One Year After My Husband’s Funeral, I Found His Grave Empty—
I’m running out of time. Never give me a call. Keep it a secret. Not Eleanor, in particular.
Laura felt her throat constrict.
Gabriel?
A few seconds went by.
I apologize.
She almost let go of the phone.
Nevertheless, she called.
Directly to voicemail.
No salutation.
Just quiet.
After thirty seconds, there was another SMS.
Don’t call, I said. They are keeping an eye on records.
“They?”
Before she could think, her fingers moved.
You’re where?
Nothing.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Next—
Is it still possible to enter our former storage unit?
She scowled.
unit of storage?
It had slipped her mind.
She and Gabriel hired a tiny storage locker outside of Emeryville for things they couldn’t fit in their apartment years prior to purchasing the house. They emptied the majority of the house after moving in.
most.
Gabriel had been adamant about keeping it.
“It’s inexpensive,” he had chuckled.
“You never discard anything.”
“You’ll thank me one day.”
Laura hadn’t given it any attention since.
C-118. Make use of your previous key. Go by yourself. The following day. It is noon.
One more pause.
One last message after that.
You never heard from me, in case anyone asks.
The number was instantly unreachable.
Laura was not asleep.
Over the course of the night, she relived every memory from the previous eighteen months.
The incident.
The coffin was closed.
Eleanor declined to have an autopsy.
The funeral was hurried.
The infant is missing.
The residence.
the documentation.
She had never been given the opportunity to ask inquiries because everything had transpired so quickly.
Grief had turned into a prison unto itself.
Every locked door now appeared to be deliberate.
The following morning, at eleven, she took a car to Emeryville.
The storage facility remained the same.
The same blue sign, fading.
same fence made of chain links.
Behind scratched Plexiglas, the same bored manager watched television during the day.
Before buzzing her through, he hardly looked at her driver’s license.
At the end of a little aisle was Unit C-118.
The roll-up door was covered in dust.
It appeared unaltered.
Laura rummaged through an old key ring that she had nearly thrown away months before.
Slide the small brass key into the lock.
It was still appropriate.
The metal door gave a rattling as it rose.
Inside…
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
An antique dining table.
decorations for a wedding.
Christmas-themed boxes.
equipment for camping.
A bike with flat tires.
She questioned whether she had imagined everything for a brief moment of disappointment.
Then she became aware of something.
Gabriel has always had a strong sense of organization.
The labels on each package were written by hand.
aside from one.
Beneath an old quilt was a plain gray file box.
Not a label.
There is no dust.
It had lately been touched.
Laura dropped to her knees.
There were numerous folders inside.
statements from banks.
records of insurance.
medical expenses.
Next…
The envelope was sealed.
written in Gabriel’s own hand.
I’m either dead or someone wants Laura to think I’m dead if she’s opening this.
Her breathing ceased.
She almost tore the envelope in half when she opened it because it shook so violently.
There was a handwritten letter inside.
Laura.
If you’re reading this, the very thing I was afraid of occurring.
First of all, I adore you.
Second, don’t put your trust in my mom.
Laura’s mouth was shut.
Before she could stop them, tears streamed down her cheeks.
The letter went on.
I learned three years ago that, contrary to popular belief, my father did not pass away bankrupt.
I was left in charge of everything.
Everything.
But after his passing, Mother changed the paperwork.
She has moved money through shell corporations and fictitious charities for years.
She grinned when I challenged her.
“No one will trust you more than me.”
I engaged a lawyer.
My brakes failed two weeks later.
Laura’s eyes got bigger.
It wasn’t an accident.
My lawyer has everything if you’re reading this because I passed away.
Run if you’re reading this because someone said, “I died, but you never saw my body.”
because she will stop at nothing to keep herself safe.
Laura scurried through the rest of the pages.
A business card was attached on the back with a paper clip.
Caldwell, Nathan. lawyer at law.
Below it…
an address written by hand.
And one last thing.
Ask Nathan about Project Sparrow if I vanish.
Sparrow Project.
Laura said the words out loud in a whisper.
They had no significance.
Still.
Outside, there was a loud metallic bang.
A automobile door had been smashed.
Laura froze.
voices.
A man.
One of them chuckled.
Then there were footsteps.
Take your time.
Getting nearer.
Silently, she lowered the storage door until it was barely a few inches open.
Outside, black sneakers came to a stop.
They were joined by another pair.
The manager reported that someone had signed up for this unit.
Are you certain she’s by herself?”
“I’m certain.”
Laura’s heart began to race.
The second voice was familiar to her.
Victor owned it.
Eleanor’s lifelong driver.
The driver of the funeral limousine.
The man who had packed Gabriel’s things following the mishap.
The man who had gazed at Laura in the hospital without offering any consoling words.
Victor.
He was here, but why?
Laura carefully closed the door from the inside.
The storage container was engulfed in darkness.
She hardly dared to breathe.
Outside—
Metal was scraped.
The lock was attempted by someone.
“It’s secured.”
“She might be inside already.”
Quiet.
Next…
“Examine each row.”
Laura scanned the small storage space frantically.
There was no way out.
No windows.
Just piles of boxes.
Then she saw something concealed behind an old wardrobe.
a little hatch for maintenance.
Just big enough to squeeze through.
Gabriel had never brought it up.
As softly as possible, she pushed the wardrobe aside.
There was no lock on the hatch.
A gust of fresh air passed through the gap.
There were footsteps again.
“They’re within.”
The padlock gave a loud clatter.
Just as the storage door started to lift, Laura crammed herself into the tunnel.
Behind her, she heard Victor’s voice.
“She has been present.”
Then, with a chilling calmness, another voice responded.
“Look for the letter.”
Clutching Gabriel’s scrawled pages to her bosom, Laura crept through the darkness more quickly.
For the first time since the graveyard…
She had stopped wondering if Gabriel’s death had been a lie.
She was now aware of something much more horrifying.
Someone was still prepared to kill in order to conceal the truth.
Section 4
The rough concrete scraped through Laura’s jeans knees as she pushed herself forward on her elbows.
The maintenance tunnel smelled of rusted metal, dust, and mildew, and it was only two feet high. Her face and hair were covered with cobwebs, but she dared not stop to remove them.
The voices behind her became more audible.
“I discovered new footprints.”
“Check every box.”
“She stays here if she is here.”
Victor’s voice stayed eerily composed.
“Eleanor wants everything to be restored.” particularly the letter.
Laura’s heart pounded.
Not the documents.
Not the container.
The letter.
They were fully aware of what Gabriel had left for her.
This implied that they were already aware that Gabriel had anticipated a certain outcome.
More than the darkness, the realization made her shiver.
There was no panic here.
Damage management was not the goal here.
This was a long-term plan.
The tunnel ended at a corroded metal grate after sloping downward. Laura gently pushed.
It was immobile.
She exerted more force.
Nothing.
In despair, she scanned her surroundings and saw a rusty clasp hidden behind years of grime. She scraped enough dirt off her sweater sleeve to open it.
With a gentle groan, the grate swung outward.
Sunlight poured in.
She came out from behind the storage facility, concealed by an overgrown blackberry bush bordering a railroad track that had been abandoned.
She just lay there and tried to breathe for a few seconds.
Then she heard people yelling.
“She is no longer there!”
Victor.
Laura was eager to learn more.
She ran into the street, hid behind a delivery truck that was unloading furniture, and vanished into the throng outside a supermarket.
She didn’t let herself look at the remainder of Gabriel’s paperwork until she got on a city bus bound for Oakland.
A flash drive was taped inside the bottom of the gray box, hidden beneath the handwritten letter.
It was something she had not previously observed.
A folded photo was also present.
Gabriel was seen standing next to a middle-aged man wearing a navy suit.
Gabriel had written on the back:
Caldwell, Nathan. Have faith in him. He already knows half the truth if something were to happen to me.
The half-truth.
Laura gazed out the window of the bus.
Half.
How much worse might the other half be?
The third floor of an old brick structure close to Jack London Square housed Nathan Caldwell’s office.
This office appeared nearly forgotten in contrast to the elegant downtown firms Gabriel had previously utilized for business transactions.
The receptionist looked up.
“Are you scheduled?”
“I must see Mr. Caldwell.”
“Eight months ago, he retired.”
Another door slammed, and Laura felt it.
“Do you know where I can locate him?”
The front desk agent paused.
“He no longer meets with clients.”
“This has nothing to do with business.”
“It never is.”
Laura took Gabriel’s handwritten letter out of her purse and set it on the counter.
The receptionist’s face quickly transformed.
She examined the handwriting.
Next, Laura.
“Stay put.”
She vanished into a corridor.
An old man with reading spectacles came out of a rear office less than two minutes later.
His eyes sharpened the moment they met Laura’s, but his hair had turned nearly white.
“You have to be Laura.”
Her breathing ceased.
“Are you aware of my identity?”
“You’ve been anticipated.”
Nathan lowered the blinds and shut the door to his office.
He walked over to a bookcase without saying anything.
Three law books were taken out by him.
There was a little safe behind them.
Laura calmly observed him inputting a six-digit code.
There were numerous folders inside.
He chose one with the label:
PRIVATE VANCE
Nathan didn’t open it right away after setting it on the desk.
Rather, he looked sadly at Laura.
“I’ve always wished I wouldn’t have to show you this.”
Laura’s voice faltered.
“Is Gabriel still alive?”
Nathan shut his eyes.
“I’m not sure.”
She wasn’t expecting that response.
You’re unaware?”
“It has been fourteen months since I last heard from him.”
Laura’s heart fell.
“But last night, he texted me.”
Nathan appeared really shocked.
“What is he?”
She gave her phone to him.
Every communication was read twice by him.
He carefully took off his spectacles when he got to the last one.
“After that, everything simply changed.”
What does that signify?”
“It indicates that Gabriel lived longer than I thought.”
Laura took hold of the desk’s edge.
“Begin at the beginning.”
Nathan gave a nod.
“Gabriel came to me three years ago because he thought someone in his own family was embezzling money from the Vance Foundation.”
Laura scowled.
“The nonprofit?”
“Officially.”
Nathan moved a number of financial statements across the desk.
“Millions of dollars were actually moved overseas using it.”
Laura gazed.
“Eleanor?”
Nathan gave a nod.
“Not by myself.”
He clicked on a different folder.
Pictures strewn all over the desk.
Men wearing pricey suits.
opulent residences.
private aircraft.
transfers via wire.
contracts with the government.
Shell companies.
“This wasn’t just a scam.”
Nathan’s voice became less audible.
“Organized financial crime was involved.”
Laura’s stomach turned.
“My mom-in-law?”
“Her late husband left her the network.”
Gabriel, however, stated that his father—
“Died bankrupt?”
Nathan smiled bitterly.
“Everyone was expected to believe that.”
He bent over.
“Your father-in-law did not lose his fortune, Laura.”
“He constructed it.”
“Illegally.”
Another envelope was opened by Nathan.
There found an old newspaper clipping inside.
A HEART ATTACK KILLS A LOCAL DEVELOPER
Date.
Seventeen years earlier.
Nathan gave the article a touch.
“No autopsy.”
Laura gave him a look.
Do you believe he was killed?”
“I believe he found out someone was going to take his place.”
The room was silent.
“And Gabriel?”
“He was going to expose everyone.”
Nathan turned to face the window.
“Sadly, someone discovered what he was doing.”
The flash drive was carefully taken out of Laura’s purse.
“I discovered this.”
Nathan’s face dramatically transformed.
“Where?”
“In the unit of storage.”
He nearly grabbed it from her.
“Oh my God.”
“What?”
“I’ve spent more than a year searching for this.”
He connected it to an outdated laptop that had never been online.
A number of folders showed up.
Accounts.
CHANGES.
audio.
A video.
Nathan’s attention was immediately drawn to one file.
PLAY IF I GO AWAY.mp4
Laura was immobile.
Nathan made a click.
The screen wavered.
Gabriel showed up.
He appeared worn out.
Not shaven.
Laura was dressed in the same blue jacket she had seen the week before to the collision.
He stared straight into the camera.
“If you’re viewing this,”
Sadly, he grinned.
“then my mom has already taken action.”
Laura started crying.
Gabriel went on talking.
“I’m not sure if I’m hiding or dead.”
“I couldn’t return if I’m still alive.”
“They caught me first if I’m dead.”
Nathan bowed his head.
Gabriel went on.
“You can trust three people.”
“Nathan.”
“Claire, my sister.”
“And Samuel Ortiz, the detective.”
Laura scowled.
“Claire?”
Years prior, Gabriel’s younger sister had disappeared from the family following a heated dispute with Eleanor.
She was unstable, according to everyone.
that she had pilfered cash.
said she would permanently sever ties with the family.
Gabriel went on.
“My mother informed everyone that Claire’s disappearance was due to addiction.”
He gave a headshake.
“That was yet another fabrication.”
Laura’s entire body felt chilly.
“Claire ran after discovering the true nature of our family.”
Gabriel leaned in closer to the camera.
“If Laura is observing this,”
His gaze grew softer.
“I apologize.”
“I attempted to keep you safe.”
“I made a special effort to keep our son safe.”
Laura froze.
Her entire being came to a halt.
Our
Son.
Not a baby.
Not a kid.
Son.
Living?
Gabriel took a deep breath and went on.
“If something goes wrong before I get to you…
There was an abrupt malfunction in the video.
The screen was filled with static.
The audio broke.
After that, the image was only visible for two more seconds.
Desperate, Gabriel yelled something into the camera.
However, just four words made it through the tainted tape.
“Don’t let—he’s alive.”
The screen darkened.
Laura let out a cry.
Nathan started attempting to restore the damaged file right away, but the remaining data was irreparably ruined.
Tears were running down Laura’s face as she sat still.
Not because Gabriel could still be alive.
Not because Eleanor had been dishonest.
Not because church donations and charity meals had concealed a whole criminal operation.
For the first time in more than a year, she was crying because
The inconceivable words had finally been spoken by someone.
It’s possible that their son would have survived.
Section 5
Laura was having trouble breathing.
Gabriel’s final distinct words reverberated around the office, even though the laptop screen had already turned black.
“I made an effort to keep our son safe.”
I didn’t try.
I don’t wish I could have.
I’m not sorry he passed away.
Our son.
alive.
Nathan shut down the laptop in silence.
For over a minute, neither of them said anything.
“If he’s alive, where is he?” Laura finally muttered.”
Nathan massaged his face with both hands.
“I’m not sure.”
“You claimed Gabriel had faith in you.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Then tell me everything.”
After a moment of hesitation, Nathan opened the last folder in the safe.
