cheeks.
"Three days after your father's disappearance, someone broke into our house. They searched his office. They took his computer, his papers, and even the old family photographs.""
"Who?""
"I never saw their faces.""
She paused.
"But they left a message.""
I leaned closer.
"What message?""
Mom's eyes met mine.
"If you want your daughter to grow up, stop asking about Daniel.""
The room fell silent.
I felt my stomach twist.
"Why didn't you go to the police?""
"I did. The first officer who took my statement was the same man who had brought me the report about your father's accident.""
She gave a bitter laugh.
"He told me grief was making me paranoid.""
I looked at the envelope.
"What's inside?""
Mom stared at it for a long moment.
"Evidence.""
"Evidence of what?""
"Your father left something behind. Something he knew Richard would eventually try to find.""
"Why did you keep it for so long?""
"Because I promised him I would only give it to you when you were old enough to understand the danger.""
I swallowed.
"And you think I'm ready now?""
"No.""
She squeezed my hand.
"But I think the danger has found you anyway.""
I looked at the sealed envelope.
"Then open it.""
Mom hesitated.
"Once I open it, there's no going back.""
"There hasn't been any going back since someone shoved you into that wall.""
She closed her eyes.
Then she carefully broke the seal.
Inside were three things.
A handwritten letter.
A small brass key.
And a photograph.
Mom picked up the photograph first.
It showed two men standing beside a black sedan.
One was my father.
The other was a much younger Richard Cole.
Both were smiling.
On the back, Dad had written a date.
October 14, 1996.
I turned it over again.
"Why were they together?""
Mom touched the photograph.
"Because they were business partners before they became enemies.""
I unfolded the letter.
The handwriting was unmistakably my father's.
My dearest Naomi,
If your mother has finally given you this letter, it means the people I feared have come looking for what I left behind.
I need you to understand that I never abandoned you.
I never chose money over my family.
And I never died in an accident.
My hands began shaking.
I continued reading.
Richard Cole knows about the account. He knows about the documents. But he doesn't know where I hid the original ledger.
The truth is in a place he will never think to look.
Your mother knows the first part. She has protected it for years.
The second part belongs to you.
Then came the final paragraph.
If you ever meet a man named Brandon Cole, do not trust him simply because he says he loves you.
I stopped reading.
The room seemed to tilt.
I read the sentence again.
Then again.
Brandon Cole.
My fiancé.
My mother's face crumpled.
"I wanted to tell you.""
I looked at her.
"Why didn't you?""
"Because I thought his family had stopped looking.""
I held up the letter.
"Did Dad know Brandon?""
"Brandon was a little boy when your father disappeared. I don't know whether Daniel ever met him.""
"Then why would he write his name?""
Mom shook her head.
"I don't know.""
I turned the page.
There was another line written at the bottom, almost as if my father had added it later.
If Brandon has found you, the first betrayal has already happened.
I couldn't breathe.
My phone rang.
Brandon's name appeared on the screen.
I declined the call.
It rang again.
Then a message appeared.
*Please don't let your mother fill your head with lies.*
I stared at it.
A second message followed.
*Your father was a criminal, Naomi. Everything your mother told you is a fantasy.*
My fingers went numb.
I showed Mom.
She looked away.
"How does he know what we're discussing?""
I hadn't thought of that.
I looked at the door.
Then at the ceiling.
Then at the small visitor chair where Brandon had been sitting.
"Did he hear us?""
Mom shook her head.
"I don't think so.""
My phone vibrated again.
This time, it was a photograph.
A picture of the hospital parking lot.
Taken from across the street.
My car was visible in the lower corner.
Underneath it was a message.
*Come home alone. We need to finish this before the wedding.*
I immediately locked my phone.
"Mom, we're leaving.""
She started to sit up.
"Naomi, wait.""
"No. We're not staying here.""
A nurse entered to check Mom's discharge instructions. I asked her to contact hospital security because someone had been photographing our car and sending threatening messages.
Within minutes, a security officer came to the room.
He took my statement and advised us not to leave through the main entrance until they checked the parking area.
While we waited, Mom reached into the envelope again.
She removed the small brass key.
There was a tiny number engraved on it.
*417.*
"What's this?"" I asked.
Mom looked at it.
"Your father gave it to me the night before he disappeared.""
"What does it open?""
She swallowed.
"A safe-deposit box.""
"Where?""
"First National Bank. Downtown San Jose.""
"Is it still there?""
"I don't know. Your father told me that if anything happened to him, I should never go there unless I had no other choice.""
I looked at the letter again.
The truth was waiting somewhere behind that key.
And Brandon knew enough about it to be afraid.
A security officer returned.
"Miss Hayes, your vehicle appears to be clear. But there's someone downstairs asking for your mother.""
I frowned.
"Who?""
He checked his tablet.
"He says his name is Daniel Hayes.""
Mom dropped the brass key.
It struck the floor with a sharp metallic sound.
Her face went completely white.
I grabbed her hand.
"That's impossible.""
The officer looked between us.
"Do you know him?""
Mom began crying.
Then, in a voice so quiet I almost missed it, she said:
"Naomi, your father is alive.""
And before I could ask another question, the officer added:
"There's something else. The man downstairs brought a photograph of your fiancé.""
May you like
He hesitated.
"Your fiancé is standing beside him.""
