Chapter 6 - THE FATHER WHO CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD
Casey Vane had buried his father twelve years earlier.
He remembered the funeral.
The black umbrellas.
The cold rain.
The heavy wooden coffin.
He remembered standing beside his younger brother while men from every major criminal organization in Chicago offered their condolences.
Anthony Vane had been feared.
Respected.
And hated.
Now Clara Hayes was holding a letter claiming he was alive.
Casey stared at Nora's handwriting.
"That's impossible."
Clara looked exhausted.
"I know."
"My father died of a heart attack."
"That's what I was told about Isabella."
Casey went silent.
She had a point.
Nora's letter continued.
Anthony Vane discovered that Northbridge Biomedical had been using false identities and unauthorized financial arrangements connected to vulnerable patients.
He claimed he wanted to stop it.
But when Isabella threatened to expose the people involved, he helped conceal her disappearance.
Casey's jaw tightened.
"Why?"
Clara kept reading.
Because the company held evidence of crimes committed by several powerful men, including members of his own organization.
Anthony chose secrecy over his daughter's freedom.
Casey closed his eyes.
For years, he'd believed his father was a ruthless man who nevertheless loved his family.
Now he was confronting the possibility that Anthony had helped destroy Isabella's life.
Clara looked toward him.
"I'm sorry."
He shook his head.
"Don't apologize for the truth."
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Casey asked, "Does the letter say where he is?"
Clara scanned the final page.
A location appeared.
A private retirement property near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
Casey recognized the name.
Blackstone House.
His father had once used it for private business meetings.
But the property was supposedly sold years ago.
He contacted his attorney.
Public records revealed the estate was still owned by a company connected to the Vane family.
Electricity bills remained active.
Security services were paid monthly.
And medical staff visited regularly.
Casey felt sick.
His father might have been alive the entire time.
Watching.
Listening.
Allowing his children to mourn him.
Clara looked at him.
"What happens now?"
Casey took a breath.
"We give the evidence to the investigators."
She nodded.
"And Isabella?"
"We find out whether she's there."
The following day, authorities began reviewing the property records.
Casey and Clara waited at his downtown office.
Hours passed.
Then the attorney called.
A search had been authorized.
Investigators entered Blackstone House that afternoon.
Inside, they found a private medical suite.
A large library.
Several locked storage rooms.
And an elderly man named Anthony Vane.
Alive.
Eighty-one years old.
Weakened by illness.
But unquestionably alive.
Casey sat heavily.
For twelve years, he'd mourned a father who had chosen to disappear.
Then the attorney continued.
"There's another person."
Casey's heart hammered.
"Who?"
"A woman."
Clara stood.
"Isabella?"
A pause.
Then the attorney answered.
"Yes."
Clara covered her mouth.
May you like
But the next sentence turned relief into horror.
"She says she's been waiting for her daughter for twenty years."
