Chapter 3 - THE NAME I HAD SPENT FIVE YEARS HIDING
I hadn't heard anyone say the name Mercer in five years.
Not since the night my father pressed a photograph into my hands and told me to leave Indiana before sunrise.
My real name wasn't Claire Bennett.
It was Claire Mercer.
And the family whose name I was supposed to avoid had just appeared on a recording hidden inside a murdered woman's stuffed rabbit.
Dominic looked at the memory card.
"Mercer?"
I forced myself to remain still.
"Do you know the name?" Evelyn Shaw asked.
Dominic nodded.
"Thomas Mercer worked for my wife."
My heart stopped.
Thomas Mercer.
My father.
I hadn't expected to hear him described as anything more than the quiet man who repaired old radios at our kitchen table.
"What kind of work?" I asked.
Dominic looked toward me.
"He was a forensic accountant."
My knees nearly weakened.
Dad had always told me he managed inventory records for a construction company.
Apparently, that had been another lie.
"He helped Elena examine irregularities in the Vale family trust," Dominic continued.
Silas spoke sharply.
"Dominic, this isn't the place."
Dominic turned.
"You're right."
He looked toward Evelyn.
"Arrange somewhere secure for the evidence and contact the authorities handling Elena's case."
Then he looked at Audrey.
His daughter had begun shaking again.
I knelt beside her.
You're doing very well.
She touched my hand.
Will Daddy believe me?
My throat tightened.
I looked at Dominic.
"She wants to know whether you'll believe her."
He stared at his daughter.
Then slowly raised his hands.
His movements were clumsy.
Awkward.
But unmistakable.
He signed the word YES.
Audrey's eyes widened.
He tried again.
YES.
Her tiny face crumpled.
Then she threw her arms around his neck.
Dominic held her carefully.
And for the first time that evening, the entire restaurant seemed to breathe.
Later, after Audrey was settled with a qualified caregiver, investigators examined the memory card.
The first file contained financial documents.
The second contained photographs of shipping containers and bank transfers.
The third was a video.
Elena Vale appeared on the screen.
She looked exhausted.
Her dark hair was tied back.
Behind her, I recognized the nursery from old newspaper photographs.
"If you're watching this," Elena whispered, "something has happened to me."
Dominic closed his eyes.
His wife's voice filled the room.
"Thomas Mercer found evidence that money from Audrey's inheritance has been transferred into companies controlled by Silas Crane."
My stomach tightened.
The recording continued.
"Silas knows we've discovered the fraud."
Elena looked toward the door.
Then whispered:
"Dominic, if I disappear, please don't let him convince you that our daughter doesn't understand what's happening."
Tears streamed down Dominic's face.
Then Elena added one final sentence.
"Thomas promised his daughter would protect Audrey if I couldn't."
I stopped breathing.
May you like
Because my father had known I would meet this little girl.
Five years before I walked into Aurelia.
