Daniel looked at his father's younger face.
He looked happy.
Not the distant, serious man Daniel remembered.
Actually happy.
“Why have you kept this?”
“Because it is the last photograph of my mother.”
Daniel turned it over.
There was writing on the back.
He read it.
FOR THE DAY WHEN THE TRUTH FINDS ITS WAY HOME.
Daniel looked up.
“What does that mean?”
Elena looked at Samuel.
Samuel nodded.
Elena took the photograph back.
“Your father knew the truth would eventually surface.”
“What truth?”
“The railway didn't steal the money.”
Daniel frowned.
“What?”
“The theft was only part of it.”
Samuel stepped closer.
“The real operation was much bigger.”
“How big?”
Elena answered.
“People were disappearing.”
Daniel felt a chill.
“People?”
“Employees who discovered things they weren't supposed to know.”
“And my father?”
“He found the list.”
“What list?”
“A list of names.”
Daniel stared at them.
“Whose names?”
“People who had been targeted.”
Samuel's voice was low.
“Your father was on it.”
Daniel felt sick.
“Who else?”
“Elena's mother.”
“Who else?”
Samuel hesitated.
“Me.”
Daniel looked at him.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“And you survived.”
“Barely.”
Daniel sat down.
The train continued rushing through the countryside.
For several minutes, no one spoke.
Finally Daniel said,
“So what happened to my father?”
Samuel's eyes filled with sadness.
“He discovered that someone close to him had betrayed him.”
“Who?”
“We never learned the full truth.”
“You said you knew.”
“I know part of it.”
“What part?”
“Your father believed the betrayal came from inside his own team.”
“Who?”
Samuel shook his head.
“Your father never told me.”
“Why?”
“Because he was afraid I was being watched.”
Daniel looked at Elena.
“Was your mother the traitor?”
Elena's expression changed.
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she died protecting him.”
Daniel looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
“My mother discovered that your father's investigation had been compromised.”
“She warned him?”
“She tried.”
“Did she succeed?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
Elena took a slow breath.
“She sent him a message.”
“What did it say?”
“That he had twenty-four hours to disappear.”
Daniel stared at her.
“He didn't.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because of you.”
Daniel's face changed.
“Me?”
“Your father refused to disappear completely.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted to see you.”
Daniel's eyes filled with tears again.
“He came home?”
“Once.”
“When?”
“The night before he died.”
Daniel remembered something.
A memory from childhood.
His father standing in the hallway.
His coat was wet.
His face looked tired.
He had knelt in front of Daniel.
He had held Daniel's shoulders.
And he had said something Daniel had forgotten.
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I remember.”
Samuel watched him.
“What?”
“My father came into my room.”
“When?”
“The night before…”
Daniel swallowed.
“He told me to be brave.”
Samuel's face tightened.
“He said that?”
Daniel nodded.
“He told me that sometimes good people have to leave for a while.”
Samuel closed his eyes.
“That sounds like him.”
“I asked him when he'd come back.”
“What did he say?”
Daniel's voice became almost a whisper.
“He said, 'When it is safe.'”
Samuel looked away.
Daniel suddenly understood.
“He knew.”
“Yes.”
“He knew he might not come back.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
“Because your father wanted you to have a normal life.”
Daniel shook his head.
“There was nothing normal about my life.”
Samuel nodded.
“I know.”
Daniel looked down.
“Did he die on this train?”
Samuel was silent.
Then he said,
“No.”
“Where?”
“At the station.”
“Which station?”
“Blackwood.”
Daniel knew the name.