Chapter 7: The Knife in the Hospital Room
For several seconds after Frank Holloway's video call ended, I couldn't move.
The black screen reflected my face, pale and unfamiliar. Behind me, Officer Brooks was speaking urgently into his radio, requesting confirmation of the call's origin. Officer Ramirez had positioned herself beside Maya, who was trembling so violently that her teeth clicked together.
But I heard only Frank's final question.
Who was holding the knife?
I turned toward my daughter.
"Maya, sweetheart, look at me.""
She pressed both hands against her ears.
"No.""
"Did you see a knife that night?""
"No!""
Her scream echoed through the hallway.
Officer Ramirez knelt beside her.
"Maya, nobody is accusing you of anything. You're safe here.""
Maya shook her head desperately.
"You don't understand. I saw blood.""
My stomach twisted.
"What blood?""
She stared at the wooden horse lying on the table.
"There was blood on the floor. And on Dad's sleeve.""
I felt the room tilt.
"Whose blood?""
"I don't know!""
Her voice cracked.
"I was nine. I didn't know what was happening. Dad told me the man was sick.
Then the woman started shouting, and someone dropped something. I remember the sound.""
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Metal hitting the floor.""
A knife.
The thought settled between us like a stone.
Officer Brooks approached slowly.
"Maya, do you remember whether the man in the hospital room was alive when you left?""
She stared at him.
"I don't know.""
"Did he speak?""
She nodded.
"He told Dad to take me away.""
"And did your father?""
"Yes.""
"Did you see the woman again?""
Maya shook her head.
"Not until the pump house. I didn't know it was the same woman until I saw her photograph.""
Evelyn stood near the staircase, one hand gripping the banister. She looked as though she might faint.
I turned toward her.
"You said Claire was trying to protect us.""
"I believed she was.""
"She was there that night, wasn't she?""
Evelyn swallowed.
"Yes.""
"And you knew about the hospital?""
"No.""
"Then why did you look terrified when Maya described her?""
Evelyn glanced at Officer Brooks before answering.
"Because Claire told me something years ago. She said Frank Holloway had died before she could expose what he had done. She claimed Daniel had witnessed his final moments.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"But Frank is alive.""
"Apparently.""
"Then Claire lied.""
"Or someone lied to her.""
I couldn't stand another carefully worded explanation.
"Everyone in this family seems to have a different version of the truth. My husband says he was framed. His father supposedly died and then reappeared.
Claire is dead, according to the police, but she was threatening my daughter six months ago. And you keep telling me you don't know anything.""
Evelyn lowered her eyes.
"I know more than I've told you.""
"Then tell me now.""
She took a shaky breath.
"Three years ago, I represented Daniel during an internal investigation at Northbridge. I discovered that the company had been making payments to shell corporations connected to Frank Holloway. Daniel wanted to expose them. Frank wanted the evidence destroyed.""
"And Claire?""
"Claire was the person who handled the transfers. She claimed she was following orders.""
"Did you believe her?""
"At first.""
Evelyn paused.
"Then I discovered that someone had been using Daniel's credentials to authorize transactions after he left the company. Some of those transactions went through accounts connected to your family.""
"Mine?""
"Yes.""
I felt cold spread through my arms.
"Did Daniel authorize them?""
"I couldn't prove that he did. But I couldn't prove that he didn't.""
I stared at her.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I didn't want to expose you to an investigation without evidence.""
"You mean you decided I couldn't handle the truth.""
She flinched.
"I made a mistake.""
"No. You made a choice. There's a difference.""
Officer Brooks interrupted us.
"We have confirmation that the video call came through a masked internet connection. We can't establish Frank Holloway's location yet.""
"Can you trace it?"" I asked.
"Not reliably. Whoever made the call concealed the source.""
I looked toward the front door.
"Then we need to find him before he finds Maya.""
Officer Brooks shook his head.
"We're already coordinating with state investigators. You and your daughter will remain under protection.""
Maya lifted her head.
"What if he comes here?""
"He won't get near you," Officer Ramirez assured her.
But I could see that Maya didn't believe her.
Neither did I.
At eleven thirty that night, Maya finally fell asleep in the small room the police had arranged for us.
I sat beside her, watching the rise and fall of her chest.
She had spent four years believing her grandfather was dead. Now she was being asked to remember a hospital room, a frightened father, a mysterious woman, and a knife.
I wanted to tell her that none of it was her fault.
I wanted to promise that everything would be fine.
But I had learned that promises meant nothing when people made them without knowing the truth.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Daniel.
*I heard about Claire. Please tell me Maya is safe.*
I typed a reply.
*She is safe. For now. I need you to tell me what happened at the hospital. No more half-truths.*
His response came almost immediately.
*I'll come to you.*
I hesitated before answering.
*Not unless the police approve it.*
Then I called him.
He answered with a weary, "Renee?""
"Tell me about the hospital.""
Silence.
"Daniel.""
He exhaled.
"Four years ago, I received a call from Claire. She said my father had been injured and needed help. She gave me the address of a private medical facility outside Worcester.""
"Why would she call you?""
"Because my father had been hiding there under another name. I didn't know he was alive until that night.""
I closed my eyes.
"What happened when you arrived?""
"He was lying in a hospital bed. His face was bruised, and he could barely speak. Claire told me he had been attacked by someone from Northbridge.""
"Did you believe her?""
"Yes. At the time, I thought my father was a victim.""
"And Maya?""
"She was with me because I couldn't find anyone to watch her. I thought we would only be there for a few minutes.""
I felt anger rise in my chest.
"You took our nine-year-old daughter to a secret hospital room where a man connected to a financial crime was hiding?""
"I know how terrible that sounds.""
"It sounds terrible because it was terrible.""
"I was wrong.""
"What happened to the knife?""
Daniel went silent.
"Daniel, Maya remembers blood on your sleeve.""
His breathing changed.
"There was a knife on the floor when I entered the room. I never touched it.""
"Who did?""
"I don't know.""
"Was Frank alive when you left?""
"Yes.""
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
"How do you know?""
"Because he spoke to me.""
"What did he say?""
Daniel's voice dropped.
"He told me to protect Maya.""
I looked toward the bed.
"From whom?""
"From him.""
I froze.
"Your father told you to protect Maya from himself?""
"Yes.""
"Why?""
Daniel took a shaky breath.
"Because he said Maya had seen something she wasn't supposed to see.""
"What?""
"I don't know.""
"You were there!""
"I know what I saw, Renee. I don't know what my father believed she saw.""
I pressed my fingers against my forehead.
"Did Claire have the knife?""
"I didn't see her holding it.""
"Did you see anyone else in the room?""
A long pause followed.
Then Daniel said, "There was another man in the hallway.""
"Who?""
"I couldn't see his face.""
"Why didn't you tell the police?""
"Because Claire said the police were already involved in covering up what happened. She told me if I reported the incident, Maya would be taken from us while they investigated.""
I swallowed hard.
"And you believed her.""
"Yes.""
"So you kept quiet.""
"I thought I was protecting our daughter.""
I looked at Maya's sleeping face.
"That's what everyone keeps saying.""
Neither of us spoke for a while.
Then Daniel said, "Renee, I need to tell you something else. The wooden horse wasn't just a keepsake. My father gave it to Maya because he believed she had seen the original archive being moved.""
"She was nine.""
"She was in the house when he brought the documents home. He thought she might remember where he hid them.""
I stared at the little wooden horse on the table beside me.
The date carved into its underside.
The message about B-17.
"What is B-17?""
"I don't know.""
"Then why did you tell me the key could open the archive?""
"I never said it could. I said the key was connected to something my father left behind.""
I thought back to the brass key and Evelyn's explanation.
The key opened the cabinet beneath our stairs, but its markings pointed toward a room at the old Northbridge annex.
Perhaps the cabinet was only the first step.
"Daniel, did you kill your father?""
The question came out before I could stop it.
He didn't answer.
"Daniel?""
"No," he whispered.
"But I think I know who tried.""
"Who?""
He hesitated.
"Me.""
I stopped breathing.
"What are you talking about?""
"I went to the hospital because I wanted answers. I was angry. My father had ruined my career, and I believed he had used me to conceal the fraud. We argued.""
"About what?""
"The money. The documents. The fact that he'd disappeared and left me to deal with the consequences.""
Daniel's voice broke.
"I told him I would expose everything, even if it destroyed him.""
"And then?""
"He told me that if I did, he'd make sure Maya paid for it.""
My hands began to tremble.
"What did you do?""
"I picked up the knife.""
I stared at the phone.
"Daniel—"
"I didn't stab him. I swear to you, Renee. I picked it up because I thought he was going to use it against me. Then Claire screamed, and I dropped it.""
"Did you see who was holding it before you picked it up?""
"No.""
"Did you see who was holding it after you dropped it?""
"No.""
I closed my eyes.
"Then how do you know you didn't hurt him?""
"Because when I left, he was alive.""
I wanted to believe him.
But belief was no longer enough.
"Daniel, the police need to hear this from you.""
"I know.""
"You need to tell them everything.""
"I will.""
"Even if it means you go to prison?""
He was silent for a long moment.
Then he said, "Even if it means I go to prison.""
I ended the call and sat beside my daughter.
For the first time, Daniel had admitted something that might destroy him.
And for the first time, I wondered whether his father had been right to fear him.
At 6:12 the next morning, Officer Brooks knocked on our door.
His expression told me the news would be bad.
"We've received preliminary information about the woman found at the annex," he said.
"The medical examiner believes she died before the body was discovered. We're still waiting on formal identification.""
"Was it Claire?""
"Her identification documents were found nearby. We're not making a definitive public identification yet.""
"Did you find Frank?""
"No.""
He hesitated.
"But we found something else in the building.""
"What?""
"A second access point leading to a sealed records room. The door is marked B-17.""
I gripped the doorframe.
"Did you open it?""
"Not yet. The state investigators are handling the scene.""
"Why are you telling me this?""
"Because someone left your name on the door.""
My stomach dropped.
Officer Brooks held out a photograph.
The image showed a heavy metal door in a dark corridor. My name had been written across it in white paint.
*RENEE HOLLOWAY.*
Below it was a message.
*SHE KNOWS WHERE THE ORIGINAL IS.*
I stared at the photograph.
Then my phone rang.
An unknown number.
I answered without speaking.
A man's voice came through.
"Good morning, Renee.""
Frank Holloway.
"Where is my daughter?"" I demanded.
"Safe, I hope.""
"Don't you dare threaten her.""
He chuckled softly.
"I'm not threatening anyone. I'm trying to prevent a tragedy.""
"Then tell me the truth.""
"The truth is that your husband has been lying to you for years.""
"Which husband?""
"Daniel.""
I clenched my jaw.
"What do you want?""
"The archive.""
"I don't have it.""
"Yes, you do.""
"No, I don't.""
"You have the key. You have the documents. And you have the one person who remembers where I put the original.""
I looked toward Maya's room.
"She doesn't remember anything.""
"Then perhaps you should help her.""
"You're not going anywhere near her.""
Frank sighed.
"Renee, I understand your anger. But if you want to know who was holding the knife in that hospital room, you must bring the wooden horse to B-17.""
The line crackled.
Then he added, "Come alone.""
The call ended.
I stood motionless, holding the phone.
Officer Brooks took it from my hand and immediately began documenting the call.
"You're not going anywhere alone," he said firmly.
"I know.""
But my thoughts were already racing.
Frank wanted the wooden horse.
He wanted me at the annex.
And he knew Maya remembered something about the hospital room.
Whatever the truth was, he was afraid of it.
That meant we were finally getting close.
Then I noticed something I hadn't seen in the photograph of the door.
At the bottom corner, almost hidden by the shadows, was a small symbol carved into the metal.
A horse.
The same shape as the wooden keepsake Maya had carried since childhood.
May you like
And beneath it, a single word.
*WITNESS.*
