The Driver From the Rainy Morning
Chapter 09 - The Driver From the Rainy Morning
Marian Holt was living under her married surname in Vermont. Investigators contacted her, and she agreed to speak with Claire present. Her account was reluctant and specific. Elena had asked her to deliver a sealed blue folder to Arthur Pike. A household administrator intervened and instructed Marian to leave the estate instead.
“Who gave that instruction?” Claire asked.
“Sebastian Kroll's office. I remember because it was strange for an attorney to control a driver's schedule.”
Marian had returned that Saturday to retrieve her personal effects. She saw Elena loading the folder into her car and overheard an argument in the driveway. Vanessa was there, despite later claiming she'd spent the weekend away.
“Did you see anyone tamper with the car?”
“No,” Marian answered. “I won't say I did.”
Salvatore appreciated the honesty. A truthful limitation was worth more than a fabricated certainty.
Marian remembered another detail. Vanessa had been wearing a silver bracelet with a square clasp. Nicholas had mentioned that very bracelet when describing a fight in the library. Vanessa had accused him of stealing it and punished Rosa for defending him.
The pattern suggested scapegoating, but the criminal investigation remained separate. Salvatore refused to use the family's private enforcers to force answers. For too long he had tolerated fear as a management tool. His son's suffering made him confront what his reputation had helped normalize.
Back home, Nicholas was building a train station from blocks when his father arrived. The child held up a crooked tower. “It falls every time.”
“Want help?”
“No. I want to do it.”
May you like
Salvatore sat on the carpet and waited. When the tower collapsed again, Nicholas groaned, then glanced at his father. Salvatore smiled. “Looks like the architect needs another attempt.”
Nicholas laughed. He picked up the blocks and started over. It was a tiny victory, almost invisible, and more precious to Salvatore than any deal he'd signed abroad.
