“What did he want you to do?”
“He wanted me to take the folder.”
Daniel frowned.
“Why didn't you?”
“I did.”
Daniel stared at him.
“Then what happened?”
Samuel's expression became distant.
“Your father told me to leave the country.”
“What?”
“He said I had a wife and children. He knew they could use them against me.”
“Did you leave?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I was afraid.”
Samuel said the words without shame.
“I was afraid.”
Daniel looked at him.
“And my father?”
“He wasn't.”
The train shook slightly.
Samuel continued.
“He told me that if anything happened to him, I had to protect you.”
Daniel whispered,
“Did you?”
Samuel looked at him.
“Yes.”
“You never contacted me.”
“I watched.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“You watched?”
“From a distance.”
“That isn't protecting someone.”
“It was the only way I could.”
Daniel stood again.
“You don't know what it was like.”
Samuel looked up.
“You're right.”
“You weren't there.”
“I was.”
Daniel stopped.
“What?”
“I was there the night your father died.”
Daniel's face went completely still.
The entire world seemed to stop.
“What did you say?”
Samuel repeated,
“I was there.”
Daniel slowly sat down.
“You saw him?”
“Yes.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“The night before his death.”
“What happened?”
Samuel took a breath.
“Your father had arranged to meet someone.”
“Who?”
“I never found out.”
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“You know.”
“I know what he told me.”
“What did he tell you?”
“He said the person he was meeting was someone he trusted.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Then who?”
Samuel's eyes moved toward the window.
“The train.”
Daniel frowned.
“What?”
“The person was supposed to board this train.”
Daniel looked around.
“This train?”
“Yes.”
Daniel's heart began racing.
“Why?”
“Because your father believed the person had evidence that could expose the entire operation.”
“Did they meet?”
“Yes.”
“Who was it?”
Samuel looked at Elena.
Daniel followed his gaze.
The young woman in the railway uniform stood near the front.
She was looking at them.
Daniel turned back.
“Her?”
Samuel did not answer.
“Is it her?”
“Not exactly.”
Daniel stared at him.
“Then who?”
Samuel said quietly,
“Elena's mother.”
Daniel looked confused.
“Her mother?”
“She worked for the railway.”
“What happened to her?”
“She disappeared.”
“Like my father?”
Samuel nodded.
Daniel looked at Elena again.
She had turned away.
“Does she know?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
Daniel stood and walked toward her.
Samuel immediately rose.
“Daniel.”
But Daniel continued.
Elena turned as he approached.
Her expression was calm.
“You have questions.”
Daniel stopped.
“You knew my father.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“My mother worked with him.”
“What happened to her?”
Elena looked down.
“She died.”
“When?”
“Nine years ago.”
Daniel stared at her.
“How?”
“An accident.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“That's what everyone says.”
Elena's eyes met his.
“You're learning quickly.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you should stop believing simple answers.”
Daniel looked at Samuel.
Then at Elena.
“You both knew him.”
“Yes,” Elena said.
“Did he know you?”
“Yes.”
“Did he know you would be here?”
Elena nodded.
Daniel felt his heart pound.
“How?”
She reached into her pocket.
For a moment, Daniel thought she was going to show him another letter.
Instead, she pulled out an old photograph.
She handed it to him.
Daniel looked down.
The photograph showed three people standing beside a train.
His father.
Samuel.
And a young woman Daniel did not recognize.
But he recognized her eyes.
They were Elena's eyes.
Daniel stared at the photograph.
“That's your mother.”
“Yes.”
“When was this taken?”
“Twenty years ago.”