Chương 6 - The Enemy at His Table
Dominic read Carol Parker’s letter three times.
The third time was the worst.
“The man he calls family.”
Anthony stood across the storage unit.
His face had lost all color.
Emily looked at him.
“Is she talking about you?”
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
Too immediately.
Dominic noticed.
“Anthony.”
Anthony closed his eyes.
“My father.”
“You told me you thought Ricci was dead.”
“I did.”
“But you knew Isabella suspected him.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
“I was trying to prove it before I accused a ghost.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“Seven years.”
“I know.”
“My wife has been dead seven years.”
“I know!”
Anthony’s shout echoed through the unit.
For once, he looked less like an attorney and more like a frightened boy.
“My father beat my mother until she stopped being able to hear out of her left ear. He put a gun in my mouth when I was nine because I answered a detective’s question. Witness Protection gave us another name because Antonio Ricci was supposed to disappear from our lives.”
Anthony’s voice shook.
“When Isabella showed me those manifests, I panicked. I told her to stop digging.”
“Then she died.”
“Yes.”
“You should have told me.”
“Yes.”
Dominic struck him.
Anthony hit the concrete.
Emily did not interfere this time.
Anthony wiped blood from his mouth.
“I deserved that.”
“No,” Dominic said quietly. “You deserve much worse.”
Emily inserted the flash drive into a laptop one of Dominic’s men brought.
Password protected.
Three attempts.
Then the system would erase itself.
Emily stared at the password field.
“My mother loved ridiculous passwords.”
“What kind?”
“Things nobody else would understand.”
She thought of childhood.
Her mother singing while washing dishes.
Cheap birthday cakes.
Anatomy flashcards covering their refrigerator when Emily started nursing school.
Then she remembered what Carol always said whenever life became frightening.
Keep your hands steady.
Emily typed STEADYHANDS.
Access granted.
Folders appeared.
Photographs.
Bank records.
Audio files.
A video.
Dominic clicked it.
Isabella Vale appeared on-screen.
Alive.
Emily looked at Dominic.
He did not move.
“If you are watching this,” Isabella said, “then Carol and I failed to stop Antonio quietly.”
Dominic’s breathing changed.
Isabella continued.
“Dominic, you will want revenge. Please don’t make revenge your first decision.”
Emily glanced at him.
His eyes never left the screen.
“Antonio Ricci built a trafficking network inside legitimate shipping companies. He chose Vale Atlantic because your reputation made people afraid to ask questions. He also knew your father.”
Dominic stiffened.
“Your father protected him.”
The video continued.
“After your father died, Antonio needed you controlled. He placed people around you. Reed eventually discovered it and came to me. Anthony helped me gather evidence without knowing his father was still alive.”
Anthony looked up.
Vindication mixed with grief.
“He didn’t betray her,” Emily whispered.
Dominic said nothing.
Then Isabella spoke the sentence that changed everything.
“Antonio’s closest operative is Victor Vale.”
Dominic shut the laptop.
Emily stared.
“Who is Victor?”
“My uncle.”
Anthony slowly stood.
“Your father’s younger brother.”
Dominic’s face was stone.
Victor Vale had helped raise him.
Had held Lily and Grace at their baptism.
Had stood beside Dominic at Isabella’s funeral.
The enemy had not merely entered his house.
The enemy had eaten Sunday dinner there.
Dominic reopened the laptop.
The remaining files documented years of transactions.
Enough evidence to destroy Ricci’s network.
But the newest document was seven years old.
“We need something current,” Anthony said.
Emily noticed another folder.
CAROL.
Inside were photographs taken years after Isabella’s death.
Antonio Ricci leaving restaurants.
Meeting men at docks.
Entering a luxury condominium.
“My mother kept investigating.”
“She was protecting you,” Dominic said.
Emily shook her head.
“She never told me.”
“Maybe that was how she protected you.”
The thought hurt.
A phone rang.
Dominic answered.
Victor.
Emily could hear his voice faintly.
“Dominic, thank God. I heard about the girls.”
Dominic’s expression revealed nothing.
“They’re safe.”
“I’m coming over.”
“No.”
Pause.
“Why?”
“The house was breached.”
“I can help.”
Dominic looked at Emily.
She understood.
They could not reveal what they knew.
Dominic softened his voice.
“You’ve done enough, Uncle.”
Victor apparently heard affection.
Emily heard accusation.
“I’ll call you later.”
Dominic disconnected.
Anthony exhaled.
“He’ll know soon.”
“Then we move first.”
Emily looked at the files.
“To the FBI?”
“Not yet.”
She stared at him.
“My mother specifically said not to trust police.”
“Exactly.”
Anthony nodded.
“We need someone outside Chicago.”
Dominic looked at him.
“You know somebody?”
“A federal agent Isabella contacted before she died.”
“Why wasn’t that in the investigation?”
“Because he disappeared.”
Emily sighed.
“Of course he did.”
Anthony almost smiled.
“He resurfaced two years ago under a different name.”
“Where?”
“Milwaukee.”
Dominic started issuing orders.
Emily interrupted.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“Those files belonged to my mother.”
“You are not coming.”
Emily stepped directly into his path.
“You don’t get to lock me in your mansion while you decide what parts of my mother’s life I’m allowed to understand.”
“You nearly died twice today.”
“And your daughters would be dead if I followed instructions well.”
Dominic stared at her.
Anthony looked away, wisely hiding his smile.
Finally Dominic said, “You stay beside me.”
“That sounded suspiciously like another order.”
“It was.”
Emily grabbed her coat.
“I’m ignoring the tone.”
For the first time, Dominic Vale smiled at her.
Small.
Brief.
Dangerous to her common sense.
They never reached Milwaukee.
Ten miles from the Wisconsin border, the SUV ahead of them exploded.
Dominic threw Emily down as their driver swerved.
Vehicles boxed them in.
Men emerged.
Dominic drew his weapon.
Emily saw a familiar face through the snow.
Victor Vale.
Dominic’s uncle approached slowly.
Then he smiled.
“Give me the drive, Dominic.”
Dominic shielded Emily with his body.
Victor sighed.
“You always were stubborn.”
Then he looked directly at Emily.
“Your mother was stubborn too.”
Emily’s blood turned cold.
May you like
Victor raised his gun.
“I suppose you know how that ended.”
