Chapter 6: The Price of a Son’s Name
Vasko switched off the recorder.
“My signature is on that concerto.”
Claire held the green notebook against her chest.
“Did Elias give it to you?”
“He brought me the melody when he was nineteen.
I told him it needed work.” Vasko looked at Adrian’s empty office.
“A week later, Adrian gave me a finished score and said Elias had abandoned it.”
Zeke opened the notebook.
“The bird is on every page.”
Vasko sat beside him.
The familiar concerto filled the paper in Elias’s handwriting, correction after correction.
“I performed this around the world,” Vasko said.
“Then the world should know who wrote it,” Claire replied.
The elevator doors opened.
Adrian entered with a gray-haired man carrying a briefcase.
“My attorney, Stephen Pike,” Adrian said.
“This gathering ends now.”
Margaret stepped in front of the piano.
“You no longer give orders here.”
Pike placed a document on the lid.
“A court application preventing Maestro Vasko or this hotel from releasing disputed recordings or financial records.”
“You obtained that in twenty minutes?” Claire asked.
“Preparation is useful.”
Mrs.
Bell looked at Adrian.
“You prepared it before today.”
Adrian ignored her.
“Claire, I will repeat my offer once.
Fifty thousand dollars, no claim for the piano, and a clean employment reference.”
“What do you want?”
“The notebook, both tapes, and Elias’s letter.”
Zeke clutched the notebook.
“No.”
Adrian crouched in front of him.
“Your father took things that did not belong to him.”
Vasko moved between them.
“Stand up.”
“You still choose Elias.”
“I am choosing the truth.”
Adrian rose slowly.
“The truth is that he left you.
I stayed.
I managed your money, your schedule, your foundation, and every tiresome detail that allowed you to be adored.”
“You managed them into an account under another name.”
Pike touched Adrian’s arm.
“Say nothing further.”
Adrian pulled away.
“No.
He should hear it.
Elias had talent, but I built the life around it.
I deserved something.”
Claire opened Elias’s letter.
“You deserved your own life.
You didn’t deserve his.”
Adrian’s eyes settled on Zeke.
“Give me the notebook.”
“No.”
“Zeke,” Claire said, holding out her hand.
The boy passed it to her.
Adrian reached into his jacket and produced another folded document.
“Elias signed away all rights to the concerto.”
Vasko examined the signature.
“That looks genuine.”
“It is.”
Claire’s shoulders dropped.
“Elias never told me.”
“He didn’t tell you many things.”
Zeke looked at her.
“Mom?”
Claire gripped the edge of the piano.
Adrian’s words had found their mark, and he saw it.
“Take the money,” he said softly.
“Your husband protected himself, not you.”
Mrs.
Bell moved to Claire’s side.
“Look at the date.”
Claire forced herself to read it.
“The day before our wedding.”
“And look at the witness,” Mrs.
Bell said.
The signature read ADRIAN VASKO.
Margaret opened her folder.
“There is a problem.
Adrian was in Zurich that week.
I have his hotel invoices because the foundation reimbursed them.”
Pike closed his briefcase.
“Mr.
Cole, we need to speak privately.”
“You’re paid to speak for me.”
“Not while you confess in a lobby.”
Adrian seized the notebook from Claire and ran toward the fireplace in the lounge.
He pushed several pages into the flames before a security officer pulled him back.
“No!” Zeke shouted.
The edges curled black.
Claire grabbed the metal fire screen and smothered the flames while Vasko rescued what remained.
Adrian laughed.
“There goes your masterpiece.”
Margaret removed a small memory card from her folder.
“The archive staff scanned every page when Elias deposited the notebook,” she said.
“He instructed them to release the copy if anyone tried to destroy the original.”
Adrian stopped laughing.
“You knew?”
“I learned this morning,” Margaret replied.
“Elias trusted my late husband when he trusted no one else.”
Pike stepped away from Adrian.
“My representation ends here.”
“You can’t walk out.”
“I just did.”
The lawyer left.
Adrian looked toward the hotel doors, but both security officers blocked them.
A woman in a dark blue suit entered and showed Margaret her identification.
“I’m Helen Shaw from the foundation’s financial oversight office.
We need access to Mr.
Cole’s computer and account records.”
Adrian backed against the piano.
Vasko unfolded the scorched final page of the notebook.
Beneath the music, Elias had written a dedication.
FOR ZEKE—SO MY SON WILL ONE DAY KNOW WHY I STAYED AWAY.
Claire read it twice.
May you like
Then she looked at Vasko.
“What did Elias believe you were protecting him from?”
