Chapter 5 - The Man Harrison Called FamilyMartin Vale had taught Harrison how to tie a necktie.
Harrison knew because Caroline had written the date beneath the names.
August 2009.
Elena Ruiz.
Sofia Ruiz.
Caroline Bennett.
Harrison stared at Elena.
“Who is Sofia?”
“My sister.”
“You told me your brother was Lucas’s father.”
“He was.”
“You also have a sister.”
“Had.”
The word changed everything.
Harrison looked at the photograph again.
Sofia stood in the middle.
She was sixteen or seventeen, with long black hair and a smile that looked almost reckless.
Caroline had one arm around her.
Elena stood on the other side.
“How did you know Caroline?”
Elena looked toward the twins.
“Not here.”
Harrison sent the boys downstairs with Mrs. Bennett.
Then he closed the bedroom door.
Elena remained beside the window.
“My mother cleaned houses in Westchester.”
Harrison waited.
“One of those houses belonged to Caroline’s parents.”
“The Bennetts.”
“Yes.”
“I thought Caroline grew up with live-in staff.”
“She did.”
Elena smiled faintly.
“My mother was part of that staff.”
Harrison looked at the photograph.
“Caroline never told me.”
“She probably had no reason to.”
“But you were friends.”
“Sofia was.”
“What happened?”
Elena’s shoulders stiffened.
“My sister died when she was seventeen.”
Harrison’s voice softened.
“How?”
“She was hit by a drunk driver.”
“I’m sorry.”
Elena nodded.
“Caroline was with us at the hospital.”
That startled him.
“She never mentioned Sofia.”
“People don’t always talk about the deaths that changed them.”
Harrison understood that too well.
Elena pointed to the photograph.
“After Sofia died, Caroline stayed close to my mother. She paid for part of my nursing coursework. She helped Miguel get his first apartment.”
“You stayed in contact?”
“Occasionally.”
“Until when?”
Elena hesitated.
“Until about two months before she died.”
Harrison’s attention sharpened.
“What happened two months before Caroline died?”
“She called me.”
“Why?”
Elena looked at him.
“She was worried about the boys.”
Harrison went still.
“Worried how?”
“She said Caleb had started having panic attacks.”
“He was four.”
“Children can panic at four.”
“I know that now.”
Elena watched him carefully.
“She asked if I could recommend a therapist who would work privately.”
“Why privately?”
“She didn’t want…”
Elena stopped.
“Finish.”
“She didn’t want you to know.”
Harrison felt cold.
“My wife arranged therapy for our son behind my back?”
“She was considering it.”
“Why?”
“Because every time she mentioned the boys needing more of you, you told her things would calm down after the next deal.”
Harrison looked away.
He remembered arguments.
Caroline standing in his office doorway.
The twins need you.
I’m doing this for them.
They don’t need another trust fund, Harry.
They need Tuesday night.
He had forgotten that sentence.
Or buried it.
“What else did she tell you?”
Elena’s silence frightened him.
“What else?”
“She said something had changed.”
“In Caleb?”
“In the house.”
Harrison frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“She didn’t explain?”
“She said she had started finding things moved.”
“What things?”
“Documents.”
Harrison stared at her.
“She believed someone had been inside your office.”
“My office has biometric security.”
“She knew.”
“Then why would she think—”
“She also said someone had been following her.”
The room seemed to contract.
Harrison remembered the police report.
Caroline’s crash had been ruled an accident.
Rain.
Hydroplaning.
A delivery truck crossing lanes.
No suspicion of foul play.
“What exactly did she say?”
“She called me from a grocery store parking lot.”
Elena’s voice became quieter.
“She said a black sedan had followed her from the twins’ preschool. She drove in circles and it stayed behind her.”
“What did you tell her?”
“To call police.”
“Did she?”
“She said she couldn’t.”
“Why?”
“She thought someone close to your family might be involved.”
Harrison felt anger building.
“And you waited fourteen months to tell me?”
Elena flinched.
“I tried after the accident.”
“What?”
“I called the house.”
“When?”
“Two days after Caroline died.”
Harrison’s mind moved quickly.
His mother had handled household communications.
His attorney had screened calls.
The media had flooded every number connected to him.
“Who answered?”
“A man.”
“Name?”
“He didn’t give one.”
“What did he say?”
“That you were not accepting calls and I should never contact the family again.”
Harrison’s skin prickled.
“What did he sound like?”
“Older. Educated. American.”
“That describes half my executive team.”
“I know.”
“Why come here now?”
Elena looked ashamed.
“I didn’t come here because of Caroline.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“My apartment lease ended. I needed work near St. Matthew’s. Your employment agency listed a live-in housekeeping position.”
“Coincidence.”
“Yes.”
Harrison did not believe in coincidence.
Neither did Elena, judging by her face.
“But when I saw the address…”
“You applied intentionally.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to see the boys.”
The confession softened something in him.
“Caroline loved them more than anything.”
Elena wiped her cheek.
“When I found out what they had become after losing her…”
“They became children in pain.”
“Yes.”
Harrison looked toward Caroline’s vanity.
A strange memory surfaced.
Three weeks before the crash, Caroline had changed the combination on the family safe.
He had teased her.
What are you hiding, Mrs. Cole?
Christmas presents.
It had been July.
At the time, he thought nothing of it.
Now he crossed the room.
The safe was hidden behind a painting.
“What are you doing?”
Harrison entered Caroline’s birthday.
Incorrect.
Their anniversary.
Incorrect.
The twins’ birthday.
Incorrect.
He tried Sofia’s death date from the photo inscription.
The lock clicked.
Elena gasped.
Inside were three folders.
A flash drive.
And a sealed envelope.
Harrison’s name was written across the front.
His hands trembled as he opened it.
There were only two lines.
Harry, if you’re reading this, then something happened before I could prove it.
Do not trust Martin.
Harrison stared at the name.
Elena whispered, “Who is Martin?”
Harrison could barely answer.
May you like
“My godfather.”
And chairman of his company.
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