But when she entered the building, she noticed something strange.
The receptionist was absent.
The front desk was empty, and the office door stood slightly open.
"Hello?" Clara called.
There was no answer.
She walked down the corridor.
Robert's office was at the end.
Before she could knock, she heard voices inside.
One belonged to Robert.
The other was unfamiliar.
"I told you this would eventually happen," the stranger said.
Robert answered quietly.
"She has found the photograph. We cannot keep pretending nothing happened."
"You can. You've been doing it for eleven years."
"That's enough."
"Don't forget what we agreed."
Clara stopped breathing.
The stranger continued.
"Daniel made his choice. We made ours. If you open that door now, everything will fall apart."
A chair scraped against the floor.
Robert spoke again.
"She deserves to know."
The stranger laughed.
"Deserves? You think the truth is going to bring her father back?"
Clara's hands began to shake.
She stepped closer.
Then the office door opened.
A tall man emerged.
He wore a dark suit and carried a leather briefcase.
His hair was almost completely gray, and his face was narrow, with a prominent nose and deep lines around his mouth.
He stopped when he saw Clara.
For a moment, they simply stared at each other.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"I'm looking for Robert Hayes."
The man's expression barely changed.
"He's busy."
"I have an appointment."
He studied her face.
Then he smiled.
"Clara Bennett?"
She felt a chill.
"Yes."
"Your father would be surprised to see how much you've grown."
Clara stared at him.
"Did you know my father?"
"Everyone in his business knew Daniel."
The man adjusted his briefcase.
"Give Robert my regards."
He walked past her without another word.
Clara turned to watch him disappear down the stairs.
Then she entered the office.
Robert was standing beside his desk.
He looked older than she remembered, with thinning white hair and tired eyes. His normally neat appearance seemed disorganized, and several documents were scattered across his desk.
"Clara."
"Who was that?"
Robert closed the office door.
"An old acquaintance."
"What's his name?"
"That isn't important."
"It seems important to me."
Robert gestured toward a chair.
"Please sit down."
Clara remained standing.
"I heard your conversation."
His expression changed.
"How much?"
"Enough to know that you've been hiding something."
Robert removed his glasses.
"I expected this day might come."
"Then stop wasting time. What happened to my father?"
The lawyer looked toward the window.
For several seconds, he appeared to be struggling with a decision.
Finally, he returned to his desk and opened a locked drawer.
He removed a thick folder.
"This contains copies of documents your father gave me shortly before he died."
Clara stared at it.
"Why didn't you give them to my mother?"
"I did. Or rather, I gave her some of them."
"What do you mean, some?"
Robert opened the folder.
"Daniel was investigating financial irregularities involving a construction company. He discovered that several senior employees were using false contracts to transfer money into private accounts."
Clara nodded.
"Mom told me."
"There was more."
Robert removed a sheet of paper.
"Your father discovered that one of the people involved was his own brother."
"Thomas."
Robert looked up.
"Your mother told you about him?"
"Yes."
The lawyer leaned back.
"Then you know that Daniel and Thomas had a complicated relationship."
"I know they stopped speaking."
"They did more than that. They had a serious confrontation shortly before Daniel's death."
"About the money?"
"Yes. Daniel wanted Thomas to cooperate with the investigation. Thomas refused."
Clara's stomach tightened.
"What happened during the confrontation?"
"According to Daniel, Thomas threatened him."
"Threatened him how?"
Robert hesitated.
"He told your father that exposing the scheme would destroy more than the people responsible. It would also destroy the family."
Clara shook her head.
"That's not an explanation."
"No. It isn't."
Robert removed another document.
"This is a copy of a letter Daniel wrote the night before his death."
Clara took it.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
She recognized the way her father formed the letter D, the slight curve at the end of his signature, and the small ink mark he always made when he lifted his pen too quickly.
She read the letter.
"Robert,
I have decided to meet Thomas tomorrow. I believe there is still a chance to settle this without involving the police. He says he has information that could change everything.
I do not trust him completely, but he is still my brother.
If anything goes wrong, make sure Margaret and Clara are protected.
Daniel."
Clara lowered the paper.
"He was going to meet Thomas on the day he died?"
Robert nodded.
"According to this letter, yes."
"Where?"
"At the old bridge."
Clara felt her legs weaken.
The old bridge.
The same place mentioned in her father's final letter.
"Did they meet?"
"I believe so."
"How do you know?"
Robert looked at her.
"Because I received a telephone call from Daniel that evening."
"What did he say?"
"He sounded frightened."
Clara leaned forward.
"What exactly did he say?"
Robert rubbed his forehead.
"He told me that Thomas had brought someone else to the meeting. He said the situation had become dangerous and that he needed to leave."
"Did you call the police?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I believed he was exaggerating. Daniel had been under enormous pressure. I thought he was frightened by the investigation, not necessarily in immediate danger."
Clara stared at him.
"And then he died."
Robert nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"Did you tell the police about that phone call?"
"No."
Clara stepped backward.
"You knew he was frightened. You knew he was meeting his brother. And you said nothing."
"I made a terrible mistake."
"A mistake?"
Her voice rose.