Chapter 6: What Helena Did
The driver was taken to the hospital under police guard.
Ricardo stayed outside the emergency room with Bia.
Helena sat across the corridor.
No one spoke.
At last, Ricardo broke the silence.
“What did you do that night?””
Helena looked at him.
“Everything you're imagining.””
“I want facts.””
She nodded slowly.
“The night Daniel died, your brother called me.””
“What did he say?””
“He said he had the files.””
“Then what?””
“He told me to bring a bag of money and meet him at the warehouse.””
“Did you?””
“Yes.””
Ricardo clenched his fists.
“When I arrived, Daniel was already arguing with your uncle.””
“And you?””
“I hid.””
“Why?””
“Because I was terrified.””
“Then what happened?””
“Your mother arrived.””
Ricardo closed his eyes.
“She saw me.””
“What did she say?””
“She asked why I was there.””
“And?””
“I told her to leave.””
“But she stayed.””
“She wanted to help Daniel.””
Ricardo's voice became quieter.
“What happened to her?””
Helena wiped her face.
“Your uncle pulled a gun.””
Bia buried her face in Ricardo’s side.
“I tried to stop him.””
“Did you?””
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because someone grabbed me.””
“Who?””
“The driver.””
Ricardo looked up.
“The man in the hospital?””
“Yes.””
“He was working for your uncle.””
“At that time.””
“What changed?””
“He realized they were going to kill all of us.””
Ricardo stared at the hospital doors.
“What happened next?””
“Daniel fought your uncle.””
“Who shot him?””
Helena hesitated.
“Your uncle fired.””
Ricardo breathed slowly.
“And my mother?””
“She grabbed the files.””
“Then?””
“She ran.””
“Did she escape?””
Helena looked down.
“No.””
“Did you see her die?””
Helena's eyes filled.
“Yes.””
Ricardo closed his eyes.
For a long moment, he couldn't move.
Then Bia whispered:
“Mommy said you tried to save her.””
Helena covered her mouth.
“She told you that?””
Bia nodded.
“She said Helena was scared, but not bad.””
Ricardo looked between them.
The story had become more complicated than he wanted.
But one question remained.
“Where are the files now?””
Helena reached inside her coat.
She removed a tiny memory card.
“Here.””
Ricardo stared.
“You had this the entire time?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because I was waiting for the right person.””
“You could have given it to the police.””
“I didn't know which ones were clean.””
He stared at her.
“Who can we trust?””
Helena said:
“The driver.””
“He's unconscious.””
“He left Daniel's organization. He knows who was paid.””
A doctor appeared.
“The patient's awake.””
Ricardo and Helena followed him inside.
The driver looked pale.
His voice was barely audible.
“Your uncle…”
Ricardo leaned closer.
“What?””
“He wasn't the boss.””
Ricardo froze.
“Who was?””
The driver looked at Helena.
“You know.””
Helena shook her head.
“No.””
The driver whispered:
“She came to the warehouse before all of us.””
Ricardo looked at Helena.
“Who?””
The driver swallowed.
“Your father.””
Ricardo went still.
“My father is dead.””
“So is Daniel.””
The driver closed his eyes.
“He isn't dead.””
Helena whispered:
“That’s impossible.””
The driver looked at Ricardo.
“Your father ordered the whole thing.””
Ricardo stepped backward.
His father had died when Ricardo was nineteen.
At least, that was what everyone had told him.
A heart attack.
A private funeral.
A sealed coffin.
No viewing.
No questions.
He remembered his mother crying.
Daniel taking him outside.
His uncle saying, “Sometimes the worst things happen to good families.””
Ricardo suddenly realized something.
His father had not been mourned.
He had been buried.
There was a difference.
“Where is he?”” Ricardo asked.
The driver's eyes shifted toward the window.
“Somewhere you would never think to look.””
“Where?””
The driver whispered:
“Your family cemetery.””
Ricardo stared.
“That makes no sense.””
“He's been there for years.””
Helena stepped forward.
“What's his name?””
The driver looked confused.
“You know his name.””
Ricardo did.
But he suddenly couldn't say it.
Because the name on the old grave had never matched the name his father used.
The doctor ordered everyone out.
Ricardo stood in the hallway.
He turned to Helena.
“We're going to the cemetery.””
She looked at him.
“Tonight?””
“Tonight.””
Bia held his hand.
“Daddy…”
He looked down.
“Yes?””
“My doll has one more pocket.””
Ricardo stared.
“What?””
Bia pulled the doll's dress apart.
Inside the lining was another folded note.
Ricardo opened it.
His mother's handwriting.
May you like
One sentence.
IF HE TELLS YOU HE'S DEAD, DON'T BELIEVE HIM.
