"Was he alone?"
"No."
"Who was with him?"
Salvatore hesitated.
"Marco Bellini."
Adrian frowned.
"Your adviser?"
Salvatore nodded.
"Marco was supposed to help Daniel bring the records to me. But the meeting never happened."
"Why?"
"Because someone intercepted them."
Adrian leaned forward.
"Who?"
Salvatore looked toward the window.
"We never proved it."
"Was it Vincent?"
"No. Vincent was involved in the financial scheme, but he was not the person who arranged the interception."
Adrian's pulse quickened.
"Then who was?"
Salvatore closed his eyes.
"Carlo Vescari."
Adrian stood.
"Carlo was supposed to be gone."
"He was. But he had people inside the organization who continued working for him."
"Did you know Daniel was going to the warehouse that night?"
"Yes."
"Did you send him?"
Salvatore looked directly at him.
"I asked him to meet Marco there. I believed the warehouse was secure."
Adrian's voice became strained.
"And when they never came back?"
"I searched for them."
"But you didn't tell my mother."
Salvatore lowered his head.
"No."
Adrian stepped away from the desk.
"You let us believe Dad died in an ordinary accident."
"I thought I was protecting you."
"By hiding the truth?"
Salvatore had no answer.
Adrian looked at the letter.
"Someone knows what happened. And they want me to find out."
Salvatore nodded.
"Then we must be careful."
Chapter 28: Marco's Confession
Marco Bellini arrived at the mansion that afternoon.
He had served Salvatore for nearly thirty years. His hair had turned white, and he walked with a slight limp. He had always been polite to Adrian, but now he could barely look at him.
Salvatore placed the letter on the table.
"Tell him."
Marco sat down.
"I should have told you years ago."
Adrian remained standing.
"Tell me what happened."
Marco took a long breath.
"Daniel and I arrived at the warehouse shortly after midnight. He had the documents. I was supposed to take them to your father."
"What happened?"
"Three men were waiting inside."
Adrian's hands tightened.
"Who were they?"
"I recognized one. Carlo's driver. The others wore masks."
Marco described how the men demanded the documents. Daniel refused to hand them over.
"They threatened him," Marco said. "He told me to run."
"Did you?"
Marco's eyes filled.
"Yes."
Adrian stared at him.
"You left him there?"
"I was afraid. I thought I could bring help."
"Did you?"
"I tried."
Marco looked down.
"When I returned, the warehouse was empty. Daniel was gone. The documents were gone."
Adrian's voice broke.
"And you never told anyone?"
"I told Salvatore. We searched for Daniel, but Carlo's people had already covered their tracks. I was afraid that if I spoke publicly, they would come after your mother."
Adrian shook his head.
"You decided for us."
Marco nodded.
"Yes."
The room was silent.
Finally, Adrian asked, "Did you ever find out what happened to my father?"
Marco's face crumpled.
"No."
Adrian turned toward the door.
Salvatore called after him.
"Adrian."
He stopped.
"I know this is not enough," Salvatore said. "But I will help you find the truth."
Adrian looked back.
"Don't promise me anything. Just tell me what you know."
Chapter 29: The River Warehouse
The old warehouse stood near the Westbridge River.
Its windows were broken. Rust covered the loading doors. Weeds grew through cracks in the pavement.
Adrian arrived with Salvatore and Marco on a cold afternoon.
He had never been there before.
He stepped out of the car and looked at the building.
"This is where Dad disappeared?"
Salvatore nodded.
Adrian walked toward the entrance.
Inside, dust covered the floor. A broken desk stood near the wall. The roof had partially collapsed, allowing gray daylight to fall across the empty room.
Marco pointed toward the back.
"That was where Daniel kept the case."
Adrian approached the spot.
He imagined his father standing there, holding the documents, refusing to surrender them.
He knelt and examined the floor.
Near a broken wooden beam, he noticed a small metal object.
It was a key.
Adrian picked it up.
The key was old, with a number stamped into its surface.
Salvatore looked at it.
"That belongs to a storage facility."
Adrian turned it over.
"How do you know?"
"Daniel used to rent a unit near the railway station."
Marco looked surprised.
"I thought he closed it."
"Perhaps he did," Salvatore said. "Or perhaps he left something there."
Adrian placed the key in his pocket.
For the first time in years, he felt that the truth was within reach.
Chapter 30: The Storage Unit
The storage facility was located behind an old railway station.
Adrian found the unit number on the key.
The manager searched his records and confirmed that the unit had been rented under Daniel Cole's name. The rent had been paid for several years, then stopped.
The lock opened with a dry click.
Inside were boxes of old papers, a broken radio, and a wooden chest.
Adrian opened the chest.
He found photographs, letters, and a small notebook.
One photograph showed Daniel standing with a young woman Adrian did not recognize.
On the back, Daniel had written:
For someone who helped me remember what courage looks like.
Adrian looked at Salvatore.
"Who is she?"
Salvatore studied the photograph.
"I don't know."
Marco leaned closer.
"Wait."
He pointed toward the woman's hand.
She wore a ring with a small blue stone.
"I've seen that ring before."
"Where?" Adrian asked.
Marco hesitated.
"On Carlo Vescari's sister."
Adrian looked at the photograph again.
The woman might have been connected to Carlo.
The mystery had become more complicated.
Chapter 31: The Woman in the Photograph
Salvatore asked an investigator to identify the woman.
Her name was Elena Vescari.