Chapter 4
For the first time since I had met him, Adrian Cross looked like a man who couldn't trust his own memories.
He sat at my small kitchen table, holding Elena's final voicemail in both hands.
"She was alive when Vivian found her," he whispered.
I sat opposite him.
"Yes."
He pressed his fingers against his eyes.
"I spoke to Elena that evening. She told me she was running late."
"Did she say why?"
"No."
He swallowed.
"She wanted me to come home. I told her I had a meeting."
I waited.
"I remember being irritated. I told her we'd talk in the morning."
His voice broke.
"There wasn't a morning."
I wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault.
But the truth was more complicated.
Someone had harmed Elena.
Someone had hurt Lily.
And Adrian had allowed that person into his home because he had refused to see what was happening around him.
He needed compassion.
But he also needed honesty.
"Adrian, you can't change the last conversation you had with Elena."
He looked at me.
"But you can decide what kind of father Lily has tomorrow."
He lowered his head.
For a long time, he said nothing.
Then he stood.
"Let's find that locker."
The next morning, Detective Price arranged for us to meet him at a branch of Harbor Federal Credit Union in Brooklyn.
The number on Elena's key matched a private document locker.
Locker 317.
It had been rented under Elena's maiden name.
The bank manager verified the estate authorization and arranged access under police supervision.
When the metal door opened, I felt my pulse hammering in my throat.
Inside were three items.
A sealed envelope.
A small external hard drive.
And a photograph.
I recognized the photograph immediately.
It showed Elena, Vivian, and another woman standing outside a charity gala.
Elena was smiling.
Vivian had an arm around her shoulder.
The third woman wore a dark green dress and held a champagne glass.
Adrian leaned closer.
"That's Camille."
"Who?"
"Camille Morgan. She was Elena's financial consultant."
I stared at the picture.
Camille had also been the woman who helped Vivian organize the memorial service after Elena's death.
I remembered her.
She had cried louder than anyone.
Detective Price placed the items into evidence bags after documenting them.
He let us read the letter before sealing it.
The handwriting was Elena's.
Adrian recognized it instantly.
"My darling Adrian,
If you're reading this, something has gone terribly wrong.
I need you to know that I never stopped loving you.
But I discovered that Vivian and Camille have been moving money from the Cross Children's Foundation into companies that don't exist.
When I confronted Camille, she said Vivian had been planning something much bigger.
Someone changed the beneficiary information on an insurance policy in your name.
I don't understand how far this goes.
Please protect Lily.
And please don't let Vivian convince you that I was imagining things.
There is another recording on the drive.
I love you.
Elena."
Adrian stopped reading.
His shoulders shook.
I looked away.
Grief deserved privacy.
Even when it came three years too late.
Detective Price took the letter.
"We'll have the document authenticated and examine the drive."
Adrian nodded.
"Do whatever you need."
The detective looked at him.
"Mr. Cross, you also need to understand something. If this involves insurance fraud and a suspicious death, we're going to examine everyone connected to the original investigation."
"Including me?"
"Including you."
Adrian didn't hesitate.
"Good."
That afternoon, I returned to the secure apartment to find Lily sitting at the dining table.
Daniel's sister, Grace, had been watching her.
Lily held a sheet of paper covered in colorful circles.
"Maya!"
She ran toward me.
I lifted her carefully.
"What's this?"
"My family."
She pointed.
A small girl.
A tall man.
And a woman with long dark curls.
I assumed she had drawn me.
Then she pointed again.
"That's Mommy Elena."
My heart tightened.
"She's beautiful."
Lily nodded.
"She sings."
I sat beside her.
"Do you remember her singing?"
She considered the question.
"Sometimes I dream it."
I brushed the hair away from her face.
"That's a lovely dream."
She leaned closer.
"Vivi doesn't like my dreams."
"Why not?"
"She says Mommy Elena was bad."
I kept my voice steady.
"Your mommy loved you very much."
Lily stared at the drawing.
"Did she leave because I cried?"
I had to look away.
"No, sweetheart."
"Vivi says she got tired of me."
I put my arms around her.
"Your mommy never got tired of loving you."
Lily rested against my chest.
After a moment, she whispered, "Then why doesn't Daddy sing?"
I didn't know what to say.
That evening, Adrian came home carrying a small wooden box.
Inside were Elena's photographs, a baby bracelet, and an old blue blanket.
He had retrieved them from storage.
Vivian had told him Lily would be healthier without constant reminders of her mother.
He had believed her.
Now he sat beside his daughter and opened the box.
"Lily, I want to show you something."
She climbed into his lap.
He lifted a photograph of Elena holding her on a hospital bed.
"This is Mommy Elena on the day you were born."
Lily touched the photograph.
"She looks happy."
"She was."
"Why?"
Adrian kissed her forehead.
"Because she finally got to meet you."
Lily was quiet.
Then she looked at him.
"Was I good?"
Adrian's face crumpled.
"Oh, baby. You were wonderful."
She wrapped her arms around his neck.
And Adrian began to cry.
I moved toward the hallway.
But Lily reached for me.
"Maya, stay."
So I stayed.
The three of us sat together until Lily fell asleep.
For one brief moment, the world felt almost gentle.
Then Adrian's phone rang.
Detective Price.
He answered.
His expression changed immediately.
"What do you mean she wasn't alone?"
I stood.
Adrian looked at me.
The detective had recovered an audio file from Elena's drive.
It contained a conversation recorded two days before her death.
And the person discussing how to make Elena's car crash look accidental wasn't Vivian.
May you like
It was Adrian's own younger brother.
Grant Cross.
