Chapter 4 - The Man Who Raised Him
Rafael drove for forty minutes without speaking.
Elena sat beside him.
Nate was back at the townhouse with Marco's sister, a retired elementary-school teacher Rafael trusted more than most judges.
Elena watched Manhattan disappear behind them as Rafael followed the Hudson north.
“Where are we going?”
“My father's grave.”
She did not ask why.
The cemetery rested on a hill overlooking the river.
Rafael walked through rows of stone markers until he reached one beneath an old maple tree.
Alejandro De Santos.
1964–2000.
Beloved Father.
Rafael stared at the name.
He had been fourteen when two police officers arrived at their house.
His father had supposedly been shot during a meeting with men from a competing organization.
Victor had arrived thirty minutes later.
Victor had taken Rafael in.
Paid for school.
Taught him business.
Taught him loyalty.
Taught him revenge.
Rafael had spent twenty-six years hating the wrong people.
Maybe.
He still didn't know.
“Elena.”
She stepped closer.
“Daniel ever talk about my father?”
“Not that I remember.”
“Try.”
She closed her eyes.
Four years of marriage.
Late dinners.
Daniel sitting at the kitchen table working.
Conversations she had never considered important.
Then she remembered.
“Blue Harbor.”
Rafael turned.
“What?”
“He mentioned something called Blue Harbor.”
Rafael's face changed.
“That's impossible.”
“What is it?”
“My father owned a shipping company called Blue Harbor Logistics.”
Elena continued.
“Daniel once asked if I knew why old companies sometimes stayed registered after the owner died.”
“And?”
“I thought he was talking generally.”
Rafael pulled out his phone.
“Marco. Search every corporate filing connected to Blue Harbor Logistics.”
Thirty minutes later, they were in the caretaker's office, studying documents Marco had sent electronically.
Blue Harbor had never been dissolved.
Ownership transferred after Alejandro's death.
To Victor.
For six years, the company operated quietly.
Then dissolved.
During those same six years, millions passed through accounts linked to properties Rafael later inherited.
Elena looked at him.
“Your uncle used your father's company.”
“Yes.”
“To move money?”
“Probably.”
“For what?”
Rafael scrolled.
Then stopped.
One recipient appeared repeatedly.
Samuel Price.
The former deputy mayor.
Current gubernatorial candidate.
Elena whispered, “The man in the photograph.”
“Yes.”
Another payment went to a retired police detective.
Rafael recognized the name.
Thomas Keane.
The detective who had investigated his father's murder.
The pieces were forming.
And Rafael did not like the picture.
They returned to Manhattan after dark.
Nate ran toward Elena the moment they entered the townhouse.
“You were gone forever.”
“It was four hours.”
“That's forever when you're seven.”
Rafael walked past them toward his office.
Nate followed.
“Are you mad?”
“No.”
“You look mad.”
“I often look like this.”
Nate considered.
“Maybe you should smile more.”
Rafael stopped.
Marco turned away to hide his reaction.
Elena laughed.
Rafael stared at Nate.
Then, unexpectedly, smiled.
“There.”
Nate nodded.
“Better.”
The moment lasted only seconds.
Then Marco's phone rang.
His expression changed.
“Rafael.”
“What?”
“The warehouse.”
Rafael knew before Marco finished.
An explosion had destroyed the building where Dino had been held.
Two guards survived.
Dino did not.
Elena went silent.
“They killed him.”
Rafael's voice turned cold.
“Yes.”
“You said nobody knew where he was.”
“Only six people.”
“That means—”
“Someone close to me gave the location.”
The house suddenly felt less safe.
Rafael looked at each man in the room.
People he had trusted for years.
Now one could be working for Victor.
“Marco.”
“Yes?”
“Take Elena and Nate upstairs.”
Elena frowned.
“Why?”
“Because until I know who leaked the warehouse location, I'm reducing access.”
She understood.
“You trust Marco?”
“With my life.”
Marco led them upstairs.
Rafael called four senior members of his organization into the library.
Antonio.
Gabriel.
Lucas.
And Victor's son, Matteo.
Matteo arrived last.
He was thirty-four, polished, charming, and had spent his entire life treating Rafael like an older brother.
“What happened?” Matteo asked.
Rafael watched him carefully.
“Dino is dead.”
Matteo's expression barely changed.
“Who?”
Interesting.
Everyone knew Dino.
Rafael said, “A man who entered Elena Carter's apartment.”
Matteo poured himself water.
“Victor told me about her.”
Rafael froze.
“When?”
“This morning.”
The room went silent.
Matteo realized his mistake.
Rafael stepped closer.
“What exactly did Victor tell you?”
“That Daniel's widow was causing trouble.”
“Why would he tell you that?”
Matteo set the glass down.
“I don't know.”
“Try again.”
Matteo stared at him.
Something defensive appeared in his eyes.
“Because he doesn't trust you anymore.”
Rafael felt no surprise.
Only confirmation.
“Why?”
“You've gotten soft.”
Rafael almost smiled.
“Soft?”
“You're protecting some nurse and her kid while federal investigators are circling, Samuel Price is preparing for an election, and half our partners are nervous.”
Rafael's voice lowered.
“How do you know about Samuel?”
Matteo stopped.
Nobody had mentioned the photograph.
Nobody had mentioned the bank records.
Rafael saw fear arrive in his cousin's eyes.
Marco appeared in the doorway.
Matteo moved first.
He grabbed a pistol hidden at his back.
Rafael slammed his wrist into the desk before he could raise it.
The weapon dropped.
Marco restrained him.
Matteo struggled.
“Get off me!”
Rafael picked up the gun.
“You told them where Dino was.”
Matteo said nothing.
“You told Victor.”
Still silence.
Then a scream came from upstairs.
Elena.
Rafael ran.
He took the stairs two at a time.
Nate stood in the hallway.
Pale.
“Elena?”
“She was right there!”
“Where is she?”
Nate pointed toward the guest room.
The window was open.
A curtain moved in the cold air.
Rafael rushed inside.
No Elena.
On the floor lay her phone.
The screen was cracked.
Marco arrived behind him.
“How?”
Rafael looked toward the fire escape.
The building next door was undergoing renovation.
Someone had crossed from the scaffolding.
Nate grabbed Rafael's hand.
“They took my mom?”
Rafael turned.
The fear on the boy's face sliced through him.
He crouched.
“I'll get her back.”
Nate's eyes filled with tears.
“You promised before.”
Rafael remembered the restaurant.
Don't trust what I say.
Watch what I do.
He closed his hand around Nate's.
“And I'm promising again.”
Downstairs, Matteo began laughing.
Rafael slowly stood.
He walked back into the library.
“Where is she?”
Matteo smiled through a bleeding lip.
“You think this was about Daniel?”
Rafael gripped his collar.
“Where?”
Matteo whispered:
“Victor doesn't want the records anymore.”
Rafael's blood ran cold.
“What does he want?”
May you like
Matteo looked toward the staircase where Nate stood.
“He wants the boy.”
