Chapter 10 - The Accident Report

My father had died on a rainy road after a late foundation meeting. Mother told us he had been driving too fast. I had repeated that story for half my life. Now a photograph was asking me to question it.

Priya contacted the attorney who'd handled his estate and requested surviving records. Detective Vega made clear that a caption on a digital file was not evidence of murder. The old collision report described slick pavement, poor visibility, and a mechanical inspection that found nothing conclusive.

The file also listed a witness: Calvin Reed, then a foundation security employee. The same Calvin whose SUV had taken Nora from the wedding property.

I sat at my kitchen table with copies spread around me. For years, Mother had collected loyalty like jewelry. She'd paid for apartments, internships, weddings, and tuition, then reminded everyone of the favors whenever they disagreed.

Olivia came through the door without knocking. Her mascara was smudged and her wedding band looked almost too bright on her hand.

“I found this in Mom's office,” she said, setting down a paper planner. “Vincent's name is everywhere.”

There was a framed picture on my desk of Father teaching me to ride a bicycle. His hand hovered behind the seat, ready to catch me. I remembered that afternoon vividly, including how he ran beside me long after I no longer needed help. I could not reconcile that man with the letters and secret accounts. Priya said people could be loving and cowardly at the same time. The truth was not obliged to preserve the version of him I'd cherished.

Dates linked him to the day before Father's accident, Nora's missing-person report, and the wedding. On the page for Father's funeral was a single handwritten note: Calvin—reconcile.

I looked up. “What does that mean?”

“I don't know. There's something else.” Olivia set her phone in front of me. It showed a message from Mother sent less than an hour earlier.

If Ethan opens the old records, tell him what Grace signed. Otherwise I will.

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Grace had told me she refused to sign. My sister looked as shaken as I felt.

“Ethan,” she said, “what if Mom has a document with Grace's name on it anyway?”