Chapter 5 - THE GRAVE WITH NO BODY
Sarah did not sleep.
By sunrise, she had read Daniel’s death certificate thirteen times.
She knew every word.
Time of death: 11:47 p.m.
Location: Route 9 near Port Mason.
Cause: blunt-force trauma associated with motor vehicle collision.
Identification confirmed by personal belongings and dental records.
Dental records.
Sarah stared at that phrase.
She had never viewed Daniel’s body.
The funeral home director had advised against it because of the damage.
She had trusted professionals.
She had trusted paperwork.
She had buried a closed casket.
At eight in the morning, Anthony entered the breakfast room.
Sarah looked at him.
“I want the grave opened.”
He did not hesitate.
“I’ve already called an attorney.”
She blinked.
“You did?”
“You deserve certainty.”
Sarah looked away.
“I don’t know whether I want him in there or not.”
Anthony sat across from her.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
“No.”
His answer was so simple it took the fight out of her.
Anthony placed a folder on the table.
“I found the address from the photograph.”
Sarah’s pulse quickened.
“Where?”
“A private medical facility that closed eighteen months ago.”
“Who owned it?”
“A shell corporation.”
“Owned by your father?”
“No.”
“Dominic?”
“Possibly.”
Sarah stood.
“We’re going.”
“Federal agents are already there.”
“I’m going.”
Anthony studied her and realized argument was pointless.
One hour later, Sarah stood outside an abandoned rehabilitation clinic forty miles north of Port Mason.
The building smelled of dust and mold.
Investigators had already opened several locked records rooms.
Sarah followed Anthony through a corridor lined with faded blue paint.
A federal agent named Claire Torres met them near the basement stairs.
“We found patient files.”
Sarah’s throat tightened.
“Daniel?”
Torres hesitated.
“That’s why I asked you down here.”
She handed Sarah a photocopy.
Patient name: David Benson.
Male.
Age: thirty-four.
Admitted after automobile trauma.
No insurance.
Private authorization.
Sarah looked at the listed injuries.
Broken ribs.
Concussion.
Laceration above left eyebrow.
Daniel had a scar above his left eyebrow from college baseball.
Her hands shook.
“This is him.”
Anthony read over her shoulder.
The admission date was the night Daniel supposedly died.
The release date was blank.
“Who authorized treatment?” Anthony asked.
Torres pointed to a signature.
A. Moretti Sr.
Sarah closed her eyes.
Anthony’s father had saved Daniel.
Or imprisoned him.
Maybe both.
They searched deeper.
A nurse’s log revealed that “David Benson” had regained consciousness after three days and repeatedly requested to contact his wife.
Those requests were denied.
Sarah almost tore the paper.
“He was alive.”
Anthony said nothing.
“He was asking for me.”
“I know.”
“You father stopped him.”
“Yes.”
Anger broke through her grief.
Sarah turned on Anthony.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“He stole two years from us!”
“I know.”
“Stop saying that!”
Her voice echoed through the hallway.
Anthony did not defend himself.
Sarah struck his chest once with the folded records.
“I buried my husband!”
Anthony let her.
“I told my daughter her daddy was in heaven!”
He said nothing.
“I sold our home because I couldn’t afford it after he died!”
Her voice broke.
Anthony’s face tightened.
“I know my father caused pain that cannot be repaired.”
“Then why am I standing next to you?”
He had no answer.
Sarah stepped away.
Torres gently cleared her throat.
“There’s more.”
Sarah wiped her face.
“What?”
“We found discharge transportation records.”
Daniel had been moved fourteen days after the crash.
Destination: a lakeside residence in northern Vermont.
Anthony recognized the property immediately.
“My father’s cabin.”
They drove there under federal escort.
The Moretti cabin sat beside a cold, isolated lake surrounded by pine forest.
Inside, dust covered most surfaces.
But one bedroom had been used recently.
A coffee mug sat beside the sink.
Not two years ago recently.
Weeks.
Sarah moved through the house with her heart pounding.
On a bedroom wall, she found pencil marks.
Dates.
Numbers.
And one name written repeatedly.
ELLIE.
Sarah touched it.
Anthony stood behind her.
“He was here.”
“Yes.”
“Recently.”
“Yes.”
A floorboard creaked downstairs.
Anthony’s head snapped toward the sound.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
“Sarah.”
“No more staying behind.”
They descended together.
The back door was open.
Cold wind moved through the kitchen.
Footprints crossed the mud outside.
Marco ran toward the tree line.
Anthony followed.
Sarah stepped onto the porch.
Then she saw the man standing near the lake.
Gray coat.
Thin.
Beard.
He was fifty yards away.
But Sarah knew the way he stood.
She knew the slight angle of his left shoulder.
She knew him before her mind allowed the possibility.
“Daniel?”
The man froze.
Sarah stopped breathing.
Slowly, he turned.
Everything inside her shattered.
Older.
Thinner.
A scar ran along his temple.
But it was him.
Daniel.
Alive.
Sarah ran.
She did not remember crossing the yard.
She only remembered colliding with him and hearing a sound come from her own throat that did not feel human.
Daniel wrapped his arms around her.
“Sarah.”
She hit his chest.
Then held him.
Then hit him again.
“You’re alive.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re alive!”
“I’m sorry.”
She sobbed against him.
“Why didn’t you come home?”
Daniel began crying too.
“I tried.”
Anthony stopped several yards away.
Daniel saw him.
His expression changed immediately.
Fear.
“Get away from him.”
Sarah looked between them.
“Daniel—”
“He’s a Moretti.”
“I know.”
“No, Sarah. You don’t understand.”
Anthony’s face hardened.
“Then explain it.”
Daniel pushed Sarah slightly behind him.
“Your father kept me hidden because Dominic DeLuca wanted me dead. He said if the world believed I died, I could testify later.”
Sarah stared.
“Testify?”
“Against Dominic. Against Harbor Crest. Against half the network.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“I tried twice. Both times men found the location within hours.”
Anthony stepped closer.
“My father moved you to protect Sarah.”
Daniel nodded.
“He told me Dominic had people inside law enforcement. If anyone knew I was alive, they would use Sarah and Ellie to force me out.”
Sarah covered her mouth.
“So you stayed away.”
Daniel’s eyes filled.
“I watched Ellie’s birthday videos from anonymous accounts. I watched you sell our house. I watched you struggle, and I couldn’t do anything.”
“You could have trusted me.”
“I know.”
Sarah stepped backward.
The reunion she had dreamed of during a thousand sleepless nights suddenly felt impossibly complicated.
Then Daniel looked at Anthony.
“Your father was going to expose Dominic.”
Anthony’s expression tightened.
“What happened?”
“He died first.”
Sarah frowned.
Anthony’s father’s death had been described publicly as a heart attack.
Daniel shook his head.
“It wasn’t natural.”
Anthony stared at him.
“What are you saying?”
Daniel reached inside his coat.
Anthony’s security immediately reacted.
Daniel slowly produced a sealed envelope.
“Your father gave me this before he died.”
Anthony took it.
Inside were toxicology results.
The cause was clear.
Poison.
Anthony’s hands trembled.
Sarah whispered, “Dominic killed your father too.”
Daniel nodded.
“And Dominic knows I’m alive now.”
A vehicle engine roared from the driveway.
Marco shouted from behind them.
“MOVE!”
A black SUV burst through the wooden gate.
Anthony grabbed Sarah.
Daniel pulled her toward the cabin.
A rear window of the SUV lowered.
Someone inside raised a weapon.
Anthony forced Sarah behind a stone wall.
The SUV skidded to a stop.
A man stepped out.
Dominic DeLuca.
Silver-haired.
Elegant.
Smiling.
And beside him, forced from the passenger seat, was Vivienne.
Dominic pressed a weapon against his own daughter’s side.
“Daniel Bennett,” he called.
Daniel went pale.
Dominic smiled wider.
“I’ve spent two years cleaning up your mess.”
His eyes moved toward Anthony.
May you like
“And today, everyone who knows the truth disappears.”
---
