The Last Toast Before Departure

I didn't go alone.

I didn't even consider it.

Detective Reed had made the rules clear, and for once, I had no intention of arguing with someone who was trying to keep my family alive.

The location Adrian sent was an abandoned freight depot on the southern edge of Milwaukee, less than ten miles from the old railway bridge.

The building belonged to Mercer Rail Services on paper, although we had stopped using it nearly a decade earlier. Its loading bays were sealed, its office windows boarded, and the rails leading into the yard were buried beneath weeds.

At 8:15 a.m., two unmarked police vehicles stopped outside the gate.

Reed sat beside me in the first car.

“Nobody enters until we confirm the building is safe,” he said.

“I understand.””

“Your brother may be a witness. He may also be withholding information about a serious crime. Don't promise him anything.””

“I won't.””

“And if he tells you something that implicates you, don't try to protect him.””

I looked at the building.

“I've spent most of my life protecting him.””

“Then perhaps it's time to find out whether he deserves it.””

The words stung because they were true.

We entered through a side door.

Inside, the depot smelled of damp concrete, old oil, and rust. Sunlight filtered through broken windows, illuminating dust that drifted through the empty warehouse.

Adrian stood near a rusted workbench.

He looked as though he hadn't slept. His shirt was wrinkled, his beard untrimmed, and a fresh cut marked the side of his forehead.

When he saw me, he raised both hands.

“I came alone.””

Reed remained near the entrance while I approached.

“Where did you get that cut?””

Adrian touched his forehead.

“Someone wanted me to stop talking.””

“Who?””

“I don't know.””

“You expect me to believe that?””

“No.”” He looked at me.

“I expect you to believe that I'm finally afraid enough to tell you the truth.””

I took out Simone's letter.

“You said Dad was alive.””

Adrian stared at it.

“Is that the original?””

“Yes.””

“Then she trusted you with it.””

“She trusted you, too. Apparently that didn't stop you from lying to me for twelve years.””

He flinched.

“I know.””

“Why?””

Adrian looked toward the broken windows.

“Because Dad made me a promise, and I believed him.””

“What promise?””

“That he would return when everything was settled.””

“What was supposed to be settled?””

He rubbed his hands together.

“The company.””

I laughed bitterly.

“Of course.””

“No. Listen to me. Before Dad supposedly died, he discovered that someone had been moving money through shell companies. He believed the company was being targeted from inside.””

“Who?””

“He didn't know at first. He suspected a senior accountant. Then he discovered the transfers were being approved through a trust he had created years earlier.””

I remembered the trust statement.

“Which trust?””

“The Mercer Family Legacy Trust. It was established before you and I were born. Dad controlled it until his death. After that, the shares were supposed to be divided between us.””

“That's what the estate documents said.””

“Those documents were incomplete.””

I stared at him.

“What does that mean?””

Adrian took a folded paper from his pocket.

It was a copy of a trust agreement, dated thirty years earlier.

The document stated that a portion of the company had been placed in an irrevocable family trust, with Simone named as a future beneficiary.

I read the paragraph twice.

“Why was Simone a beneficiary?””

“Because Dad wanted someone outside the immediate family to protect the company if either of us became involved in wrongdoing.””

I looked up.

“Dad trusted my wife more than his own sons?””

“He trusted her judgment.””

“And you knew about this?””

“I found out after he disappeared.””

“Disappeared?””

Adrian nodded.

“Three weeks before the funeral, Dad called me from Cleveland. He said he was leaving the country for a while and that I needed to help him establish a new identity.””

I stared at him.

“You helped him fake his death?””

His eyes filled.

“Yes.””

The word echoed through the empty depot.

I wanted to hit him.

I wanted to grab him by the collar and demand how he could stand beside me at a funeral for a man he knew was alive.

Instead, I stepped backward.

“Why didn't you tell me?””

“Because Dad said you were being watched. He said if you knew he was alive, you would try to find him. He told me it would put you in danger.””

“And you believed him?””

“I was twenty-eight. I wanted him to believe I could be trusted.””

“You let me bury an empty coffin.””

Adrian looked down.

“I know.””

“You let me tell Nia her grandfather was dead.””

“I know.””

“You watched me grieve for a man who was making plans behind my back.””

His voice broke.

“I know, Damon.””

I turned away.

For a moment, I couldn't bear to look at him.

Then I remembered the payment records.

“The Bellweather transfers. Were they Dad's money?””

“Some of them.””

“How much?””

“I don't know the exact total. But I know the company was being used to move funds into the trust.””

“Why?””

“To keep them away from the people who were trying to take control.””

“Who were those people?””

Adrian looked at me.

“Camille.””

I shook my head.

“She wasn't even in our lives when Dad disappeared.””

“Not officially.””

I stopped.

“What?””

Adrian swallowed.

“Camille was working for one of Dad's business partners. She was involved in a consulting company that handled acquisitions. Dad believed she had access to information about the shell companies.””

“You're saying she knew him?””

“Yes.””

“How well?””

“Enough that he trusted her to carry messages.””

I stared at him.

The ring.

The photograph.

The hospital records.

The letters.

Everything seemed to be circling back to a woman who had entered my life two years after Simone died.

“Why did you marry her?”” I asked.

Adrian looked startled.

“I didn't.””

I felt my blood run cold.

“What?””

“Dad arranged for Camille to meet you. He said she could help protect the company and keep an eye on the trust.””

I stared at him.

“Are you telling me my marriage was arranged?””

“No. Dad introduced you. What happened afterward was your choice.””

“You knew?””

“I knew he wanted you to trust her.””

“And you didn't think to tell me?””

“Damon, I was trying to keep the company from collapsing. Dad said the shell companies were preparing to take control of our shares. If they succeeded, we would lose everything.””

“So you let me marry a woman who was investigating my family?””

“I thought she was protecting us.””

“Did you know about Simone?””

Adrian went silent.

I stepped toward him.

“Did you know Camille was speaking to my wife before the accident?””

“Yes.””

The answer was barely audible.

My vision blurred.

“What did you do?””

“I confronted her.””

“When?””

“Three days after Simone died.””

“You told me you were in Cleveland.””

“I was.””

“Then how did you confront her?””

Adrian looked at the floor.

“On the phone.””

I felt a cold anger settle over me.

“What did she say?””

“She told me Simone had discovered the trust documents. She said Simone was planning to report the transfers to the board.””

“And?””

“She said she would handle it.””

I grabbed his arm.

“What does that mean?””

Adrian pulled away.

“I don't know. I swear to you, I don't know what happened that night.””

“Did you ask?””

“Yes.””

“What did she say?””

“That Simone had been in an accident and that there was nothing anyone could do.””

I stared at him.

“You accepted that?””

“I was afraid.””

“So was I!””

My voice broke through the empty building.

“I lost my wife. I watched my daughter grow up without her mother. I spent five years believing the worst thing that had ever happened to me was a tragic accident. And all that time, you knew there were questions nobody had answered.””

Adrian bowed his head.

“I know.””

“No. You don't.””

I released him and walked toward the workbench.

A faded company logo had been painted across its side.

My father had built his business here, repairing freight cars with his own hands. I had spent summers sweeping this floor, dreaming of the day I would run the company.

Adrian had followed me everywhere.

We had been inseparable.

Now I couldn't tell whether he had been my brother or my father's obedient soldier.

“Where is he?”” I asked.

Adrian didn't answer.

I turned.

“Where is Dad?””

“I don't know his current location.””

“Then tell me where he was last.””

“An apartment in Cleveland.””

“When?””

“Six months ago.””

I stared at him.

“Six months?””

“He contacted me after Simone's trust documents resurfaced. He said someone had found the original agreement.””

“Who?””

“I think it was Odessa.””

I remembered the photograph beneath the bridge.

Odessa standing beside my father.

“Why would she have the documents?””

“Because she helped Simone hide them.””

I took out my phone.

“Detective Reed needs to hear this.””

Adrian's face tightened.

“Wait.””

“What now?””

He reached into his jacket and withdrew a small envelope.

“I kept this because I thought Dad might need it.””

Inside was a photograph of a hospital corridor.

A woman lay on a bed behind a half-open door.

Her face was turned away from the camera.

But I recognized the wedding ring on her hand.

Simone's.

Beneath the photograph was a medical record.

The date was five years old.

The name at the top had been crossed out and replaced with a patient number.

I read the entry.

*PATIENT TRANSFERRED TO PRIVATE FACILITY — STATUS CONFIDENTIAL.*

I looked at Adrian.

“What is this?””

His voice dropped to a whisper.

“It's the reason Dad disappeared.””

I stared at the photograph.

“Who is the patient?””

Adrian closed his eyes.

“Your wife.””

For a moment, the entire world stopped.

“That is impossible.””

“I know what I saw.””

“Simone died five years ago.””

“That's what the records say.””

I grabbed the envelope.

“Are you telling me she was alive after the accident?””

“I don't know.””

“Then what do you know?””

Adrian looked at me with desperate eyes.

“I know Dad went to the hospital the night she crashed. I know he arranged for a private transfer. I know the death certificate was issued before the transfer paperwork was completed.””

I couldn't breathe.

“Why didn't you tell me?””

“Because Dad said Simone had to disappear to keep you and Nia safe.””

“Safe from whom?””

Adrian's answer came quietly.

“From the people who wanted the trust.””

A sharp sound came from the entrance.

Reed stepped into the warehouse, his hand resting near his radio.

“Mr. Mercer, we need to leave. Now.””

“What happened?””

He looked at Adrian.

“Someone has accessed the police evidence system.””