Chapter 10 - A Voice from the Past
Vincent demanded a deal in exchange for information. Investigators refused to accept his story without corroboration. Adrian insisted I be told every development, not sheltered from it.
A bank account under my father's name had received a small payment each year since the fire. The transactions led to a rural property in Pennsylvania.
A welfare check found an elderly caretaker and boxes of archived records, but no Thomas Bennett. In a locked desk, police discovered a cassette tape labeled FOR CLAIRE, IF SHE EVER ASKS.
I listened in the presence of an investigator. My father's voice filled the room, younger than I remembered.
"Claire, if you hear this, I'm sorry I couldn't come home. I believed I could expose them and still keep you safe. I was wrong."
He explained that he had survived the initial fire but died months later from his injuries while under a false identity. The caretaker had preserved the tape, believing it would eventually reach me.
I wept for the hope I had been given and lost again.
Adrian came to see me that evening. "You don't have to forgive anyone tonight," he said.
"Not even you?"
"Especially not me."
He placed a folder on the table: the full record of his cooperation, including his own wrongdoing. He had decided to face the consequences publicly.
I read until midnight. Then I reached for his hand.
"I can't love a man who hides behind power," I said.
"I know."
May you like
"But I might love a man who finally puts it down."
He looked at me as if the world had shifted beneath his feet.
