Adrian stopped the video.

Then played the last sentence again.

—Claire… promise me that, when I die, you will tell her the truth about her father.

His hand froze on the mouse.

Her father?

Claire’s father had died when she was nine.

At least, that was what everyone had always said.

Adrian turned toward the lawyer.

—What truth?

The lawyer remained expressionless.

—Mrs. Cole instructed me not to explain anything beyond what is contained on the USB.

Adrian opened the next file.

There was another recording.

This one had been filmed two days before his mother’s death.

She looked much weaker.

Claire sat beside the hospital bed.

The old woman whispered:

—I should have told you years ago.

Claire’s voice came quietly.

—Told me what?

Adrian leaned closer to the screen.

His mother’s next words made his blood run cold.

—Your father did not die in that accident.

Claire went completely still.

—What?

—He survived.

A long silence followed.

Then Claire asked:

—Where is he?

His mother began crying.

—I don’t know anymore.

Adrian’s fingers tightened.

On screen, Claire slowly stood.

—What do you mean, you don’t know?

His mother closed her eyes.

—Because the Cole family paid him to disappear.

Adrian stopped breathing.

Claire didn’t speak.

Neither did the lawyer standing behind him.

The recording continued.

—Your father discovered something about Adrian’s father many years ago.

—Something dangerous.

—He threatened to expose it.

—So my husband gave him money and forced him to leave the country.

Claire’s voice trembled.

—And everyone told me he was dead?

The old woman nodded.

Adrian stepped back from the computer.

—No.

He shook his head.

—That’s impossible.

The lawyer finally spoke.

—There are documents attached.

Adrian looked at the screen.

A folder.

TURNER CASE — CONFIDENTIAL.

Claire’s maiden name.

Turner.

He opened it.

Bank transfers.

Passport copies.

A nondisclosure agreement.

Then one photograph.

Claire’s father standing beside Adrian’s father outside a warehouse.

On the back, a date.

Twenty-two years earlier.

Adrian stared at it.

Then found another file.

An old police report.

A warehouse fire.

One employee listed as missing.

One listed as deceased.

But the name of the deceased employee had been crossed out and replaced.

Adrian’s face turned white.

—What the hell did my father do?

The lawyer did not answer.

Instead, he pointed at the bottom of the USB folder.

There was one final video.

Adrian clicked it.

This time, Claire was alone.

She was sitting in the same hospital hallway where his mother had died.

Her eyes were swollen from crying.

But her voice was calm.

Too calm.

—Adrian.

He leaned toward the screen.

—If you’re watching this, then your mother is gone.

She paused.

—I don’t blame her.

—She spent twenty years afraid of your father.

Adrian’s jaw tightened.

Claire continued:

—But I do blame you for one thing.

His breathing became shallow.

—While your mother was dying, I spent three days calling you because she wanted to see her son one last time.

Claire looked directly into the camera.

—You never came.

Adrian closed his eyes.

Her voice continued.

—And during those same three days, she gave me everything.

—Names.

—Accounts.

—Dates.

—People your father paid.

Adrian opened his eyes sharply.

Claire held up a thick brown envelope.

—Including the name of the person who knows where my father is.

The video ended.

Black screen.

Adrian stared at his own reflection.

—Where is she?

The lawyer answered quietly:

—I truly don’t know.

Adrian turned.

—But she knows where her father is.

—Possibly.

—And you helped her leave.

The lawyer’s gaze became cold.

—Your wife buried your mother alone.

—She didn’t need help leaving you.

That sentence landed harder than anything else.

Adrian grabbed his phone and called Claire.

Disconnected.

Again.

Nothing.

He called the airport.

No information.

Then his assistant.

—Find every flight Claire booked in the last seventy-two hours.

—Mr. Cole, I—

—Do it!

The lawyer closed his briefcase.

Before leaving, he stopped at the door.

—There is one more thing.

Adrian turned.

—What?

The lawyer looked toward the USB.

—Mrs. Cole told me that if Claire disappeared after the funeral, I should tell you this.

Adrian’s face tightened.

—Tell me what?

The lawyer spoke slowly.

—Your father already knows Claire has the evidence.

Silence.

Adrian’s eyes changed.

—My father is in Switzerland.

The lawyer shook his head.

—Not anymore.

Adrian’s phone suddenly vibrated.

Unknown number.

A photograph appeared.

Claire.

Standing outside an unfamiliar house.

Behind her was an older man.

Thin.

Gray-haired.

But Adrian recognized his face immediately from the photograph on the USB.

Claire’s father.

Alive.

Beneath the image was a single message:

Tell your father that the dead man has finally come back.