Chapter 7 - Daniel's Last Drive
Daniel's death had been ruled an accident. His car had left a wet road outside Rockford and struck a concrete barrier. The police report said he had been driving too fast in heavy rain.
Clara had never believed the report. Daniel was careful, especially when she was pregnant. He had promised to slow down, stop taking night shifts, and be home before the baby arrived.
Luca pulled up the accident file. The car's brake line had been cut. The report had been changed two days after the crash by a detective who now worked for Victor Shaw's private security firm.
"He was carrying someone," Luca said. "A child seat was found in the back."
Clara gripped the bench. "You told me he was alone."
Vincent looked at the photograph of Elena's baby. "He was protecting Sofia."
A traffic camera had captured the last moments before the crash. Daniel's car was followed by a black SUV. When the SUV tried to force him toward the barrier, Daniel swerved to keep the rear passenger side away from the impact.
A second image showed a small figure being carried from the wreck by a woman in a red coat. The woman's face was hidden, but the child was alive.
"Where did she go?" Vincent asked.
Luca enlarged the image. The woman was wearing a silver star pin.
Clara recognized it. She had found the matching pin in Daniel's desk after his funeral.
He had kept it wrapped in a handkerchief with a note: For the little girl. If I don't come home, find Elena.
Clara looked at Vincent.
"Daniel knew you had a daughter. He died trying to save her."
Vincent could not look away from the image.
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Clara had spent eleven months explaining Daniel's death to herself in the simplest way possible. Rain, a bad road, a terrible accident. It was the only version that let her get out of bed and keep going. Now she had to grieve him again, this time knowing he had been hunted.
Then Luca found a second file hidden inside the police report: a paternity record for Daniel Bell.
