CHAPTER 2: THE NAME BURIED FOR TWENTY-TWO YEARS
Thirty minutes later, Emma was in a private library on the second floor of the hotel.
The room smelled of old leather, waxed wood, and expensive flowers.
Rain hit the large windows overlooking Michigan Avenue.
Vincent was standing by the fireplace.
Isabella was sitting in her wheelchair, holding a cup of tea that she hadn’t touched.
Emma wanted to leave.
His sister no longer responded to his messages.
His father was scared.
And, somehow, she had become embroiled in a conversation with people whose wealth and influence belonged to a whole other world.
“How do you know my parents?” asked Emma at last.
Isabella looked down.
“Your father worked for our family.”
Emma frowned.
“He was an engineer.”
“Yes.”
“In Gary’s old factory.”
Isabella acquiesça.
Vincent turned abruptly.
“The factory that burned down?”
Emma looked at him.
“Do you know what happened there?”
“Eleven employees died twenty-two years ago.”
Emma lowered her head.
“My father still has nightmares about it.”
Isabella se mit à pleurer.
Emma watches her.
“Why?”
The old lady had difficulty speaking.
“Because your father tried to save these people.”
Vincent approached.
“Mom, what are you talking about?”
Isabella looked at her son.
“The official investigation was false.”
A heavy silence invades the room.
Vincent’s face hardens.
“What?”
“The fire was not caused by a breakdown.”
Emma felt a shiver run down her spine.
For years, his father had told him that the factory had suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure.
He had described the smoke to her.
Alarms.
The collapse.
But he never spoke of the people who had perished.
“What caused the fire?” whispered Emma.
Isabella closed her eyes.
“Someone has ordered it.”
Vincent stared at her.
“Who?”
Isabella glanced at the door.
Then she whispered a name.
« Jonathan Sterling. »
Emma recognized the name immediately.
Victoria’s father.
One of Chicago’s most powerful businessmen.
Vincent went to the fireplace.
“Jonathan was my father’s partner.”
Isabella nodded.
“He controlled the old industrial division.”
Vincent’s jaw contracted.
“Why would he have burned down his own factory?”
“Because someone had found out what was going on there.”
Emma took a step forward.
“Who?”
Isabella looked her straight in the eye.
“Your mother.”
Emma stops breathing.
Grace Carter had died when Emma was six years old.
At least, that was what Daniel had always told her.
According to him, Grace had lost her life in a car accident.
Emma remembered the funeral.
Of the closed coffin.
Of her little black dress.
The way her father held her close to him while people whispered around them.
“It’s impossible,” Emma says.
Isabella shook her head.
“Grace worked as an auditor under her maiden name.”
Emma frowned.
“My father never told me that.”
“She had discovered fake medical expenses and suspicious financial transfers.”
Vincent stared at his mother.
“Medical expenses?”
Isabella hesitated.
“Private research centres.”
“What kind of research?”
“I don’t know everything.”
Vincent’s voice became firmer.
“Then tell us what you know.”
Isabella regarda Emma.
“Grace had found documents proving that Jonathan was using the industrial company to cover up illegal medical operations.”
Emma felt nauseous.
“What happened to him?”
Isabella’s hands began to tremble.
“She tried to hand over the evidence to the authorities.”
“What’s next?”
“Jonathan discovered his project.”
Emma stared at her.
“He killed her?”
Isabella lowered her head.
“No.”
Emma’s heart seemed to stop.
“What?”
The old lady looked up.
“Your mother survived.”
Emma hesitates backing away.
Vincent held the chair behind her before it fell.
For several seconds, she was unable to speak.
Then his voice was only a whisper.
“My mother is dead.”
Isabella shook her head.
“She was still alive after the fire.”
Emma stared at her.
“After?”
“Yes.”
“How long after?”
Isabella’s eyes filled with tears.
“At least four years.”
Emma felt as if the room was revolving around her.
Four years.
Four years during which she had cried every night believing that her mother had disappeared forever.
Four years during which Daniel had raised her alone.
Four birthdays without Grace.
Christmases without her.
School shows where Emma looked for a face in the audience that never appeared.
“Why didn’t she come home?”
Isabella looked away.
Emma s’approcha.
“Why?”
The old lady’s voice broke.
“Because Jonathan had threatened to kill you.”
Vincent closed his eyes.
Emma put a hand to her mouth.
For a moment she could not breathe.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated again.
This time, the message came from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph.
Daniel Carter was lying in his hospital bed.
Two unknown men stood by his side.
Below it was a single sentence.
STOP ASKING QUESTIONS IF YOU WANT YOUR FATHER TO STAY ALIVE.
Emma let out a cry.
Vincent rushed towards her.
Emma handed him the phone.
