Chapter 5 - The Aunt No One Mentioned

Vanessa stared at her father.

“You have a sister.”

Robert nodded.

“Had.”

“Why have I never heard of her?”

“Because she disappeared.”

“When?”

“Seventeen years ago.”

The same night.

Marco laughed quietly.

“Of course.”

Grant sat down.

“I never knew.”

Robert looked at him.

“Very few did.”

Vanessa’s voice hardened.

“Tell me.”

Robert took a breath.

“Vanessa Marie was my younger sister.”

“You named me after her?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Guilt.”

Silence.

Marco looked at the witness statement.

“She saw the shooting.”

Robert nodded.

“She was there.”

“Why?”

“She worked for Daniel.”

Marco turned.

“My father?”

“As his accountant.”

Vanessa stared.

“My aunt was Daniel’s accountant?”

“Yes.”

Marco looked at Robert.

“And she knew about the money.”

“Yes.”

“Who was stealing.”

“Yes.”

“Who shot whom.”

“Yes.”

“Then she disappeared.”

Robert nodded.

Vanessa whispered:

“Did she die?”

Robert looked away.

“No.”

Everyone stopped.

“She’s alive?”

Robert’s face tightened.

“I think so.”

“Think?”

“I haven’t seen her in eleven years.”

Vanessa stepped backward.

“You named me after a living sister you never told me about.”

“Yes.”

Marco asked:

“Where did she go?”

Robert looked at him.

“Witness protection.”

Grant frowned.

“Official?”

“No.”

“Then who arranged it?”

Robert looked toward Daniel’s surgical file.

“Daniel.”

Marco stared.

“My father hid her.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because she had the original accounts.”

The room became still.

Marco looked at Grant.

“You said you had originals.”

Grant nodded.

“Medical originals.”

Robert continued.

“Vanessa Marie had financial originals.”

Vanessa shook her head.

“Where is she?”

Robert hesitated.

“Vermont.”

Marco laughed once.

“Specific.”

“Town?”

Robert shook his head.

“I don’t know.”

Vanessa stared.

“You haven’t spoken in eleven years.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“She stopped answering.”

Marco looked at the witness statement.

“Why use her statement under your daughter’s name?”

Robert whispered:

“To hide her identity.”

“So police records showed Vanessa Bell.”

“Yes.”

“And later everyone assumed it meant your daughter.”

“Yes.”

Vanessa looked disgusted.

“You made me a ghost before I even knew the story.”

Robert had no answer.

Marco’s phone rang.

Hospital.

He answered.

His face changed.

“What happened?”

Everyone looked at him.

Marco listened.

Then:

“Don’t operate.”

Grant stood.

“What?”

Marco ended the call.

“My father collapsed.”

Grant grabbed his coat.

“We have to go.”

“What happened?”

“Bullet migration.”

Marco stared.

“Can it kill him?”

“Yes.”

They ran.

At the hospital, Daniel was unconscious.

Monitors.

Nurses.

Grant looked at the scan.

His face hardened.

“We need surgery now.”

Marco stared.

“You said tonight.”

“This is now.”

Vanessa stood beside him.

Robert stayed back.

Grant turned.

“There’s another problem.”

Marco’s face changed.

“What?”

“The bullet is closer to the pulmonary artery.”

“Meaning?”

“If it moves again—”

He didn’t finish.

Marco looked at Daniel.

Seventeen years.

One bullet.

One lie.

Too many people.

Grant held out another consent form.

Marco signed.

No hesitation.

Then Daniel’s hand moved.

His eyes opened.

Barely.

“Marco.”

Marco leaned closer.

“I’m here.”

Daniel whispered:

“Vermont.”

Marco frowned.

“What?”

“Find her.”

“Vanessa Marie?”

Daniel nodded.

“She knows.”

“Knows what?”

Daniel’s eyes closed again.

Monitor alarms.

Grant pushed Marco back.

“Now.”

The surgical team moved.

Marco stood outside the operating room.

Vanessa beside him.

He looked at her.

“What does your aunt know?”

She shook her head.

“I don’t know.”

Robert whispered from behind them:

“I do.”

Marco turned.

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Robert looked at the operating room doors.

“She knows Daniel wasn’t the intended target.”